A blanket for a friend

On the subject of blankets, I wanted to share another project with you, now that I can!  My dear sweet friend is getting ready to have her baby next month! YAY! It's been so much fun to share her pregnancy adventure with her. We've been taking biweekly photos of her growing baby belly with a fruit to indicate what size the baby is that week. It's hard to believe that she's going to be a mommy in just a few weeks - the time has flown by so quickly.

I wanted to make something extra special for her and the baby for a few reasons 1) she's one of my best friends and I think handmade gifts are like a labor of love (no pun intended), 2) I thought this would be different from the other blankets she'd definitely be getting, and 3) I wanted a new project to work on (duh!).

It actually all started on Thanksgiving, after dinner, when we were all sitting around. I had bought the yarn, but didn't know what to make. My mom was working on a blanket she was crocheting for our Church's blanket drive and so she started me on this checkered afgan type blanket.  I worked on it on and off for about 3 months, without telling my friend at all (which was hard since I was really excited about it). That also meant that photos I posted on Instagram had to be generic (and black and white) to not give it away.

But after 3 months, I finished. I didn't blow the secret, and I think she was happy with it. I used a baby-grade yarn that had blue, green, white, and gray, and then to add some contrast, I added a few rows of gray to the border, just to change things up a bit. The best part is the baby yarn is super soft.  I hope her baby likes to cuddle up with it and if not, well, it makes a pretty decorative crib-hanging blanket too!

XO