baby blanket

It's pretty cool how blocking can transform a knitted object from a shapeless blob...

...to a lovely thing!

Such was the case with this baby blanket (pattern here from Brooklyn Tweed.)

Several elements factor into this transformation. I used DK yarn with size 8 needles, so washing the thing necessitated that it would fill out. The lace border was crumpled and indistinct until I had it wet and pinned out across a couple of beach towels on the floor. 

And finally, the yarn is super wash wool, which always grows when wet. I don't trust super wash for this reason and very rarely knit with it, but this particular yarn I bought when Daniel was a baby, and I needed to use it up. Besides, knitting something for someone else's baby with the instructions "hand wash only" is kind of a cruel joke, isn't it?

I love this border, especially with the i-cord bind off.

Pattern: Tweed Baby Blanket by Jared Flood

Yarn: Rowan pure wool DK in light blue (5 skeins) and white (2 skeins, with about 12" leftover!)

Sticks: size 8 for the middle and border, size 9 for the bind off

Made for: baby due in July for a very special couple...who probably don't read this blog, but in case they do, I don't think it's really so bad to ruin the surprise

Mods: yarn substitution for stash-reduction purposes, plus there wasn't enough of the contrasting color for the bind-off, so I used the main color instead (which I have plenty more of)

I knit this thing in what for me is probably record time, just over a week from start to finish. Being home with sick kids for the better part of three weeks gave me more knitting time (and less time for anything else) than usual. As usual with Jared Flood's designs, I enjoyed every minute of this one and would happily cast on for another right away. But other projects are calling.