In this year of first retirements, I’ve crocheted 4 baby blankets for friends. It’s been a very welcome place of joy in a very strange 9 months. I find that I fall in love with each piece over the course of its making. This week, I’m sharing each of the 7 baby blankets I’ve ever made, here and on Instagram. May it be a place of rest and joy for you, too, in this year we call 2020.
#6 THE SURPRISE
- Made: July 2020
- Finished B.B. (before baby): Heck no – I only found out about this little peanut right before her arrival.
- Relative difficulty & PITA: 0/10 – this was my third chevron blanket in less than 12 months. Practice makes perfect, and the “hardest” part of this project was deciding on the stripe pattern.
- Pattern Used: Loosely adapted from THE MODERN, which is based on the Ripple Baby Blanket by Daisy Cottage Designs (also available on Etsy and Ravelry).
- Yarn Used: Lion Brand Feels Like Butta in White, Pink and Dusty Pink
When I say this blankey was a surprise, the surprise was totally on my side. While finishing up a “Zoom happy hour,” that most 2020 of all social gatherings, a friend shared her big news – she was expecting her second child in less than a month!
For lots of reasons (it was only a month! she lives in Hong Kong!) I didn’t worry about trying to make a blanket in time for her baby’s arrival. But when she shared the news of her daughter’s birth, I couldn’t resist the opportunity.
THE SURPRISE was particularly sweet for me, because I missed a lot of friends’ babies during my long hiatus from crocheting, including this friend’s first. When you handcraft something for friends, it can feel a little upsetting to know that there are friends you miss. I was super glad to have a second opportunity with this family.
It was also really fun to think and plan a handmade blanket for a second baby, since we often reserve the biggest gestures and heirloom offerings for first babies. I took a special kind of pleasure in thinking of this blanket being made JUST FOR HER. And lastly, it was so much fun to work in pink! I hadn’t really done anything over the top in a “traditionally” gendered color palette, and I relished the girliness.
This blankey made life easy-peasy. I had 2/3 of the yarn colors I needed in my stash; I knew the pattern very well by this point, having made 3 other chevron projects recently; and I was getting cocky, starting to practice stitching without looking at the work. (It still feels like a kind of parlor trick, but I’m looking forward to the day I can fully watch TV and stitch along.)
Because of all my recent practice with chevrons, I am so proud of the finish on this piece. There are none of the scraggly stitches that marked earlier attempts. It’s the first thing I could in good conscience have put up for sale. And in its own way, even though it was relatively simple, it’s an heirloom, too, made with love for a very specific little soul. And it’s PINK. Did I mention it’s pink?
I had a silky pink jacket when I was a baby-toddler that I apparently would NOT take off, or so said my mom. Who knows what this little girl’s favorite colors or wardrobe will turn out to be? That’s the possibility of babies, isn’t it? We have no idea where they’ll lead us.
I can’t wait to find out.
First Retirements 
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