It's D-O-N-E!!!

The baby car-seat blanket, I mean.  After several "frogs" -- including frogging to the entire end of the project and starting over once, this is finished.

As you can see, the blanket is done in a non-gender-specific color that I equate to a "Dreamsicle" and it's in the pima cotton that I just love. 


I'm actually violating my "no computer on Sundays" habit to get this out - I was that excited! I washed it in Woolite and then blocked it on Friday, and let it sit till this morning.

It's lighter than I thought it would be - but then I've never knitted a baby afghan in cotton before, so I wasn't sure what it would look like. Nonetheless, I'm pleased with it. It's just the right size for a car seat and it's just the right weight for a "too-cold" seat in a restaurant, at a friend's house - whatever the situation warrants; and while it won't keep the little one toasty in winter, at least it'll do for the other 3 seasons. And it'll make a nice additional layer in the winter.

The lace was a very simple pattern, and I'm really jazzed at how nicely this worked up. I was able to join the second ball at the beginning of a purl row, which worked out nicely. I have most of that second ball left, so I may take a fly at a bonnet or some booties or mitts. I don't want to do anything more than that, because I don't want to buy another hank of this color and have leftovers! Maybe I'll just do a few baby-sized wash cloths. This is much softer than the Sugar 'N Cream that I use for dishcloths and my own face. I can imagine this on a baby's bottom would feel really nice.

Stitch definition pops!

As you can see, the stitch definition of this yarn is really extraordinary. And I used Addi Turbo circular needles (not lace needles, just a plain size 6).

This is my gift to knitters everywhere who are intimidated by "lace knitting." This isn't a fine mohair shawl. It's not one of those gorgeous old Russian patterns.

But this is lace. So if you haven't tried it, please add it to your skill set. It's simple yarnovers, SSK, and K2tog.

I have to say that the weirdest thing is the decrease when you finish the border row and start the chevron panels and then the subsequent increase at the end. I think this was the designer's way of being able to fit the whole bottom and top bands into the design. A little clunky, in my opinion, but it does give you the chance to practice your increases and decreases.

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima, and you can find all kinds of information at http://www.cascadeyarns.com/ along with all the yummy colors. It's a 100 gram (3.5 oz) hank, about 220 yards, and this is color number 3749.


Again, give this type of pattern a try. "Lace" isn't a scary word after all. I can remember telling my Knitsters that I "wouldn't have the guts to try lace." Well. I was wrong. Here's the proof.

Expand your horizons. All you need to do if you really don't like it is rip it out!