Once there was an unloved baby blanket - seemingly never used - which I rescued from a second-hand store for a pittance. It was six strips of plain garter stitch sewn together. Each strip alternated rust, almost-teal green, and white blocks (26 sts wide by 21 ridges long), and they were assembled so that they also alternated across. The strips were 8 squares long. Generally, a pretty design. Unfortunately it had its drawbacks.

At first glance, I thought all it needed was the ratty looking white border removed. It was a simple single crocheted border but done very, very large; it almost looked like blanket stitch. Removal took no time at all, but in the process I noticed that the white yarn used for the squares wasn’t as good a quality or as soft as the other two colours. As soon as I teased out one end of it, I knew it to be Phentex Elite. Soft, it ain’t; durable, it is. It will eventually be part of a scatter rug or cat-rug; not suitable for any baby.

Then I looked at the seaming of the strips. The seams were lumpy on one side, although they looked lovely from the ‘right’ side. In reality, the seaming was what my grandmother taught me as a running stitch, though done rather closer than one would expect. And it was very tightly done, thus restricting the elasticity of the garter stitch - a definite no-no in my book. So, out came the seams - done in a day or two. The strips were almost long enough to be called scarves, but not quite. And the joining of the colours at the end of one and the beginning of the other was done by big, ugly knots - another no-no in my knitting life. So, since I’d already decided that the Phentex needed to be removed, I set about picking its ends out from the other colours. I only ripped out some of the squares, when I wasn’t able - due to a split stitch - to pick out the white alone. (Packed bits of garter stitch take up less room than the same yarn balled up, and we were going away on a trip.)

Reworking has begun: Selvedge: slip first stitch purlwise, and knit last stitch of every row.

• One square of rust worked from a cast-on of 3 stitches, mitred out to a cast-off of 45 stitches. Each square should come to about the same size - no matter if it’s mitred or not.
• With a nice feeling, non-Phentex white (There will be an assortment of different shades of white.), pick up 23 stitches along one side and work 46 rows (23 ridges/selvedge ‘chains’); repeat on each of the other three sides.
• Next, with almost-teal green, pick up 23 stitches along sides of adjacent white squares and work mitred squares to fill in the gaps.
• Repeat as needed to use up the re-claimed yarns and make a new, non-knotted, non-lumpy, soft, luxurious-feeling garter stitched baby blanket for … ?

2014-04-05 As now planned, it will be worked as the Mulberry Bush Blanket from Number Knitting with the rust and almost-teal green squares evenly worked around it. Each square will be 23 stitches on each side, and - it’ll be a tad bigger than the usual ‘baby blanket’ with a total of 196 squares. Maybe the kid’ll receive it for the first birthday?

2014-04-17 Well, good sense has taken finally taken over, and I’ve reduced the amount of white and accepted that some blocks of rust and green will actually touch along one side. 45 inches square sounds much more easily completed and likely a more appropriate size for a baby. It should be usable for at least a couple of years - longer, if the kid likes it.

I haven’t yet taken a photo, but I’m keeping track of the squares as I work them (have just picked up the stitches for #18), and I’ve added my diagram of progress as a snip.

2014-04-21 Twenty of eighty-one squares are done! That’s about one-quarter of it! Not the swiftest project, but it should be done long before September.

2014-04-26 Working on square #27!
In the original pattern, once there are only four stitches left on the needles, one works: k2tog, p2tog, turn, p2tog. So, I was sticking to the pattern, but I wasn’t happy at all with the way each mitre ended. It was lumpy. It didn’t leave the square facing in the right direction to cast-on or pick-up for the next. So, I changed the last step. Instead of turning, I simply pass the first stitch over the second. Correct orientation for next square! Less lumpy. I will not rip out and re-do, but I am using this variation for the rest of the squares.

2014-05-26 Finally, I’ve past the half-way mark! Working on square #43 !!

2014-06-07 Square # 55 begun! If summer heat doesn’t bring me to a stop, this should be done and mailed before the September due date.

The numbers on the diagram indicate the order in which the squares are knitted.
The arrows indicate the direction of knitting each square.

2014-06-12 Square #60 is begun! The end is in sight! Now, I’m thinking about how to border it. Probably just a round of crab stitch or i-cord, or maybe the border from the Trinity Stitch Shawl.

2014-06-20 Only 13 squares to go!

2014-06-30 81st square completed!! Now for a border. It’ll be white, because I have a ton of white yarn. I’d rather any other colour, but … I just can’t decide on what other colour might work well with the three existing ones.

I tried a round of single crochet topped off with a round of crab-stitch. It kept billowing, even when I reduced hook size. I don’t want to do an applied i-cord; the last time I did one, it took me over an hour to get the two ends grafted together seamlessly! So, not wanting to mount even a quarter of the perimeter’s stitches to work a sort of ‘log cabin’ border, I’ve opted to work a 13-stitch garter stitch border and attach it as I go using the ‘sliding loop’ technique. This way, I only have to deal with a few stitches at a time and not have the entire mass of yarn sitting on my lap at once. It’s begun!

2014-07-07 OK, that didn’t work either. Instead I picked up stitches on one side at a time and knitted until I had 5 garter ridges on the front side, then I used Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off down to one stitch, kept it and picked up the second side. ALL KNITTING IS COMPLETED! Only some ends remain to be woven in. Bit by bit this week they will be done.

2014-07-10 Finito! Finis! Every last tail is neatly woven in! (Thanks to CNN’s Forensic Files; two three-hour sessions from 2 to 5 AM, and all the ends were done.)
All that’s left is a run through the washer and dryer, and packing for shipment to B.C. Yay!!

2014-09-18 Baby Léo arrived!