Kumihimo Inspiration of the Month - My Mom! Posted on 10 Jul 14:45
This month I decided to change things up a bit. Inspiration doesn't always come from another braider but this time from somebody that shines bright in another art (knitting vs braiding). My mom is my inspiration.
I mentioned in my last newsletter that my nephew, Jonny, graduated from high school and will be going off to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. My mom (grandma to Jonny) asked Jonny if there was anything he would like to have to take with him to college. He didn't think long before he said that he would like grandma to knit him a blanket. You see, in our family my mom has been knitting all of us "love" blankets for many years. When you are wrapped up in one of these blankets, everything is okay in the world. They are special and you really do feel the love that she puts into each stitch.
My mom was flattered by Jonny's request. I love what she chose to do (and this is where the inspiration came from for my kit of the month). She decided to knit Jonny a barcode blanket with the names of everyone in our family.
She generated barcodes for the name of each member of the family and then started knitting big barcoded (striped) pieces. Jonny's barcode is in the middle with his family surrounding him. My mom is still working on the barcode blocks for a few more family members. When she is done stitching together all the barcode "strips of stripes" she will put a nice border around the entire blanket.
She is knitting as fast as she can but couldn't meet my newsletter deadline. But when Jonny leaves in exactly one month, we will all feel good sending him off with a part of each of us.
I will post Jonny's finished "Love" Blanket next month. I loved the idea of using the barcodes to influence stripe patterns so I incorporated the idea into my July Kumihimo Kit of the Month. There are many barcode generators on the internet. Pick one and have fun!