Baby Knits from Christmas 2008

I am finally getting around to posting about some of the baby knits I made for last Christmas. I forgot about some of them and the others I couldn't show until they were gifted. I debated whether to do one giant post or to break them down. I chose the latter.

There was a new arrival in my family this past Summer (July), a baby girl named, Juliana. Normally, I stick to one color knitting, but I wanted to branch out this time. I am not a fan of pink, but I think it can look pretty good paired with another color. Pink and green were the colors for Juliana's blanket.
This blanket took me 2 Weeks of monogamous knitting. My fingers paid the price, but I am so thrilled with the finished blanket. I love it. If it wasn't pink, I might have been tempted to keep it for Melody.It was not as hard as I thought it would be. The colors are slipped stitched, so it's not like Fair Aisle knitting where you have to carry the yarn in the back. And there were hardly any ends to weave in because the unused color is carried up the sides. Normally, I prefer a blanket with no wrong side, but I was surprised that I didn't mind. I thought the back looked pretty interesting.And here is little Miss Melody posing on top of the blanket to give you an idea of scale and size. The mother of the baby was really impressed with the blanket when she opened it on Christmas Day.

Pattern: Chocolate Petite Fours by Deborah Robson, from Knit Along with Debbie Macomber - The Shop on Blossom Street
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice; 2.77 skeins = 470.9 yards in Dusty Rose and 1.66 skeins = 282.2 yards of Dusty Green
Size: 31 inches by 31 inches
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Penny's Blanket
This cheerful baby blanket was made for Penny, my friends Jen and Jason's new arrival (born in Oct). I didn't get to see them until after Christmas, so we exchanged Christmas gifts at Melody's birthday party. Yellow is the theme color they chose for her, so I made the blanket in yellow. The color came out much brighter after knitting than when it was in the ball form.
I love the cute checker board pattern that borders the blanket. And it got bonus points from me because it looks great on both sides, no wrong or right sides.
I forgot measure the final size of the blanket, but I know it's huge. If I had to estimate, I would say 40 inches by 36 inches? It took even longer to knit this one. At one point, I thought it would never end.

Pattern: Baby Blocks by Ann Norling, from Knit Along with Debbie Macomber - The Shop on Blossom Street, but this is also available for FREE from HERE.
Needles: US 9 / 5.5 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Baby, 5 skeins of Duckie