On the Knitting Needles: Baby Blanket Noro Design

I've started my most difficult Knitting project to date. Three years into my knitting adventure and I'm trying a pattern that involves more than just Knit and Purl. My favorite knitting shop talked me into tackling this project, and while at first I was beyond nervous, I now love this pattern.

One of my favorite people has just adopted a baby boy and I wanted to make a keepsake baby blanket for Baby Michael. His adoring mother was once under my babysitting care and now is a young woman I not only love to pieces, but admire for her strength, courage and faith. Hearing that N & N were adopting a baby boy was probably the best phone call I've had all year, maybe even in my life! This special little boy is so wanted, and his blessed parents will be a true gift to him.

Needless to say the pressure was on to knit something extra special. My only requirement was that I have it completed before the little guy goes off to Kindergarten. In reality, I'm hoping that the hours I'm logging at the ball field and soccer field this spring/summer will mean I'll have a completed blanket to send off before fall. A girl can dream.

The pattern is from Noro Design and it's called the Blythe Blanket. While you can make the blanket in squares, I'm actually just making a 30 by 30 blanket all in one piece. I'm using 134 stitches on a circular size 5 needle. I'm loving the yarn, it's soft but still easy to use, and holds its shape so nicely.

Here's the challenging part: I'm using two different colors of yarn at the same time. That means there is a light blue and a dark blue hanging off the needles at all times. The pattern makes it look like I'm knitting on top of the base color, but you actually use only one color at a time.

Slip stitch has even made it in my vocabulary and I now understand how to slip a stitch. I'm so thankful the knitting experts explained that it's not just a drop stitch, I actually slip(skip knitting/purling) that one stitch. The pattern is beautiful and now that I've figured it out it's even a portable project.

Just ask M's softball team parents, as I've now knitted in gloves (brr is was cold this weekend) and gotten quite a few rows completed. Considering that I had to "restart" the project once already due to an error, I'm grateful that I'm almost able to start the second skeins of yarn.

I'm so excited to work on this project and can't wait until Mikey's Mom wraps her sweet boy up into this little blanket. Love it.