enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Knitblanket7

Very early on in my pregnancy…. maybe 7 weeks? I decided I was going to stop into our local yarn store to "just feel and look at the yarn" which sounds odd, until you do it and
then you finally get why people always walk out of pet stores or
shelters with a new puppy.

Yarn

I walked out with four skeins of thick, (machine washable!) gray and white yarn and size 15 circular needles. The brand is Plymouth Encore Mega and is truly some of the softest (but still easy to care for) yarn I've felt. The baby was going to get his or her first blanket. When I walked out the lady said, "your baby will love it!" which I thought was crazy because I hadn't told her it was yarn for my baby's blanket and certainly wasn't showing yet. I took it as a good sign.

Knitblanket5

This blanket came together in 48 hours. Knitting with mega yarn and huge needles is a dream come true.

Knitblanket

I cast on about 70 stitches to start and then knitted two full rows (so back and forth – not sure if that should be called four rows?) of gray before alternating to white. And then of course continuing to alternate back and forth.

Knitblanket6

I ended up buying another four skeins to finish it off (so much for my "not too expensive impulse project") and the finished dimensions are about 40×40 inches.

Knitblanket2

I LOVE it. It's super thick and soft and I just know it will photograph so much better with a baby laying on it. 😉

Knitblanket4

Next up for the tiny one, I am recovering rocking chair cushions and then, once we know gender (mid-January), I'll be starting the baby's first quilt. I am more excited for this baby quilt than any other project I've attempted.

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76 responses to “baby’s first blanket.”

  1. Sy Avatar

    Love!!
    Oh by the way have you seen Susan weinroth’s quilt for Noah’s nursery? It’s really pretty.
    I wanted to make a baby quilt for quilts before christmas but baby came before I could finish. Yikes

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  2. Hannah Coleman Avatar

    15 inch needles are a dream. Although I’m still working on a shawl from about 5 years ago…thinking about tearing it out and starting over with the yarn because it is quite awesome. Love this color scheme and looks so snuggly!!

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  3. Nicole Avatar

    What a dreamy little blankie! I love the colors. And how crazy that the woman knew it was for your baby. Sometimes people just know. 😉

    Like

  4. Sara storm Avatar
    Sara storm

    Lovely colors and it looks sooo cosy! Your baby is going to be very lucky.
    One question though, why do you use circular needles? I’m asking because I assume/hope it has something to do with making the blanket in a larger size? I’ve always wanted to make a lager one, but didn’t know how to do it with ‘normal’ needles.

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  5. Kyla Roma Avatar

    I love knitting with big needles- it’s so fun and quick! Gorgeous results, your baby WILL love it 🙂

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  6. creole wisdom Avatar

    Baby is going to be so stylish with those stripes. I can’t knit to save my life, but I sure wish I could, your project is beautiful. I kinda love that the lady said that to you on your way out 🙂 Great sign!

    Like

  7. Mitchell Kraft Avatar

    I love how simple and graphic the blanket it is. It will make for great baby shots.

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  8. Kathy Avatar

    Your first pregnancy is like no other because you are experiencing all of this for the first time and it’s so exciting. My first James is now 9 and today he read the instructions and put together two garden gadgets for mr, a push mower for small lawns and a blower vac. By the way I received my sea foam kit today via NZ which is the distributor for Australia and it’s wonderful so can’t wait to get started. beautifful blanket and I was wondering what the round needles are for also. Regards Kathy A,Brisbane, Australia

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  9. Erica Avatar

    Gorgeous! I love the colors and it looks so incredibly soft.

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  10. Beck Avatar

    Love the stripes and those colors! I knit a big chunky blanket for my old college roommate’s new baby and am taking it down to her in a couple of weeks. The stripes are wider–red and kind of a dusty blue. It looks very “summer on the Cape” which is nice since we’re in JANUARY on the west coast but whatever. Hopefully she’ll like it.

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  11. JC Avatar
    JC

    Beautiful, Elise!
    Isn’t that such a great feeling–when a project is filled with so much love?
    Congrats again!

    Like

  12. Kelli Avatar
    Kelli

    i love this. there is nothing else I can say.

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  13. Skye Avatar

    Love it!! Knitting with chunky yarn and big needles is the best. It’s what I usually do because I don’t have the patience to finish long knitting projects! I cannot wait to see baby’s first quilt. It’s so sweet to see you nesting for the little one you’ve been wanting. 🙂

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  14. Aby Avatar

    So beautiful! I think I need to try knitting with big needles and chunky yarn. Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
    ~ Aby

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  15. oh shoot Avatar

    They little blanket is so lovely! GREAT JOB!!!

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  16. Mary Sane Avatar

    I’m confused. Does a certain gender need a certain colour? Seems like it’s pretty common in the US to pick specific colours and toys for boys and other colours and toys for girls. (I live in Sweden so I’m not used to people being so specific about these things)

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  17. janet kemper Avatar
    janet kemper

    The blanket is beautiful!! I LOVE stripes. I have a question for you..when you switch colors, do you just weave in the end of the color you switched from? Do you know what I mean? I am knitting a striped hat, right now & that is what I am doing..but I wasn’t sure that is what people do when they switch colors.

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  18. Mary Sane Avatar

    It’s quite practical to use circular needles when knitting something big. If you use “normal” needles you might find it hard to keep the stitches on the needles.

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  19. B Avatar

    Beautiful blanket. Actually made me think I should stop into my local yarn store. But I haven’t knit since I was a kid so that might be a bit ambitious.

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  20. Lindsay Overbey Avatar

    Looks great! I’ve never knit a blanket before. I’m going to add it to my list. I sewed a baby “taggie” quilt for a friend this past year and it is my favorite quilt EVER. Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://dailydoily.typepad.com/peaceloveandcupcakes/2012/07/diy-baby-quilt.html

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  21. Amanda Avatar

    I adore the black and white. So simple and classic. And perfect for a little boy or a little girl 🙂
    A New Years Resolution of mine this year is to comment more on blogs that I typically lurk around. (Yup. I’m a lurker… lame I know) So it’s nice to meet you 🙂

    Like

  22. pidgen Avatar
    pidgen

    It also keeps the weight of the yarn distributed evenly. I tend to use circulars even for small things – because you don’t have a problem with losing a needle that way! lol.

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  23. Elizabeth Avatar

    I am so happy for you!!! How exciting to get to make these things for your new baby. When I was pregnant with my twin girls I was too sick to do anything and I didn’t have the skills yet to make them anything. My passion to create handmade came after they were born. But now I can crochet, spin my own yarn and I just learned to knit in the round. My girls are 4 years old now, but I still have handmade blanket plans in mind for them. 🙂
    I am looking forward to following this journey with you, thanks for letting us peek in. 🙂

    Like

  24. pidgen Avatar
    pidgen

    I was looking at those four skeins wondering how in the world you got a blanket out of them! lol. I never “just” buy yarn, I’m too worried about running out of yarn. Glad that you were able to get four more!
    I do have some chunky yarn someone gave me and I never thought about doing a simple garter stich blanket … now you’ve got me thinking. 🙂

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  25. Lynley Johnson Avatar

    Yay for a sweet new baby in 2013!! Congrats Elise!! We are having our first baby in May as well! On New Years Eve we found out it’s a boy–I immediately headed to the fabric store and I’m starting a cute little grey and yellow quilt for him! Can’t wait to hear what you are having and see all the fun projects you create for baby Cripe:)

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  26. Teresa V Avatar

    Awesome blanket, Elise! 🙂 I love that it’s “non-traditional” and will be perfect for either gender. I took my first knitting class last month and have two projects in the works (and many many more planned in my head!). I was excited that I understood your instructions and knitting lingo this time (yup, I’m a dork sometimes, LOL). Can’t wait to see your next one.
    And a huge congratulations on the baby news! 🙂 I’m awful about commenting, but was very excited for you when I read your announcement. Such an amazing gift.

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  27. Amanda S. Avatar

    Love it!! I’ve done the same thing… with yarn and with fabric!!! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what your first baby quilt looks like either – how exciting!

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  28. elise blaha Avatar

    Yep! The larger size. Circular needles can hold many more stitches at once. 😉

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  29. elise blaha Avatar

    Circular needles are to hold more stitches so I can make the larger size rows.

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  30. elise blaha Avatar

    Absolutely not. I am not super in to traditional gender colors. That said, I like the idea of knowing more about the little one before I choose fabrics and colors to start his or her quilt. 🙂

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  31. elise blaha Avatar

    I leave the color connected and then just pick it up again after I am finished with the other color. You can see on the edge in one of the photos that the yarn sort of wraps along the edge? That is the yarn that I picked up again. Saves me from lots of cutting and then weaving. 🙂

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  32. elise blaha Avatar

    Thank you! I appreciate you reading both as a lurker and commenter. 🙂

    Like

  33. Michelle Bostinelos Avatar

    Oh Love it! I need to learn how to knit! Love the colors! I think I need an adult version of this blanket 🙂

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  34. Giulia Avatar

    oh, it looks do comfy! make me one too, please! your baby will be so happy 🙂

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  35. janet kemper Avatar
    janet kemper

    Thanks..looking at the photo, I really like the look of your edge, too.

    Like

  36. Kelsey Avatar

    So beautiful! I just finished a crochet project with chunky yarn and am seriously addicted to how quickly it works up!
    – Kelsey @ Time Stand Still

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  37. Hannah Avatar

    Oh my goodness, so exciting & I love the way it turned out. Very fresh and fun!
    Question! When casting on and off (using different colors) I often don’t like the way it turns out looking. I always weave the end strands back into the rows of the same color to keep it from unraveling, but it makes it look so lumpy! Any suggestions? Yours looks so smooth.

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  38. elise blaha Avatar

    I do not cut each color when I switch them, I just save them on the skien and then drop the white and pick up the gray when I am ready. If you look at the edges of my blanket, you can kind of see this in action, there are longer unwoven pieces of each color that were just hanging around until I was ready to work with them again. Obviously, this blanket took eight skeins of yarn, so I ended up weaving pieces back in, but not changing every color really helped. 🙂

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  39. megan Avatar
    megan

    Just fyi, you were right, that would be four rows 🙂

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  40. elise blaha Avatar
  41. Lakeisha Avatar
    Lakeisha

    Love this blanket!!! So sweet……..

    Like

  42. Cady Avatar

    I’m sure you’ve thought about this (and maybe already done it) but you’ll want to wash the blanket before baby tries it out. I still get a bit nervous washing my knitting but haven’t had any issues thank goodness. Also, a tip I learned was to keep the yarn labels so I can check back on which pieces can be machine washed v. washed by hand. Pregnancy brain is a real issue and once your little nugget arrives, sleep deprivation will make you even more forgetful.

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  43. Cady Avatar

    Yup! Two rows of garter stitch makes a ridge. So then four rows makes the two ridges.

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  44. rachel swartley Avatar

    I’ll be eager to see your little quilt. I bought fabric to make one, but haven’t even been able to cut it out yet. Did you know that pregnancy can cause carpal tunnel syndrome? Neither did I… until my hands suddenly started hurting nine weeks ago. Our baby boy was born four weeks ago, but the carpal tunnel hasn’t gone away yet. I really hope that doesn’t happen to you. Putting creative projects on hold due to pain is no fun!!

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  45. elise blaha Avatar

    that is so strange. I just recently read something about that and got a comment on instagram too. I did not know that and will be sure to watch for signs. Congrats on your new baby boy!

    Like

  46. elise blaha Avatar

    Good call! I had not thought about that, but I will be sure to wash it prior to the baby coming when I was all his or her things. I have saved the label (thank goodness) so I am prepared! 🙂

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  47. Leigh Avatar
    Leigh

    I had carpal tunnel in my 2nd and 3rd trimesters with my first son. Easy pregnancy but the hand pain totally threw me. So weird. Never had it during my second pregnancy.

    Like

  48. liz Avatar

    No project/photo/picture has ever made me want to knit as much as I do right now looking at your gorgeous striped baby blanket!! You inspired me so Elise. And you tell a good story.
    ps. I can’t believe you finished that in TWO days.

    Like

  49. Shirley K. Avatar

    Where did you learn to knit? I have tried a couple times to learn it, but didn’t seem to quite get it, so I gave up. Seeing completed projects like this make me want to try again though. Perhaps I need to take a class or something? I’ve tried books and those don’t seem to quite do it.

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  50. elise blaha Avatar

    My grandma taught me when I was nine. 🙂 since then I have brushed up by searching YouTube.

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