New kid on the block.
Here's a little secret I've been keeping from you all...I'm going to be an auntie! Again! If you've been reading for a while you're well aware of the fact that I have a lovely about-to-be-5-year-old niece, Isabel. Well, she is about to become a sister! And is very excited and proud of that fact, too. If you ask me, she's the perfect age to be a big sister; she's ready to give up her throne as the baby in the family, and hopefully will be less likely to be jealous.I don't think I gave up my baby throne so easily when my sister came along. My mother likes to remind me that I was still very much attached to my bottle at the old age of three. I distinctly remember her showing me my bottle, telling me that I was going to have to stop drinking from it because there would be a new baby soon, and placing it on a very high shelf in the kitchen. I remember watching her put it there, and scheming in my little mind about how I was going to climb up there to get it back. Thankfully, that little feat was beyond me, since I probably would have pulled down half the glassware in my tumble from those great heights.
Anyway, my baby sister's own new baby is coming in July, and we know she's going to be a girl. Hurray for girls! I've decided that I want to knit her a blankie, inspired in part by all of Alison's blankie knitting and the way in which her boys love theirs to pieces.
I don't have Sarah Dallas's book, which is what she's using for her stitch patterns, but I do have a lovely Leisure Arts Best Baby Blankets (or some such title), and have narrowed down my choices to the following (apologies for the dim lighting):
I like this one for the openwork hearts.
These I like for thier laciness (not laziness...that would be me.)
I like the following two for their laciness, too, but also because of their weightiness. There's something about a heavier blanket that's comforting, don't you think?
What do you guys think? Any opinions? Preferences?
I also need to decide on the yarn, and I'm pretty sure I want to go with acrylic or cotton for washability. Lolly just had a discussion of the fact that not all acrylics are created equal, Caron Simply Soft being one of the nicer ones, and Laura recently decided that Red Heart Soft Yarn was the Two Buck Chuck of acrylic yarns. I happen to like Caron Simply Soft a lot, and it comes in great colors, but I'm not sure how it'll wear over time. Does anyone have any other recommendations? I might even spring for Knitpicks Shine if people think it would make a good baby blanket.
In other niece news, Monica's still not seamed, and the big birthday is coming up! I also have to go to a conference on pop culture this week in Boston, where I'll be presenting a paper on...blogging! Sadly, I wish it were on knitbloggers but it's not; I'm talking about the way culture is linked to gender performance online by Chicano/a bloggers. It's been fun to write, and has also made me acutely aware of how I perform certain aspects of my own identity on my blog.
Fun times, huh?
6 Comments:
Ooooo! A new bee-bee!! And a girly bee-bee, too! I like the 2 pink afghans in your selection. I just love those hearts on the first one, but the last one seems somehow "classy". Does that sound ok for a bee-bee blankie? Congrats Auntie Olga!
I'd vote for the last one--in fact, I'd make it for me! and I'll just give a shoutout for the cotton/microfiber Valley Yarns Longmeadow (from WEBS) that I made my nephew's blankie from; it's been washed a bazillion times and the color's still great and it's not one bit pilly. I've got plenty of partial skeins left over--I can send you if you want to test it out!
Congratulations on being an Auntie-To-Be again!! I am no help, because I love all of those blankets (and I think I have that flyer also!!). I'm the older sibling too, and apparently I had no interest in giving up my crib and moving to a "big girl bed" . . . until my brother was born. I looked at his crib and said "Baby Marco slept in that?" My parents said Yes and I said "He slept in a crib all night?" My parents said Yes, and that's when I decided I wanted to sleep in a big-girl bed. :)
Congratulations, Auntie! My vote is for one of the last two--I like the lace but, as you said, I also like that there is some heft to them as well.
I'm still trying to finish up a blanket that I made for my nephew, and I actually finally got it blocked this past weekend. I'm just trying to find some time now to sew some flannel backing to it. I made it with Rowan Handknit Cotton that I scored on a destash site, but I wouldn't recommend using it. It's not cozy and soft at all. And the yarn is more pricey. And it made for a really heavy blankie. The Caron Soft sounds fine, or Ashley's
WEBS recommendation sounds good to me-- :)
And have fun in Boston, you blogger-academic superhero!
Congrats on your new Auntie-ship! :) How exciting. I like the last two blankies the best, but the one with the hearts is cute and girly, too. Ah, decisions, decisions! ;)
I like the last one best, lace & texture to keep it interesting. Congratulations
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