Baby blankets

My best friend Kristin, has two children. I knitted a baby blanket for each of them when they were born. This first one is a little ruffled at the edge, but it doesn't really show up when it is used as the main pattern is fairly stretchable. I should also mention that I learned the stitches from a huge library book from 1980... What else is there to do when you desperately need to knit something and your mother (who could have tought you) is in China for two weeks?? Of course, these days I learn stitches on the web. The blanket is unblocked, quite simply because I had never even heard of blocking then...

When the baby was born and it turned out to be a girl (some like it to be a surprise), I made a little pink flower connected to a braided pink band that runs along the edge.

Now this was a fun way to knit, I can tell you! All the squares were knitted separately and then stitched together. OK, so the final stiching and especially the weaving in of the ca 60 yarn ends (oh the horror!) was an endless boring task. But the knitting itself was super easy and fast. And extremely practical too, you never have to carry more than one skein and the square you are currently knitting. Whenever you've knitted so much that you can't immediately see that you've done a row or two, it is time to bind off and start a fresh new one where every row makes a difference. ;) Now that's good for the mind. The blue squares have a center with alternating knit and purl stitches. Unlike the other blanket, this one is fully reversible. I also made a crochet edge to give it a nicer finishing.