Kiran's brother and his wife Elisabeth are expecting their first child at the end of June. This is the first baby born in our family in many, many years so you can imagine how giddy I am about the potential for baby knitting.
The baby shower was last Saturday, and being the last minute sort that I am, I waited until the Monday before to cast on for the blanket that I planned to give as a gift. After several days of non-stop knitting I managed to finish in time. I will admit to wrapping the gift as my girls and I walked along the street, dodging other pedestrians and jaywalking on our way to the shower. But the blanket was blocked, photographed and all ends were woven in so I consider it a success.
I will be publishing Abby's Blanket, and no doubt more baby patterns in the near future. This design is worked from the center outward and will be easy to make larger or smaller. The blanket pattern is in the hands of test knitters. It should be ready in a month or so. I'm working on a second, slightly larger version for Izzy. This one will be a lap blanket in much bolder colors. I should have photos of the second version sometime next week.
The best part of the day though wasn't the knitting. It was the delicious cupcakes that one of the hosts made for the party. After meeting Tina, The Occasional Cook at the shower I checked out her blog. Wow. Beautiful photos, fabulous recipes. I only follow a few food blogs but this is one I will keep a very close eye on. I made her scones on Sunday, then liked them so welll that I used the scone recipe again on Tuesday to top a cobbler.
The blanket is beautiful and I look forward to the pattern.
Posted by: Carole | May 19, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Thanks Carole!!!
Kirsten
Posted by: Kirsten | May 19, 2011 at 11:24 AM
Wow! That is beautiful and I am so impressed by the amount of knitting you can accomplish in a few days. I need to start applying myself. And I'll keep my eyes open for the pattern too.
Posted by: viki | May 19, 2011 at 11:30 AM
I love the colors you chose, both in the nod to pink without being cotton-candy-ish, and in the relationship of blanket to border. Plus, the pattern itself is just lovely (of course).
Posted by: RebKnitz | May 19, 2011 at 11:42 AM
What a lovely, lacy blanket! I love the warm tones.
Posted by: Laura | May 19, 2011 at 11:43 AM
This is BEAUTIFUL. I love it! If only my friends would have some babies!
Posted by: Lauren | May 19, 2011 at 12:23 PM
I'm expecting in December, so I am certainly excited about more baby patterns! The blanket is beautiful, and I love the colors you put together.
Posted by: Serena | May 19, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Nice blanket design! Will be looking forward to when it is published.
Posted by: nan | May 19, 2011 at 01:51 PM
I am so excited about this. On the rare occasions when I commit to knitting a baby blanket, I am often doing what you did and casting on too close to the shower/birth and sometimes have ended up with blankets that probably should have included 20 more rows. With the center start for this one, I can cast off when needed and just call it a "lovie" or "carseat blanket" if it is small! Can't wait for the pattern.
Posted by: Whitney | May 19, 2011 at 01:57 PM
Such a beautiful blanket! The photos are lovely too, as always!
Posted by: Erin Kate | May 19, 2011 at 02:16 PM
Lovely blanket! I wish there was a baby in our family I could knit for, but not so.
Posted by: Monika | May 19, 2011 at 02:27 PM
I needed this blanket a month ago for a little girl named Abby! Of course, she's so adorable, I might just make her another and what better excuse than your beautiful blanket. I received high praise today through the baby daddy though: The blanket I DID make (Elven Pixie) is the blanket they use for the baby when going to church and for baby pictures. Woot!
Posted by: Kathy | May 19, 2011 at 02:50 PM
Ooooh, babies are fun! Lovely little blanket. Thanks (I think) for pointing me toward The Occasional Cook.
; )
Posted by: Vicki | May 19, 2011 at 03:24 PM
Beautiful baby blanket! It is exciting when a new member will be joining the family. You're an awesome aunt to design a blanket just the baby.
Posted by: Oiyi | May 19, 2011 at 05:00 PM
It's gorgeous!!! And how fun to have a baby. Sadly, I wasn't really knitting when my kids were younger. Fun, fun!!!
Posted by: Kathy | May 19, 2011 at 06:22 PM
I love power knitting stories! Congrats on a job well done.
Posted by: Suzanne | May 19, 2011 at 07:08 PM
What a lovely blanket! I have a niece or nephew arriving in November, so I look forward to all the new baby patterns you publish! I'm actually trying to think of a pattern that you publish that I don't look forward to :)
Posted by: LaLa | May 19, 2011 at 07:10 PM
What a beautiful blanket, and a lucky baby to receive such a lovingly made gift.
Posted by: Jen | May 19, 2011 at 09:06 PM
A really beautiful blanket. Love it.
Posted by: dclulu | May 20, 2011 at 12:43 AM
This blanket looking so comfortable and i like the color of this blanket. Nice post.
Posted by: Logo design | May 20, 2011 at 03:46 AM
Beautiful, I would love to make it.
Posted by: Rocky Moreno | May 20, 2011 at 09:40 AM
Lovely as always and I must agree with previous posters, the warm pinks are just beautiful and perfect!
p.s. The Occasional Cook has now been added to my blog feed. Not sure if I should thank you or not! ;-)
Posted by: Stephanie | May 21, 2011 at 09:20 AM
Such a beautiful blanket! . . . and I love cupcakes. . .
Posted by: Kym | May 23, 2011 at 04:02 PM
This is so special and I too cannot wait to get the pattern. Beautiful work and colors.
Posted by: carolyn | May 24, 2011 at 10:48 AM
What a beautiful baby blanket! A number of my friends are on the verge of having their first kiddo; I plan on knitting a million of these as soon as the pattern is released!
Posted by: Rachel D. | May 24, 2011 at 11:11 AM