Striping

My dear college piano buddy R and her husband D are expecting their second child this September and we are just ecstatic. They are wonderful parents and any child in their family is a lucky child indeed.

R is an avid crocheter who lovingly stitches together baby blankets for moms-to-be in her home and church communities, so I of course wanted to knit something for her new bundle of joy. As with the last pregnancy, R and D are waiting until the baby arrives before they find out the gender, which means my blanket color choices are quite limited. Unless, of course, I wait until the baby comes to make the blanket, but what fun is that?

Since they were inundated by yellow items for their first son, I wanted to do something a little different. Stripes are usually pretty unisex depending on how they are done, so I bought a few skeins of Red HeartEco-Ways in Peacock (3518), Aquarium (3520), and Lichen (1615—I don’t think this color looks like lichen, and further, I don’t know why companies keep thinking that names like “lichen” sound appealing). The colors are boyish but are colors adult women like to wear. But looking back, I kind of wish I had added Misty Violet (3533) to the mix as it’s turning out to be a little more rough and tumble looking than I had intended. Oh well. I am el stinko with color coordination, so it is a miracle I was able to get this far to begin with.

So, I tried to carry the yarn up the side to avoid weaving but it wasn’t working out very well for my tastes. I didn’t like how the sides were not flexible, so I went searching for other options. Maybe I’m just slow in the game here, but I was overjoyed to find THIS beautifully photographed tutorial on how to weave in ends while knitting. Those as in the dark as I have been, enjoy!