Nolan has always been a super independent kid. He’s strong-willed and very socially aware, but don’t be fooled, he still a sweet, cuddly kid that needs his blanket and Happy when it’s time for bed.  Happy is a stuffed bear from our family trip to Georgia a few years back and his blanket is a grey Pottery Barn Kids blanket from when he was a baby.  He doesn’t carry them around, they stay in his bed, but they are both definitely must-haves when it comes to bedtime.  We’ve only been on the road for about 8-weeks, but both have gotten beaten up and are showing more signs of “love.”

Last week, I actually noticed that Blanket had started to unravel actually, which caused some concern.   I didn’t have any way of repairing the section that started to unravel and I knew that if left unattended, the small unraveled section could quickly turn into half the blanket.  Since we were in Amsterdam, I decided I needed to take advantage of the English speaking city and try to find a repair shop.

I reached out to four different knitting shops via email, here’s what I said:

Subject Line: Help!

Hello. My name is Kathy Brown and I am in desperate need of some knitting help. My family and I are traveling for a year, we are currently in Amsterdam for a month. My son brought his favorite blanket with him from home. He’s had it since he was a baby and it is irreplaceable.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t traveled well and it is starting to come unraveled. I was wondering if anyone in the shop would be willing to help us with a patch job. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I do need to stop it from unraveling. I have zero knitting experience, so I’m looking for someone willing to help me save the day for my son. Could we pop by the store this week and have someone maybe take a look and see if anything can be done?

Well, thankfully the ladies at Hooks and Yarn offered to help. Nolan and I made a trip over during one of our day-dates together.  After an assessment by an expert, it was determined the repair would take 2-sleeps (2-days) — 2 days without his blanket.  Nolan stood and processed this information very carefully before reluctantly agreed.  Before we left, Nolan selected yellow yarn to repair Blanket.

As we left the store, I could tell Nolan was concerned, but I assured him Blanket would be well cared for and we would return as soon as it was completed. To our suprise, we got a phone call the next day saying Blanket was finished early.  We changed our plans and headed for the shop.  Nolan didn’t even wait for the bikes to be locked up before running into the store by himself to pick up Blanket.

He was very pleased with the patch job and I’m proud to report Blanket is safely back home.