ABC Blankie

While I was in Cambria last week I was finally able to finish my ABC baby blanket. Boy was that an everlasting project! I started it in November of 2007. What didn't I do wrong?

Way back in November 2007 I was once again in Cambria and stopped into a yarn shop. I found some yarn that was a little different than the usual variegated pastel baby yarns. It was yarn by N.Y. Yarns, the Parfait colors, in a pattern called "Bright Baby Mix", a mix of vibrant blues, pinks, and yellows. It was on sale for only $3.00 per 50 gram ball. I bought the remaining 8 balls. Never mind that I didn't yet have any patterns for it; I was sure I could find something.

Once I was back home I found a fairly simple pattern. It's called Baby's ABC's Afghan. It's apparently originally from Caron Yarns according to the website I got the pattern from. The instructions say the materials to use are 5 skeins of Caron Simply Soft and a size D crochet hook. I have no idea how much one skein of the Caron yarn is because it doesn't say (yards or weight). The N.Y. yarn was actually kind of thick and I was using a size I hook.

The blanket starts at the bottom and you work your way up. I got the X Y Z blocks done and knew I was going to have to get more yarn. Michael's doesn't carry N.Y. Yarn. Neither do any of our local stores. Did I forget to mention the reason it was on sale in Cambria was because that shop wasn't going to carry it any more?

After searching around on the internet for a while I finally found a place with the best price. I ordered 20 skeins, which came to $91.79 with shipping. I crocheted off and on and used about half those skeins before summer hit. I think your average knitter/crocheter like me knows that it's hard to get in the mood to crochet a blanket in the heat of summer. The blanket was set aside.

I picked it up again late this winter, knowing I would have to finish it now or it would never get done. I got up to the D-H row and realized I was going to have to order more yarn! The price hadn't changed but I was in a hurry now and I ordered it 2nd Day Postage ($22.25 vs. $4.29).

I could have saved myself $18 because while reviewing my work, I noticed a mistake that was a little more than a dropped or added stitch at the end of a row. This "U with a tail" was supposed to be a "Q". Remember I had gotten 2 squares above that, about 55 rows at least. I ripped it all out and vowed to pay closer attention.

Knowing I would be going to Cambria last week for a few days and knowing I would have lots of time in the evening to work on the blanket I brought it with me. And yes, I finally got the thing done, after a little over one year and about $186.97 worth of yarn!

My minor mistakes aren't visible and my major mistake was repaired. Because I used a different kind of yarn and a much larger crochet hook my blanket turned out a little larger than the 35" X 42" that the pattern advised. Surprisingly mine was not much larger at about 48" square.

In any case, I'm glad it's done and it looks half way decent. Hopefully the baby won't get too big for it by next winter (she's about 28" tall right now).