Sometimes, knitting is not the right answer

I realize this is heresy. But I need my crafting to be practical.

My co-worker's daughter is a nurse, and a little over two weeks ago she let it be known that she would like to have some baby blankets on hand as she works in her inner city hospital, just in case the mothers on her floor don't have anything to wrap their babies in as they head home.

Of course I immediately cast on a baby blanket from some leftover yarn. And cast on again. And again. I haven't actually made a baby blanket (that I remember) since my very first knitting project, and I had to work out the proper pattern for the amount of yarn at hand. It took me two weeks, in between other projects, to crank out a lovely little "dishcloth blanket," which I delivered today.


Meanwhile, two weeks ago when I was still casting around for a pattern, I stopped by the fabric counter while I was out running errands, picked up the end of a bolt of pale yellow no-sew polar fleece, had them cut it in half, and delivered two 36x30" baby blankets the following Monday, at the whopping expenditure of $2.22 and 2 minutes apiece. The nurse and her mother were pleased with the idea, and plan to replace them with more of the same as needed.

My knitted blanket is nice. And there's definitely a place for hand knits, from heirlooms to practical workhorses. But in this case, there was a better solution.



Dishcloth baby blanket

Yarn: 1 1/2 skeins Simply Soft in white

Needles: Size 9 circular

Pattern: if you've ever made a cotton dishcloth you don't need this, but just in case:

Cast on 5 sts.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: K3, yo, k to end of row.

Repeat row 2 until desired length (measured on one side of the triangle)

Row 3: K2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit to end of row.

Repeat row 3 until 5 sts are left, bind off.