Amazing what you'll find

Well, I'm back to blogging after a month and a half of painting, cleaning, packing, moving, unpacking, settling in, and waiting for the cable guy to come hook up our home Internet access. I've been doing a little knitting during the downtime, but I only got my sewing machine up and running a few days ago. So I'm feeling human again - and I know I'm really going to love our new house, and especially my new sewing room.

With most of our stuff in storage for the past six months, it was actually kind of fun to unpack and rediscover it all. I found a number of things I'd made for donations but had packed away during our temporary stay at the apartment. I had completely forgotten about them. The knitted hats for the local youth center will wait till this fall, but I'm anxious to get this baby blanket and a few others to the hospital in hopes they can be put to use.

This looks rather garish in the photo, but it's actually a pretty cheerful blanket that I think would appeal to a little kid. The yarn's from the Red Heart Kids line and I think it's called "Crayon." And the crochet pattern isn't really much of a pattern at all. Start with a base chain in any multiple of three, and then: sc, hdc, dc - those three stitches, over and over. Turn and repeat: sc, hdc, dc. In this and in each subsequent row, you'll be making an sc in a dc; an hdc in an hdc; and a dc in an sc. A lovely textured pattern will emerge before your eyes.

This blanket is about 36 inches square, and I can't remember how long my base chain was, but it's pretty easy to eyeball.

This is the blanket pattern (or, non-pattern!) that I fall back on every time I feel like crocheting and don't have anything particular in mind to do. It always turns out great, whether it's in a pale baby-weight acrylic or a double strand of wool. Sometimes for variety, I change the stitch sequence to sc, dc and trc -- which creates a more dramatic texture - but the basic idea is just the same. Occasionally I also make a few rounds of sc around the whole thing to finish it off, and a row of shell stitch looks nice, as well.

Dan and I are leaving for a five-day road trip tomorrow after work - so as I'm packing later tonight (oh, who am I kidding, it'll be tomorrow morning!) I think I'll toss some yarn and a crochet hook in my basket so I can get started on another one. Now that my yarn's emerged from storage, too, my stash is a really fun place to shop!