My Baby's First Afghan

When I first got into crocheting, I was on this huge baby blanket kick. Invite after invite for baby showers were coming in, and making afghans seemed like the classic, heirloom type of gift.

Through the process I discovered that I dislike making afghans because of the huge scope of the project and the monotony. Also, it seemed like everyone's aunt, grandmother, or sister-in-law had the same thought as me because my time-consuming labor of love was just one in a stack of many handmade blankets. It just wasn't worth the effort. Therefore I turned to making baby booties, little beanies, and adorable amgurumi plushies.

However, because of my many baby gifts over the years, I think most of my friends thought, "Oh, no need to make A anything because she already knows how to knit and crochet." And it's true; I did make a bunch of wearable accessories for Dexter but really it was just the bare necessities (excluding the six-piece Link costume).

Even the bare necessities should have a little twist. :)

6 months after Dexter was born, I suddenly realized... he doesn't have a single crochet afghan! We did receive two heirloom quilts and a baby lovey blanket, but not something warm and hearty you can just throw in the car or bring on a long stroller walk in the winter. Gah, am I willing to take on another dreadfully long afghan pattern for my own son? You betcha. :)

As shocking as it may be, I did not choose to make a geeky baby blanket (at least not yet). I really did want to make something classic and timeless, not too old-fashioned or kiddish like the rainbow and shamrock green afghan K's grandmother made him. So I settled on the simple but pleasing Streamwave Throw from Caron Yarns and got color inspiration from other people's projects. I think it turned out pretty well and the size is big enough to be used during the toddler years.

Baby bear cocooned in a sea of blue Red Heart yarn

K is a big fan of the color selection :)

The pattern is attention-grabbing enough with all the stitch and color changes, while repetitive enough to be a good TV watching project. I think I may break my usual habit of only using a pattern once and create another variation of this blanket for an upcoming (you guessed it) baby shower. :)