Lara is very generous with her knitting. Look at all these blankets she’s knit as gifts!

The first 2 were made with Koigu’s Kersti yarn using Cottage Creation’s Rambling Rows pattern. The clever thing about this pattern is that each piece is knit from the last, so there’s no sewing when you’re finished.

The blanket in the last photo is from Mason Dixon Knitting. The mitered squares are knit separately and sewn together. It’s a bit more work, but the results are fantastic.

Lara’s already sent us pictures of another finished project that we’ll show you soon. She was in yesterday and is really enjoying her knitting. We’re so glad and appreciate her sharing it with us!

When both of my sisters-in-law announced they were pregnant within months of each other, my Mom and I knew there’d be lots of knitting to do! Mom brought each of them to the store to pick colors for our Wave Blanket.

After finishing both blankets, Mom realized she liked the blanket so much that she wanted to do it again. So here’s number 3 -

I love the bright rainbow colors!

Mom says it’s the combination of the easy-to-memorize feather and fan pattern and the softness of Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton yarn that makes this blanket so much fun to knit. We stock all of the colors, so you can make dozens of color combinations.

Here’s the pattern if you’d like to knit one yourself!

WAVE BLANKET (download pdf file)

SIZE
approximately 33” by 39”

MATERIALS
6 hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca’s Organic Cotton or Dyed Cotton
40 inch US 9 circular needle

GAUGE
16 sts = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, but gauge is not critical for this project

ABBREVIATIONS
K - knit
P - purl
K2tog - knit the next 2 stitches together as one stitch.

STITCH PATTERN
Row 1 (right side) – knit
Row 2 – purl
Row 3 – *(K2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times; repeat from * to end.
Row 4 – knit.
Repeat Rows 1 to 4.

BLANKET PATTERN
CO 144 stitches. Repeat pattern. Change to new color after finishing Row 4 of pattern.

Bind off loosely and weave in ends.

Enjoy!

It seems like every day a customer comes into the store looking for a quick baby knit. We usually recommend a sweater, but why not a hat? They’re great for protecting little heads from the sun and for keeping warm in the air conditioning.

Kathy came up with three adorable hat patterns using a wonderful baby yarn, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Each hat has a different brim and crown–you could make just one, or present the new parents with a set. Click here to download the pattern.

These hats are a great addition to your baby pattern repertoire, especially if you’re looking for a last-minute gift!

Emily sent us pictures of her latest creation: a striped kids sweater knit with Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton yarn. She knit it for her friend Tara’s soon-to-arrive niece.

I love that she chose to put her own twist on a simple pattern by using uneven stripes.

We don’t have the pattern Emily used, but you could make your own by using Lillie’s Little Sweater from Cottage Creations or the Baby Hoodie from Blue Sky Alpacas. Knitting Pure and Simple also has some great top-down, one-piece sweaters for children.

Thanks for sharing your sweater, Emily!

It seems like everyone is knitting for babies! Who else would you turn to for adorable baby patterns but Debbie Bliss? We all know Debbie has timeless sweater patterns, but have you seen this pinafore dress from Essential Baby?

A dress is a great alternative to the usual sweater or hat and it’s just as quick and easy. This would be a great cover-up at the shore this summer, but it also looks adorable over a tiny collared shirt. Essential Baby also has a pattern for an adorable pair of bloomers that you could knit to match.

It knits up in three to four balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, which comes in a large range of traditional and not-so-traditional baby colors. It’s also machine washable, which any parent can appreciate.

For the most recent addition to her family, Susan decided to knit a blanket. But unlike most of us who look for an existing pattern, Susan created her own. The result is truly amazing!

Susan found photographs of cars and trucks and created patterns using graph paper. She designed the trees and the house. The idea for the streets evolved while she was figuring out how to assemble the blocks she’d knit. The finished blanket is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 by 5 feet.

Grand-niece Matilda is now enjoying her new blanket. One day she realize just how wonderful a gift she’s received!

Thanks for sharing this with us, Susan!

Viv is one of the best outfitted babies I know. Her mother Marnie was knitting up a storm before she arrived and now Viv is never without hand knits!

Here’s Viv on her Big Bad Baby Blanket from the book Stitch N Bitch knit with Koigu’s Kersti Yarn.

Here she is in her orange Baby Magic Hat made from Be Sweet’s Magic Ball yarn.

Viv also has one in purple. (Look at that face!)

I can’t wait to see what she’s sporting next! Thanks for the great photos, Marnie!

Katie sent us this photograph of her first finished project since her daughter Aoife was born - a Baby Beanie. Look how adorable Aoife looks in her hat!

The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca’s Sport Weight and the pattern is their Baby Beanie and Mitts. Katie wrote that she originally bought the Sport Weight yarn to knit a blanket. Now she’s going to use it for hats and mittens for Aoife’s friends!

Thanks for sharing your project with us, Katie!

For her Baby Surprise Jacket, Jana used 2 colors of Koigu’s KPPPM yarn, one solid and one multi. Elizabeth Zimmerman’s classic design is knit flat, so just changing colors like you always would yields this cool effect.

With the leftover yarn, Jana also knit a matching hat and booties. Just adorable!

As an added bonus for those of you who have yet to knit a Baby Surprise Jacket, Jana sent us a picture of her jacket when the knitting was completed and the seams hadn’t yet been sewn. Because of the increases and decreases you make, your otherwise flat piece of knitting looks nothing like a jacket.

A few folds and 2 seams later, you have something wearable. And that’s the surprise!

Thanks for sharing your project with us, Jana!

When I heard that my friend Lisa was pregnant, I was thrilled to have a baby to knit for. Yes, I admit it; the knitting was one of my first thoughts! Lisa has very clean, modern tastes, so I knew there’d be no eyelets, no lace, and no ruffles. It had to be something simple, usable - and most importantly - washable (Lisa is the cleanest person I’ve ever met).

After perusing a few options, I settled on the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch ‘N Bitch. It’s 4 squares of stockinette and reverse stockinette surrounded by a seed stitch border was a perfect design for Lisa. For the yarn, I decided to use cotton, in case the baby has a wool sensitivity. Blue Sky Alpaca’s Organic Cotton yarn is organically grown and undyed, so there’s nothing to irritate the baby’s skin. And, it can be machine washed, so Lisa can keep it clean.

I missed Lisa’s shower, but saw her afterwards to give her the blanket. She loved it, which always makes you feel good. Now we just have to wait for the baby to arrive!