MATILDA

My cousin, Kinya, had a little girl, Matilda, born 14/07. She was due on 23/07 and I have been making a blanket since finishing the magnificent one I completed for my new little great granddaughter. (I was very, very proud of this one as it is the only one I have finished on my own using a difficult pattern. One needs to see this to appreciate just how beautiful it turned out. I spent many hours just looking at it and, to be honest, was pretty sad when I handed it over.)

Well, maybe this is what happens when one is over-confident because this next effort has not been the success I anticipated.

Firstly, because I didn't know if she was expecting a girl or boy, I got wool with both pink and blue - very soft and pretty. Made a complete hash of that one - too thick and too long and would probably take 3 years to finish.

I then got the news that a little girl had arrived New plan - pink and white.

Disaster struck again as it looked CRAP.

Went back to the pink and blue and decided to do the same pattern as I use for Trishcloths - couldn't fail with this as there are many examples of these in many countries and they are in demand by family and friends.

What I didn't realise was that I had not attempted to use wool of this ply - much too thick for the hook. Ended up with what now looks like a scarf and nothing like a blanket. Still have another six balls of the wool but the size will be about 6 feet long x 2 feet wide. (I had emailed Kinya I was making one and she replied how excited she was to see it).

What to do now. I have spent 18 hours on three flops so far. Really - she is a third cousin and two days old. How can I stress over this? Have decided I need a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I will buy a pink blanket. Might throw in some booties.