I come from a long line of knitters. My mum’s side of the family are experts and have created the most beautiful beanies, jumpers and cardigans for the kids.

I recently started knitting my winter baby a blanket and with every row I’m reminded of the benefits of knitting; it’s mindful handwork and the opportunity to create something practical and beautiful with natural fibres is incredibly rewarding.

My first knitting project began when Che was a baby. As we ventured into his first winter I searched out an easy baby blanket pattern and stumbled across Purl Soho’s Super Easy Baby Blanket. It’s literally a cast on – knit – cast off affair and so it’s absolutely perfect for the beginner knitter. I’ve always found the decision over colour to be a big one but back then (in 2008) I discovered an Australian organic wool company being sold at my local organic shop so I picked up a few balls and a set of needles and cast on.

Almost ten years later and Che’s blanket still comes out every winter. It’s the perfect size to throw over his lap while reading and even more perfect for Percy who is the only one without a mama-knitted blanket (he was born in very early autumn and what with a house move and a stifling summer, the last thing on my mind was wool).

I knitted Che’s blanket with Woolganic which you can get at the lovely online store, Say! Little Hen (you’ll find lots of knitting inspiration on the blog, too). The colours are vibrant (dyed with low impact metal-free dyes) and the wool quality – organic merino – is superb. It’s beautifully soft so even the fussiest of toddlers prone to “wool itch” won’t be bothered by it.

When it came time to knit Poet a blanket (my first winter baby) I used up the leftover wool from Che’s blanket along with a sweet mis-matched collection of odds and ends that I had found while op shopping.

And now I’m onto my third blanket and when searching for colours I absolutely fell for the super soft merino bundles over at Purl Soho. I knew I didn’t need to buy much for this baby so I splurged on the adobe colourway and I’m so happy with how it’s turning out. It’s a dream to knit with (and a very quick knit!) and just like a good book, I’m trying to savour it while knit, knit, knitting to get it done. I can’t wait to finish it up and pack it in the hospital bag, ready to wrap around my mid-winter baby.

If you like the idea of knitting but feel overwhelmed by the task, don’t fear! There are so many youtube tutorials online and as long as you can cast on – knit – cast off, you can easily make a blanket like these ones.

I spend close to an hour knitting each afternoon and it’s a lovely way to settle and be without resorting to my phone or laptop. I also think it’s incredibly beneficial for the children to see me creating – I don’t do it often enough!

I’ll start knitting Percy a blanket once I’m finished this one and then I want to move beyond a basic blanket and embrace a little pattern reading. Perhaps a cardigan for baby? We’ll see.