Handmade Baby Blankets

The first blanket of this design that I made was in heather blue, for Isamu. I was amazed at how well it turned out, especially since the design was completely out of my imagination. I love the marbled effect of the heather.

The second blanket I made was for Savannah. Pink this time. This is a more solid color, but it's still so pretty (I may be biased, but... friends like them!)

I taught myself to knit, sort of, in 1980. "Sort of" is important. I made scarves and sweaters that were very sad looking, in multi-color patterns and stitch patterns and plain. I really wanted to learn, and I tried and tried. I even tried giving things away as gifts.

My people are very polite. They all said thank you, but there's no telling what they did with the gifts. I never saw them being used or worn....

There seemed to be something missing in the instructions. It's what I call "assumed knowledge." I kept reading about blocking but never saw what that meant. What's "blocking"? And how do you do it? Assumed knowledge.

So there I went, to Japan, 1985, living that summer with my then-boyfriend's family. I learned many things during that time, but the most enduring lesson Atsuko taught me was how to block. Somehow, it came out that I could knit (oh, misplaced confidence), and she took me shopping for sweater patterns, needles, and yarn. We found a gorgeous 3-color sweater pattern that I chose to make, in pale yellow, taupe, and cream. It was very ambitious, but the lack of English text explaining how to make it was, surprisingly, what made it so simple. I couldn't read the words, so I simply followed the graph.

It was SO exciting to see my sweater coming to life on the needles. But then... I finished knitting. Last stitch was cast off, the front, back, and sleeves were done. I was looking at the pieces, all bunchy and sad looking, just like all my projects had been. Still, I thought I was done, ready to stitch them together, when Atsuko brought me the ironing board and iron. I didn't understand, but she showed me how to steam my sweater pieces.

That she never said (in English) what a doofus I was, claiming to knit but not knowing to steam the pieces... that she never said all that, (in English), was very gracious.

The difference was-and if you knit you'll understand this-nothing short of a miracle. What had been a bunchy piece of knitted yarn was altered by heat and steam to be a smooth piece of beauty. Is this the way everyone blocks? Is this, in fact, "blocking"? I don't know. I DO know that it is what I do now.

So, I taught myself to knit, sort of. Then Atsuko taught me more, and now, many years later, I'm always knitting something, some project. Scarves, blankets, sweaters; more colors, more stitches, more options. I still prefer to follow pictures and graphs to a lot of explanatory text, but even that makes more sense than it did before. I credit Atsuko and that first summer in Japan with my success as a knitter. She taught what became the most important piece.

(Excerpted from Fish Tree Tales: Stories from Japan.)

Molly was next. Her parents didn't know she was going to be a girl, so I decided to make them a soft green blanket. I understand Molly loved it ~ as did Mom & Dad. And everyone at the church baby shower.... it got passed around and oohed and ahhed over many times!

Next came Marissa, and I decided to be a bit more free-spirited with this one. I tried the white/pink/lavender mix called Pink Parade. Kind of funky, but her mom just LOVED it!

I taught myself to knit through trial and error, and heaps of yarn! I sure would have liked a mentor showing me the way back in those early days. It would have been great to have someone watch what I did, show me what I was doing wrong, giving me the tips to master the essentials along the way.

I'm still learning new techniques and stitches. Now it's more fun, because I understand the words and can visualize the process. But I'm still pleasantly surprised and delighted when I learn something new with my knitting. It never gets old!

I like lavender. It's soothing, even to look at it. This particular picture doesn't do it justice, but click on the word lavender, or look for it in some "group" photos.

David K. of Wichita, KS ~ I have two of Suexi's Handmade Baby Blankets for two of my grandchildren. They are very attractive and make a perfect gift. My grandbabies really enjoy them.

Lisa M. of Yamanashi, Japan ~ Thank you so much for the gorgeous blanket! Roma couldn't believe you made it...

Tomoka K. of Yamanashi, Japan ~ Our baby got this lovely blanket from Sue!! I didn't realize that it was hand made by Sue!! And this blanket is our baby's favorite one. It is so soft and really comfortable. I am the number one fan for sure!!

Carla T. of San Antonio, TX ~ Our 3-year-old daughter STILL snuggles with the blanket she got from "Auntie Sue".... In fact, it's still is such great shape, my 1 year-old has started using it, too (when her older sister is feeling generous and "allows" it!)

Mike N. of Chicago, IL ~ Our 15-year-old "baby" STILL takes the blanket you made with her many places.

White was perfect for the baby dedication that I knew these friends would take their little one to. Soft, delicate, yet still machine wash & dry so it will stay lovely.

This one is another favorite. I love yellow anyway, and the baby bubblies who've received this color look so cute! Bright, happy, smiling babies ~ who can resist them?

I can make a baby blanket in any color you want. For my nephew, I created a completely different design, hot red, white, and royal blue (like my sister wanted), with a bold pattern that I wasn't too sure about, but which my sister, brother-in-law, and (apparently) nephew just loved.

For me, the colors and pattern were not what I would have chosen, but in truth, joy is in the knitting. The doing, the creating. I love watching the blankets (or sweaters, scarves, socks) turn out.

I sell my blankets here. Please visit the link below for more information.