Baby Blanket Complete!

Well, I missed my deadline, but it came out so much better than I anticipated. The cotton is nice and soft and I do like the colors. Things I would change (about me not the pattern because my knitting can always be improved): Picking up stiches - there are so many things, that as a novice, half-hearted knitter I have not done much of and this is one of them. I felt that I was a bit sloppy here but once it was finished and blocked I found that I didn't mind so much. Perhaps when I'm a better knitter and I look back on this, I will be horrified, but for now, not so much. Still, I would improve this. Weaving in ends: Also, due to my lack of finishing projects, something I have not done much or if it was sloppy, at least it was hidden on the inside of a sweater like a mutated child in an attic. Too bad blankets don't have insides. How do I make this better? I have no idea. Some of the ends got fed through the inside of the i-cord bind off and hopefully remain hidden there. Blocking - such limited experience with blocking. While fine, I will invest in blocking wires for the future. The lace edge is not completely symmetrical all way around but close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades and good enough to please even me, for now. The lace pattern is called 'feather and fan' but I think my lace could have been more fan like. Next time, I'll work the blocking more.

All in all, I'm pleased! I enjoyed this pattern. It's portable, easy to memorize and easy to knit. I have a feeling I will be making more of these

I'm at the age where....

I'm at the age where more and more people my age start having babies. It makes me feel old. Babies are what you did when you were 30 and older....except I'll be 28 this year. When did that happen? Friends of my husband are having a baby shower this weekend and, true to form, I've waited till absolutely the last minute to start a project for them. Actually, it's been in the planning stages but I went back and forth for weeks on what kind of yarn and colors to use. I really really wanted to make this pattern by Jared Flood, when I first saw it...even without a baby of my own. I think what I like about it the most are the contrasts - baby blanket with lace edge in shades of grey wool tweed. I like the mix of feminine and masculine and would even make this blanket with the suggested yarn for a girl. The problem is that the couple I am making the blanket for are new parents and I didn't want to impose the chore of hand washing onto them. But I didn't like any colors of the washable wool....weird, right? I think I just couldn't get over how much I liked the original project. This is why I am so bad at sewing and knitting and crafting in general - the inability to visualize. Well, I've never claimed to be creative. Anyway, ended up choosing Rowan cotton glace, despite never having knit with cotton before. I don't think I'm going to be pleased with the end result but I'm in too deep now. At this point, I'm on a marathon blanket making race. I have to finish tonight, wash and block and hopefully it's dry for me to mail tomorrow....Why do I have a feeling that's not going to happen.