234. Knit a Giant Stitch Blanket*

This is a goal that I finally accomplished in 2022… the first time. 

I grew up among the most creative and talented women. I remember from a very young age watching both of my grandmothers and my own mother sew, crochet and knit. Although they would make me things and my grandmothers tried to teach me how to create a few odd things, it just never took. To this day I cannot sew in a straight line. Thankfully the gods were smiling at me the day my mom decided she would try handknitting her own giant stitch blanket. 

It was such a cool idea! That seems to be a normal thing for our generation, taking something normal and making it either way larger or smaller than what it should be is soooo entertaining. The only thing that made me shy away from attempting it myself was the fact that my mom, as experienced as she was, gave up on the project because it was too complicated. If she couldn’t do it, there is no way I ever could. So in fear I tucked that desire to learn away in a deep dark box.

When 2018 rolled around and I began creating this list I found that after the first couple hundred items I really had to dig a little deeper. I had to really start to pull from my fear of not being able to succeed. Things that I thought were maybe too foolish to try. So long story short, 2 years later I trusted myself enough to try. After starting over multiple times, spending a couple hundred dollars on yarn, and staying up nearly all night every night for weeks, I succeeded in making gorgeous, king size hand stitch blanket.

To everyone it’s just something I did, I learned it quick, it’s not that hard. But to me it was more. It was confirmation that if I could learn it I could do it. This blanket was the first step to me feeling, for the first time in my life, that there was more to me than just merely existing. And I finally had a talent that I could not only be proud of, but served an actual purpose.

I have made another king size since then. If I do say so myself, its waaaay better than the first one with bright colors and stitches more in line with each other. But that’s not all. I have made single crochet blankets for my kids, my niece, friends and have even taught another friend of mine how to make her own. As if this wasn’t the gift that just keeps giving, I am also now inspired to develop my crochet skills and techniques to enable myself to make other items as well as stuffed animals (#602 on the list). 

Going from someone who was so terrified of failing that she wouldn’t even think of touching a crochet hook to someone who is pursuing knowledge and pushing here comfort zone has been a journey. The path has been paved with lessons and moments and opportunities to challenge myself, such as this one. One thing is certain, I never want to go back. I want to keep expanding my strengths, exploring my weaknesses and… celebrating both.