FO: Make Room For Baby

It took me months to complete and I had to battle back against the boredom slog through every stitch in the middle, but I am pretty pleased with how things turned out.

All the mother-to-be asked for was a kelly green hat. I thought to myself, "A hat's not nearly enough," and that's how a quick little knit morphed into a 28" x 34" blanket.

I was a little overwhelmed as I tried to narrow down my blanket options with Ravely's pattern search: must be knit using chunky yarn and freely available. One pattern really stood out for its flexibility and adaptive nature: Thrifty Knitter's Hooded Baby Blanket.

I decided that 400+ people couldn't be wrong. You should see the variations in the Ravelry project listing! One that really caught my eye substituted a 4 x 1 flat ribbing instead of an endless sea of stockinette.

The other thing I really liked was the use of seed stitch for each color change stripe, much like the pattern used in the Dream in Color Tulip Sweater. This lends a subtle, elegant texture element to what could be an otherwise bland swath of knitted fabric.

Despite all the time and effort put into the blanket, I still thought something was lacking. I almost always make a hat and this time was no different - except for the fact that I actually followed a pattern for construction. Yep. Jennifer Braico's Fixation Newborn Hat (Ravelry). Substitute leftover Berroco Comfort Chunky for Cascade Fixation and we have a striped hat with an inch of 4-stitch I-cord on top.

Determined not to make socks this time, I listened to the handful of voices who, in the past, have urged me to take the path of least resistance when it comes to easy-peasy baby gifts: the bib. I have finally seen the light! The bib is your friend - especially if you crochet - because you can knock one of these out in under two hours. Seriously.

The Coats and Clark pattern is called the So-Simple Baby Bib which requires size 3 crochet thread. So not the equivalent of chunky yarn, which is why I reworked gauge to create a bib roughly the same size as the one in the original pattern. If I hadn't, I might have cooked up something suitable for a sloppy adult (like me) who's always wearing tiny bits of food on their shirt. If you're interested in the details for the pattern modifications, just email or PM me.

With the help of needles, hooks and patterns, I turned 7 skeins of chunky yarn into something the mom says she'd be proud to put on her baby. Funny how it took four months to make someones day. I'd do it again, too.

Doggerel du Jour

From north to south and back again
We paint our toes and sip champagne.

Mid walking, talking, laughter, tears
I count my joys and still my fears.

Round table filled with loving friends
My day - complete - by birthday's end.

Born On This Day

According to If Today Is Your Birthday, "Your mind is especially restless this year, and you are hungry for new experiences and for answers. Trying out new ways of expressing your creativity figures strongly, and an enterprising spirit serves you very well."

A patriot and a President are among the famous folk made their entrance on May 29th:

Patrick Henry, American patriot, statesman, and orator
G. K. Chesterton, English novelist
Bob Hope, British-born comedian and actor
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
Danny Elfman, American musician
Annette Bening, American actress
Adrian Paul, English actor. There can be only one...
Melanie Brown, English musician and actress. Scary and spicy.

And me, Karen B; crafty chica, bon vivant and woman about town.

Friends

Friends - true friends - weave a
Tight web that keeps you afloat
Though you feel done in.

More precious than gold,
This bond's strength depends solely
On how you tend it.

~~~

What else do friends do? They let you lick the spoon.

Promise of Spring

...broken by a heavy, wet snow. But the tiger lily bulbs seem determined to push on through. You've got to admire their tenacity.