I'm a fairly new crocheter, but I have quickly learned to love the rhythm and freedom of the craft. The way shapes and stitches are formed is fascinating, and, as I learn the basics, I begin to see that the possibilities are endless!

For this blanket I turned to the book 200 Crochet Blocks. In it Jan Eaton encourages us to mix and match blocks, explore color, and play with composition. A little overwhelmed by my first foray into designing my own crocheted blanket, I eventually decided to stick with one stitch pattern and to limit my palette to four colors.

I used Koigu Premium Merino because it feels great, looks great, and is machine washable, great! I had a weird urge to veer from my normal attraction to bright, slightly off colors to more muted, traditional "baby" colors. I used 4 of the white, 3 of the dark blue, 2 of the light blue and 1 of the pale green.

It was hard to choose my favorite block out of all 200, so I ended up combining two of them, the "Peach Rose" and the "Kingcup". I was attracted to the three dimensionality of the Kingcup, but wanted the lacey delicacy of the Peach Rose. I did the center wheel from the Peach Rose, the two layers of flower petals from the Kingcup, and the three rounds of lace border from the Peach Rose.

Here's how it looks:

I also had to figure out how to organize my colors overall. I decided to make white the dominant color, alternating every block with a white one. Every other block switched between the dark blue and the light blue. Within the blocks, I was just kind of random, trying not to repeat myself too often, and throwing in some pale green every now and then.

I finished the blanket off with two rounds of double crochet in the dark blue so that the whole thing might "pop" a little bit. The finished size of this blanket is 28" by 28".

I'm not actually sure who I'm going to give this to, but as a 35 year old New Yorker, I'm sure someone will call any day with the good news! -Whitney

(If you don't know how to crochet but would like to and you live in New York City, Purl is offering a Beginning Crochet Class that starts soon! It will meet from 7:15 - 9:15pm on April 10, 17 and 24th. In this class you will learn to make the Babette Blanket, a simple but extraordinary pattern that will ensure you learn the basics and have fun! Call us at 212-420-8796 to sign up!)