The Blanket

The kids and I headed to the post office last week with a special package. I was finally shipping the blanket I made for my niece. With it safely out of my hands, I am able to share a few photos of it (sorry about the poor quality. I had to take them outside the post office on a very bright day).

When I first started thinking of items to make for my newest niece or nephew. I figured I would make a teeny baby sweater. Even in a hot climate they are used since most places are heavily air conditioned. When I was told the baby was a girl, I even bought yarn. Then one day I was looking at Ravelry, and my plans changed. Somehow I stumbled upon a simple baby blanket. Someone had changed the lace border. They added a leaf motif modified from the saroyan shawl pattern. I loved it. See, my sister in law is Hawaiian. I thought this would be perfect for her and the new baby. (Because truly baby gifts are also for the mom, since the wee one does not care). The inspiration blanket was even called maile, which is a flowering plant native to the islands. 

I bought more yarn (yes, I have a bit of a problem). This time I found a bright blue for the ocean and a green for the plant life in the place my sister calls home. The huge garter blanket quire knit up rather quickly. I then crocheted twice around the edge to help transition into the green leaf border. The border seemed endless. I knit each little leaf and kept measuring, because I was sure I had to be close. Finally I single crocheted it onto the blanket. It was still too short. I knit many more inches and sewed the edging together. I am so very pleased with the result. I used Ella Rae Baby Cotton for the blanket. No wool since the babe lives in Arizona. 

I still had yarn remaining, so I decided a cute pair of booties would complete the gift. These Saartje booties knit up quickly taking only a couple of hours. Benton helped me pick out the buttons which bring in a bit of the green. They are petite little flowers for my beautiful little niece, Lillinoe.