baby knits

This weekend is the shower for my sister in law. And I spent the last few weeks furiously knitting away to get some projects done. In the end I think I've managed to cobble together a cute little layette.

I just hope the momma to be agrees.

We have a little sweater, and given that the baby is supposed to arrive in mid-March it is little. I figured the newborn size would get some use and I wouldn't guess wrong at to how fast and how much baby might grow over the summer. A matching hat to keep her head warm.
And I have to admit I'm in love with the little knit MaryJanes. A really easy project with some serious awwww factor. I think the pair took me less than 4 hours to churn out.

Then given that I still had some yarn left I made a little toy -- just the right size for a small pint to hold and cuddle.

All of which took a little less than 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft.

However, the gift I love the most isn't the one which I knit. My grandmother started making feather and fan stitch baby blankets years ago as her nieces and nephews began having children. And she continues making them now for a second generation of babies.

In some cases they are done in white for a Christening blanket, in others varigated yarn. Occassionally they go to people outside of our family -- I've asked for them for my nieces and for my best friend's children.

I also make my grandmother slightly insane with the colors I ask her to do. There was sage green for my best friend's daughter (and now a slate blue for her son). For my own son I requested a bright red. Gram thought I lost my mind. Red for a baby blanket.

(In my defense for everyone thinking "why would you choose red?" The quilt I made for him is primary colors and the fabric I used to re-cover the rocking chair (which has rocked 4 generations of babies to sleep) was a navy blue and red plaid. Trust me in his nursery it works.)

For my sister-in-law it was done in the same varrigated yarn as the rest of the layette. I hope it serves my niece well through childhood, and when she outgrows it I hope it gets put away for her own children to use and love.