[ Feather & Fan Blanket on Ravelry ]
Guess who likes loves to knit baby blankets? When I was first pregnant, I never really understood the generosity of people I barely knew hand crafting lovely things for me (and other expectant mothers), but I totally get it now! I think there must be a kind of primal urge that fiber lovers get — satisfied only by honoring a newly arrived little one with something made especially for them. Because if Mom could do it, the best time is before the baby arrives — but she’s way too busy attending to the newest addition to her family to have time or energy to make something.
So the honor is truly mine in this case to knit something to match the purple bedding and decor that was chosen for little H’s room. And after that, I’ll knit another blanket for another little girl due in July. While boys are great fun to knit for, there’s just something about knitting for girls. (Those of you who’ve seen my recent favorites on Ravelry: this serves as notice that these little ones are not my future granddaughters).
This pattern is a classic — not only Feather & Fan, but an Ann Norling (#35) pattern. It’s dependable, basic, and customizable. This is typical for Ann Norling patterns in that she provides a wide range of options for yarn weights and finished sizes. Based on your yarn’s gauge, choose the size you want to knit and she’ll provide you with the amount of stitches to cast on and an estimate of the yardage you’ll need. It’s almost fool proof — and that’s what I needed. The yarn is Cascade Pacific — it’s incredibly soft and also machine washable. And purple!
As a follow up to my last post, here are my results for the VARK questionnaire:
V – 7
A – 9
R – 10
K – 7
I loved knowing what your results were! Some of them, I would have guessed — but some were surprises. The key bit of knowledge is that with new or challenging material, we default to our learning preferences. We simply have to refine those strengths to maximize learning. So when it comes to learning new knitting techniques, do your learning preferences line up with your quiz results? Mine do!
