Baby afghan #1

AD Afghan

For A, who is expecting her second boy in May. This is one of the quicker baby afghans on record (for me, at least), because I know full well that after this one is done, I have 4 more to finish by the end of August. And the next 2 are due in May and early June. So no pressure! But I think I finished this in 23 days, and that's not a bad pace.

Technical details: I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn, in Pale Blue and His Jeans Ombre. (I was all set to swear at Bernat for daring to make variegated yarns that don't match their solids, when another girl at my knitting group told me that there is a matching blue, which she is using with the same ombre for her baby afghan. It just wasn't at the store where I bought the yarn. [Thanks for the info, J.] So then I was all set to curse Michael's for not stocking it. Except that when I went to their website to find a page to link here, I discovered Glow-in-the-Dark embroidery floss. I don't embroider any more, but the concept is so cool that all is forgiven.) Anyway, it's an acrylic sport DK weight yarn, and I used a size G, 4.25 mm hook.

For the record, blogger software is a lot less clever than I think it should be. Apparently you can't post live links from a Mac unless you're using FireFox, or you've been forced to learn some html coding. (Stupid blogging software.)

So, the pattern. The pattern is based on something I found in Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet, which is a fabulous source for beautiful stitch patterns. She's got an Encyclopedia for Knitting and one for Embroidery too, and if you're at a level where you just need the basic idea, I can't recommend them enough. There are some full patterns, but to me the real resource is the pattern gallery. Page after page of stitch patterns just waiting to be given life and form. Anyway, I used 16 repeats of the Closed Ripple stitch. Finished, the afghan measures about 41" by 45" or so. I think I would have to block it to make it perfectly rectangular, and to be honest, I can't be bothered. It's a baby afghan, and it's meant to be used, and I really don't think it matters to the baby if it's not precisely right-angled.

Congratulations, A & M, and welcome, Baby D!

And bring on baby afghan #2 (already in progress)!