Hello!
Do you do it too – Google anything and everything? Although I was tremendously looking forward to the birth of our first grandchild, I also felt slightly uncertain about my new role as a grandmother, having grown up without grandparents. So I Googled on ‘How to be a grandmother.’
Terribly silly, I know. Still, I found quite a few helpful tips. But also this one: ‘Whatever you do, DO NOT KNIT!’ That really had me in stitches. I’ve been knitting since I was five years old, and now I should stop?! Well, you can imagine that I disregarded that piece of ‘wisdom’.
For most of the things I knit to welcome our grandson I used existing patterns, but I also wanted to design something myself. And after much pondering, sketching and swatching, I came up with the blanket you’ve already seen at the top. Here is another photo of it folded:
And here it is spread out on the floor:
Our daughter’s becoming a mum inevitably made me think back to the time she was a baby herself. From the time she was just a few months old until the age of seven, another mum in our street with a daughter about the same age looked after her when I was working. She had a wonderful time with that family.
When we moved away to where we live now, I made them a patchwork cushion for a farewell present, embroidered with a tree and the words: ‘A family’s love shelters like a tree.’ Obviously I can’t show you the actual cushion, but here is a (slightly grainy) photo from the pattern magazine (Ariadne, June 1991).
I am well aware that not all families provide loving shelter, and also that some have only very few branches. But still, I love the sentiment, and it was what I was thinking of when I knit our grandson’s blanket. I called it Pyrus Blanket for the big old pear tree in our garden – a truly sheltering presence. (Pyrus is Latin for pear.)
The Pyrus Blanket is covered in the pear tree’s oval, sharp-tipped leaves. The branches of our pear tree spread out like a many-armed candelabra – nothing like the straight lace ladders in the blanket.
Those were inspired by an espaliered pear tree with vertical branches in De Fruithof.
De Fruithof is an orchard about 30 minutes cycling from our home with some 800 different historical fruit trees. It also has a 750 metre long espalier pear tree avenue.
I should, perhaps, have knit the blanket in pure white, to represent the pear tree’s blossoms.
But I’ve taken the artistic license to knit it in creamy, undyed wool, because that was what our grandson’s parents preferred.
The yarn I’ve chosen is Drops ‘Merino Extra Fine’ – a 100% wool DK-weight yarn that won’t break the bank, is machine-washable, super soft and shows up the stitch pattern beautifully. It also has the Oeko-Tex 100 Class 1 classification, a very strict standard that guarantees that the yarn is free of harmful substances and safe for babies and infants.
The Pyrus Blanket measures 75 x 100 cm (approx. 30 x 40”). All patterning is done in the right side rows, with relaxing purl rows on the wrong side. The garter stitch borders have a special edge stitch that I learnt from a girl in the hospital where we were both staying as young teenagers. Among the less pleasant memories, I have very happy ones of us knitting long colourful garter stitch scarves.
(For anyone who doesn’t know this edge stitch yet, I’m explaining it in the pattern.)
I don’t know if I would enjoy being called a tree hugger, but as a family, we do have a thing for trees. Our daughter has also painted a tree on the wall of her little son’s bedroom. When it’s not in use, his Pyrus Blanket often hangs on the back of the chair under that sheltering tree (not always so neatly folded, of course).
Well, that’s the story of my Pyrus Blanket. I have written up the pattern in both English and Dutch, and it can be found
here on Ravelry.
As always, thank you for reading. And should you decide to knit a Pyrus Blanket for a new arrival in your life, or as a gift to someone else: happy knitting!
Zo mooi!
Dank je!
Wat een mooi dekentje!
Dankjewel!
Lovely pattern & blog post with beautiful knitting!
Thank you, both for your kind words and your visit all the way from the US.
The baby blanket is gorgeous.
You’re very kind, thank you.
A perfect gift for a baby – and inspired by such beautiful trees, both your own and the Fruithof’s.
I’m glad you loved being among ‘our’ trees for a bit. Thank you for your kind words.
Lovely blanket – the pattern and the story behind it are special too. Perfect blanket for your little grandson.
It’s been an absolute pleasure working on it, and I’m glad you like it.
Beautiful heirloom piece!
Thank you!
The blanket is lovely and so is the story behind it. I am sure you and your grandson will spend many happy hours under that tree.
I will be spending more time with him when our daughter goes back to work and am really looking forward to that. Thank you for your lovely comment!
How did I miss this lovely post?
I’m so happy to have found it while reading your current one!
The story of your blanket design is most interesting, and the design itself is wonderful!
May your gift to your grandson provide comfort and coziness for years to come, and may he come to know and love the story of his beautiful baby blanket!
Don’t we all miss things from time to time? Thank you for a late but lovely comment!