08-12 Baby Blankets

Our mother was never idle. Even as a child at our cottage, mother was either baking, writing or crocheting in her spare time. And I remember with affection, having our afternoon nap with one of mother's crocheted blankets thrown over me.
And before she died, she said I was to take one of her crocheted blankets because they had such memories for me from our cottage days. And would you believe it, I am still taking naps at age 85 with that blanket thrown over me.
After our father died in 1980, mother continued crocheting until her death in 2007, producing these magical blankets which she gave as gifts to family and friends having baby showers. And she always added a baby doll to the blanket, to make the gift more memorable.
Then, with the help of the family computer nerd, brother Peter, she put up a website called bellescrochetedbabyblankets.com. What a hoot. The photo of one of her baby blankets with the baby doll is shown here.
When I asked her their size, she said "30 inches by 30 inches". "And where did you get those dimensions?" I asked. "Well, it is all very scientific. It is the distance from my nose to the end of my hand."
They came in a variety of soft colours. My daughter Kelly had one for each of her children, and they loved them. They travelled everywhere with those blankets.
When mother said they were selling online for $25, I was surprised and told her that $25 will barely cover the cost of the wool. But mother had a great sense of humour. She replied, “I know I am losing money on every blanket, but I plan to make it up on volume”.
And the best fun she had after making a sale was beginning a series of online chats with the buyer, who was always a fellow grandmother. Oh, besides writing, baking and crocheting as hobbies, she also liked chatting.
I have a great memory driving her to a church bazaar where she had her blankets for sale. A young mother came in and started admiring her blankets. Mother could tell she did not have much money and gave her one for free. The girl was in tears.
There must be hundreds of young adults that will remember Belle Bulloch’s crocheted baby blankets. For us, those blankets are a special memory.