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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

My Baby's First Afghan

When I first got into crocheting, I was on this huge baby blanket kick. Invite after invite for baby showers were coming in, and making afghans seemed like the classic, heirloom type of gift.

crochet geeky baby blankets

Through the process I discovered that I dislike making afghans because of the huge scope of the project and the monotony. Also, it seemed like everyone's aunt, grandmother, or sister-in-law had the same thought as me because my time-consuming labor of love was just one in a stack of many handmade blankets. It just wasn't worth the effort. Therefore I turned to making baby booties, little beanies, and adorable amgurumi plushies.

However, because of my many baby gifts over the years, I think most of my friends thought, "Oh, no need to make A anything because she already knows how to knit and crochet." And it's true; I did make a bunch of wearable accessories for Dexter but really it was just the bare necessities (excluding the six-piece Link costume).

Futurama brain slug baby hat
Even the bare necessities should have a little twist. :)

6 months after Dexter was born, I suddenly realized... he doesn't have a single crochet afghan! We did receive two heirloom quilts and a baby lovey blanket, but not something warm and hearty you can just throw in the car or bring on a long stroller walk in the winter. Gah, am I willing to take on another dreadfully long afghan pattern for my own son? You betcha. :)

As shocking as it may be, I did not choose to make a geeky baby blanket (at least not yet). I really did want to make something classic and timeless, not too old-fashioned or kiddish like the rainbow and shamrock green afghan K's grandmother made him. So I settled on the simple but pleasing Streamwave Throw from Caron Yarns and got color inspiration from other people's projects. I think it turned out pretty well and the size is big enough to be used during the toddler years.

Streamwave blue baby blanket
Baby bear cocooned in a sea of blue Red Heart yarn

K is a big fan of the color selection :)

The pattern is attention-grabbing enough with all the stitch and color changes, while repetitive enough to be a good TV watching project. I think I may break my usual habit of only using a pattern once and create another variation of this blanket for an upcoming (you guessed it) baby shower. :)

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