Sunday, November 15, 2015

Rounded Ripple Baby Blanket

This past week I was inspired to try crocheting a rounded ripple baby blanket.  The pattern name is actually called Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket, but the most beautiful I've seen aren't rainbow-hued at all.  For my first one I opted to go bold and bright.  I didn't have to think too hard about color that way.  As long as the colors complimented each other in some way, I figured it would work.


I like how crisp the colors I'm using look together, but I confess...  I'm a little unsure over whether it's too much - maybe a little too bold for a baby blanket?  I'm thinking as I'm working on this that while I love colorful things, my eye is also very drawn to neutrals and more subtle color shifts.  Now that I know how easy this pattern is to do, I'm looking forward to trying to make a gradient one soon.

I do love the pastel rainbow ones for a newborn, and I've "favorited" so many various ones on Ravelry I could spend the rest of my days making these and never run out of new ideas for color and color-placement.   It is a rather addicting pattern.  Well written and very easy to do. 

Another project I finished this past week was this hat:


This is another well-written crochet pattern and very easy to do.  And interestingly...I found out (when I turned it inside out to weave in the yarn ends) the hat looks great on that side too.  I don't know if the pictures show it well, but on the outside the pattern makes rows of bobbles, but on the inside, it appears there are subtle ridges.  As long as the yarn ends are woven in carefully, this hat is totally reversible.  While it's the same color inside and out, it's still kind of cool to have two patterns that could work as the outside.  Below is a picture of the hat turned inside out, showing the ridges:


And I can't resist posting one last picture this year of my fuschia plant.  We've had such a wonderfully mild autumn so far I still have some blooms left.   I haven't even really protected this plant from the frosts we've had (maybe I pulled it close to the house a few times, but that was all), and it's just kept on blooming.  I don't know when cold weather will overtake it, but for now I'm still enjoying my pretty purple and red "dancing ladies".


Speaking of how nice the weather has been...   today it's in the mid-60's (in central Indiana) and I decided to trim up my potted mums to see if I can't coax some more blooms out of them in time for Thanksgiving. 

To see what other Year of Projects participants are working on this week, check out our thread on Ravelry.


10 comments:

  1. Your hat is lovely and the blanket is just gorgeous, perfect for a baby and not too bright.

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  2. Your hat is lovely but that blanket is gorgeous. I love the crisp bright colours and think it's perfect for a baby, babies see so much more in solid mono colours I have always thought they are so much better.

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  3. I think the blanket is gorgeous. Can you ever go too bright for babies? I thought bright colours are visually stimulating for the little ones!

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    1. I think that is true, which is why I started making it bold in the first place. I'm probably just having slight anxiety about it blinding everyone when the mother-to-be opens it.

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  4. I think I've heard babies prefer bright colors. I was also thinking how nice that blanket would sit on the back of a sofa. The hat is so pretty and the fact that it is reversible is a real plus!

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    1. Thanks Sandra (Sam). I've seen these made large enough to fit on the back of the couch - or as a bed cover, even. I think I'd grow well and truly tired of crocheting around the thing if it got that big, but some bed covers I've seen made with this pattern are stunning.

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  5. P.S. Those are the most beautiful flowers ever! You must have a green thumb for sure!

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    1. lol. No... I don't have a green thumb. At all. In fact, this summer I managed to kill 5 different potted cacti. I think I get the gold star for killing off the one species of plant that is known for its neglect-tolerance. This is the first year I've ever had fuschias. I don't think I'll ever not have them now, they are so much fun. I've found them surprisingly hardy. Or maybe I just got lucky? We had a very mild summer.

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