Top Secret White Thing - Revealed

Welcome Baby J!

Besides work, one of the things that has kept me so busy for the past few months is this until-recently secret gift for my friend C's new bundle of joy. My mom and I embarked on our second tag team baby blanket effort with a mountain of Rowan Wool Cotton* and miles of stockinette ahead of us. This is the Lace-Edged Cuddle Blanket from my beloved Simple Knits for Cherished Babies.

Mom and I split the work, each knitting 8 ten-inch squares. Although I knew the assembly would be beastly, knitting the squares individually made for a very portable baby blanket project - each square was the perfect size for subway knitting and I could finish one in a week's commuting time.

Next came the steam-blocking and sewing together, which took the better part of a weekend. They are arranged in a checkerboard of knit and purl sides and the seams are top-stitched so the blanket is totally reversible.

The job was not done though - there were still close to 150 inches of lace edging to be knit and sewn to the assembled blanket! The lace knitting was quick work but the seaming was tedious. I used these handy seaming pins for the first time, which were very useful.

I just love the finished product. It is so soft and quite elegant, if I do say so myself. I hope it is well used by Baby J! Her mom has already told me she has visions of draping it over J's bed at college. For the meantime, though, I think they're focusing on 3 hours of consecutive sleep.

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* You might notice the choice of color is in direct response to a certain other psychedelic-colored blanket Mom and I knit last year.