January 6th--
I’m making this blanket for the baby one of my sisters is expecting. She and her husband don’t want to know whether it’s a boy or a girl until the big day, so I wanted to make something fairly gender-neutral. I think this blanket will fit the bill.

S/he isn’t due until May, so I have plenty of time-- but I was just too excited to get started on this afghan to put it off any longer!

I’m planning to use worsted acrylic yarns in a rainbow of bright colors. I’ve only made one square so far, but I’m impressed with this pattern. It’s very easy, but packs a lot of punch with the texture of the puffy stitches. Plenty of scope for color play, too!

I’ve made one slight change to the pattern. I don’t want big holes in the fabric, so when it tells you to chain 3 (rounds 3 and 6), I chain 2 instead. This seems to work for me, so far. There are still gaps, but they’re less noticeable.

Now that it’s been given, I can finally post photos of the completed afghan. :o)

April 2011: Blogged! :o)

To those who have asked what yarn I used, it was a mix of brands of acrylic worsted weight. (I wanted something affordable and durable. Easy care was a must.)

Some of it was Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn (the darker orange and the aqua). Some was Loops & Threads Impeccable (the bluer of the two lavender/violets and the pale spring green). I used Caron One Pound (the sunny yellow) for the last rounds, joining, and the border. The rest of the colors were a variety of brands-- some Red Heart and some “vintage”/hand-me-down or purchased without a label.