Friday 30 July 2010

Ben's Blanket

Many years ago (over twenty in fact) when Ben, my eldest son, was only seven I organised a sponspored knit for the PTA of his primary school.

Participants had to agree to knit a certain number of squares and get friends and family to sponsor them. All the money raised went to the PTA and the squares were sewn into five large blankets which were given to Save the Children.

A lovely lady came and spoke to the primary school children and showed them a film of how the blankets would be used, which made quite an impression on my then seven year old. So much so that I taught him to knit and he made several squares of his own to add to the blankets.

When it was over he decided he would like his own knitted patchwork blanket and so we set about knitting the 96 squares required. Admittedly I probably ended up making most of them but Ben knitted several of the squares that went into the blanket. I can't tell which were his and which were mine which may say as much about my knitting skills as his!

And it has lived in his room, which became Joe's room when Ben moved out, ever since. But tomorrow I have a lodger moving in for a month (I'll tell more next week) so Joe's room needed clearing out. It has taken me three days to clear the mess and debris Joe left behind (and was meant to clear before he went travelling!) and among it all I found the blanket... which has now been washed and repaired.

It might not be the prettiest blanket and it's looking rather worn and tired but it is soft and warm and rather special.

As for Ben's knitting skills... he has no recollection of ever having learned to knit! But then he also claims not to remember wanting pink pyjamas when he was little either!

22 comments:

  1. Just a thimbleful....

    A lovely story, Gina, and what a beautiful quilt! It reminds me of flags of all nations.

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  2. What a lovely blanket. My wonderful Granny and I knitted one like that when I was young - but I'm not sure if I still have it :o( Lucy x

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  3. It looks bright and fresh, as though it was brand new.

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  4. How lovely, of course he won't remember a thing about it - I hope you have photographic evidence :-)

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  5. It's amazing the things boys claim to have forgotten!

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  6. I bet he reclaims it at some future date. It looks lovely.

    Your story reminds me of a sweater I made for my then very young daughter, it was orange mohair (her own choice) and she always called it her marmalade sweater. She denies all knowledge of that now.

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  7. It's beautiful, what a find to send you down memory lane. Makes me want to start knitting squares again!

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  8. Now that is what I call a comfort blanket ,wonderful snuggly bliss ...love Jan xx

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  9. Oh, sweet!

    But a lodger? Stop teasing, we must know more!

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  10. The blanket is lovely, I have my first effort - thats how I taught myself to knit...I think I will give it a mend and a wash today...although no sign of sunshine to dry it....love H

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  11. A lovely blanket and a lovely story. Anthony can't remember learning to cross stitch but he did and I have still got his work to prove it.

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  12. No matter how old or tired you think it looks, it is a part of your family history, a lovely story, and a lovely keepsake.

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  13. A sweet story and the blanket doesn't look worn at all! :)

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  14. What a great story! I've been mucking out Mark's sty (he's away at scout camp for the week) and wondering how on earth one accumulates so many 'treasures'!

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  15. Ooh that's just given me an idea of what to do with a huge pile of knitted squares I inherited.....
    And I look forward to hearing about the lodger!

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  16. what a super blanket and a lovely story. So who's the mystery guest? :)

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  17. What a gorgeous story blanket. It holds precious memories x

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  18. It's objects like that blanket that give a home a heart. It's a lovely thing.

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  19. Lovely bright colours for a young person's room and a cosy blanket is always good to snuggle in, no matter how old you are. Your son's knitting skills are excellent. This reminds me of a crocheted blanket an aunt made me years ago. Whenever one of the children was too ill to go to school (not often) it was their treat to lie on the sofa under the 'poorly' blanket. I've still got it somewhere.

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  20. What a wonderful memory Gina! I love the pretty colors and big happy blocks!

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  21. Fabulous! I am so impressed that he had the concentration required to knit squares at that age AND that you had the time to make the rest of the blanket.

    Oh...and lodger??

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  22. I'm more behind than usual on blog reading due to school holidays, but just wanted to pop in and say what a lovely story. Great idea for a fundraiser and impressed that a 7 year old wants to learn to knit - my 8 year old is very disdainful when I ask him if he wants me to teach him to knit!

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