Making excellent progress on baby blanket knitting

After three false starts, I've finally settled in with a Log Cabin pattern from the first Mason Dixon Knitting book. I am going to get to projects in the new book but not until I've finished knitting my last three baby blankets.

For some reason, I struggled with the color blends for the Moderne Baby Blanket that I've made for several babies. By the time I had gathered yarn for three versions I was completely frustrated and had a huge pile of yarns!

I had seen the log cabin design in the book before but I'd always been so happy with the results of my previous Moderne Baby Blanket projects that I never thought about a change. With the Mason Dixon Knitting book laid out on the floor, I played around with my pile of yarn and finally came up with the plan you see here. Three purplish yarns and three greenish yarns. Bright yellow in the middle and as the i-cord border. I'm also going to over-stitch with yellow. You will see that later.

Both blankets are knit using garter stitch. But I am enjoying the more frequent color changes in the log cabin version. Just a bit more to think about but I can still read and knit at the same time.

I wandered over to Flickr and searched under "Log Cabin Quilt Block" and found some inspiration to share with you.

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Comment by Kelley Petkun on December 3, 2008 at 9:43am: Hi Susan,

The Modern Baby Blanket is really fun! There is a pattern for a big person sized blanket but I've never felt the need to try it. For one thing, I knit so loosely that the Moderne Baby Blanket ends up being more of a throw size. And, I don't think I could do all that garter stitch for a "real" blanket.

Hugs,
Kelley

Comment by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on December 2, 2008 at 6:48pm: OK, I'm convinced. I've been wanting to try one of these blankets/throws, etc. I only have four items on my 2009 knitting list, and now there are more. I have a terrible time finding rugs, throws, bedspreads, etc to match my cabin/country decor. Stand back Knit Picks, my yarn order is only a few weeks away, and I'm ready to finally knit something for me (us).

Comment by Alice on December 2, 2008 at 12:56pm: I love your blanket! I was thinking of knitting one with the shine worsted. The colors are so vibrant!

Comment by Kelley Petkun on December 1, 2008 at 1:41pm: Dear sckristen,

No worries! More colors will be arriving for garter stitch addicted!!

I love your color selection! Thanks to all of the college football games, I made more progress on my blanket.

Hugs,
Kelley

Comment by sckristin on December 1, 2008 at 10:41am: Beware! The log cabin knitting is severely addicting! I started with the "gateway" of bath mats from MDK for our lakehouse using three strands of comfy and haven't been able to stop.

Bath mats were no longer enough, so I transitioned to a throw with KP Wool of the Andes using a more random pattern. The colors and the pattern work great with our mission style interior. With a chilly Thanksgiving weekend it was a perfect addition! So now I beg... MORE COLORS in KP Wool of the Andes, please!

Comment by EmilyCaroline on November 21, 2008 at 1:33pm: Kelley,

Those colors are really beautiful together. I don't have many new babies in my life (I'm in college, so I'll give it 5-10 years before all my friends start having babies!) and I usually cross-stitch for babies, but your blanket is so lovely, I may try one the next time there's a new baby around!

Best,
Emily

Comment by Kelley Petkun on November 19, 2008 at 10:58am: Hi Susan,

It wasn't actually that difficult to choose colors given how many I had collected with the first three tries! :) Add the pressure of not wanting to order any more yarn and I was highly motivated!

Kelley

Comment by MicheleLB on November 18, 2008 at 5:25pm: Kelley, I forgot to say that I love your color combo!

I'm finding that I like my adjacent bars to be different (like the green/blue/green) and alternate between light and dark. I have one side where I have three medium shades in a row, and it's a little muddy, but I'm not ripping back around three times to change it! It's not in this picture; it happened after that but it's too dark to get a decent picture tonight.

and yes, if it's for a baby, washability is a plus! Mine is for me, me, me. Another reason not to rip back.

Comment by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on November 18, 2008 at 5:11pm: Beautiful!!! When you wrote purplish, with greens and yellow, I thought oh my. (I'm not a big green or yellow fan.) Once the pic downloaded, I was astonished. The colors look great together. I haven't knit one of these yet, but plan to after all my Christmas knitting is completed. I like the way the colors contrast each other. Great idea. I can see how it would be difficult to choose what colors to use together. Did you get some of your ideas from the quilt patterns?

Comment by Kelley Petkun on November 18, 2008 at 10:36am: Hi Michele,

Yours is gorgeous! What perfect timing! I'm trying to figure out when to stop knitting. The Moderne Baby Blanket actually ends up being a generous throw - probably due to my loose knitting. I want this blanket to be good sized as well. I'm thinking one more football filled weekend should get me to my goal! Pun intended!

I'm actually using Swish since I want the new mothers to be able to machine wash the blanket. But, I am thinking of making a blanket for myself - after the next two baby blankets. I would like to use Andean Silk. Yummy!!

Hugs,
Kelley