Bertie baby blanket

It has been a while since I have made one of these but a recent sale meant that I needed to re-stock:

I have noticed quite a few people finding my blog by searching for ‘Free Bertie baby blanket pattern’. If by any chance you have come here looking for exactly that then PLEASE go onto Little Doolally’s website and for the quite reasonable sum of £3.90 you will get a full PDF of the pattern including a photo tutorial. I have bought quite a few patterns in my time and I can honestly say that this is one that I would consider to be well worth the purchase price.

Mine is made in Rico baby classic cream, blue, ice blue, turquoise, light green, light grey and light blue (discontinued) on a 4.5mm hook.

The little drawers were a second-hand find and are painted in Annie Sloan chalk paint ‘Lem Lem’ which she sells to support Oxfam. We got the drawers for our daughter to keep her art tools in, but I seem to have commandeered them for use as a photo-prop just now!

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Autumn leaves baby blanket ta-dah!

This has been an interesting project for me to make. It was commissioned by a friend and although it is definitely out of my colour comfort zone I have come to love it.

The request was for ‘woodland colours’ and we put this combination of golds, greens and browns together in gorgeous Rowan wools:

Made in Rowan supersoft merino in mellow, bark and grass; and Rowan wool cotton dk in leaf, bronze, elf and still.

It took one ball each of the six ‘leaf’ colours, and 4 balls of the ‘mellow’ background. Made to the ‘Bertie baby blanket’ pattern, by Little Doolally, on a 5mm hook.

This is such lovely yarn that I have to say that every stitch was a pleasure. Let’s hope the new mum approves!

In the window

I had a moment of pride the other day when we visited the lovely local shop which sells my blankets.

It has just the most delightful selection of home-ware, gifts and clothing, and is a real asset to the area (see their website here). So you can imagine my feelings when I spotted this:

My very own Bertie baby blanket taking pride of place in the window!

Doing what I do best

I have had a nice time lately, making more of what I do best. Another Bertie baby blanket has been produced, and I will be dropping it off at the shop later this week.

I know there is a time for experimentation, a time for learning something new or for pushing the boundaries yarn- and colour-wise, but this felt good.

Made in Rico baby classic dk using lilac, light green, light blue, light grey, blue, ice blue and cream, on a 5mm hook. The original pattern is by Little Doolally on Ravelry.

Bertie baby blanket – tah dah!

I am so pleased with this….

It is a good example of why sometimes it is better to buy a pattern and have a guaranteed outcome, than spend ages messing around trying stitches to achieve the effect that you want without necessarily getting there. I had already spent most of a Saturday afternoon trying out wave-like stitches when I realised that the exact pattern that I wanted was available on Ravelry. For £3.00 my problem was solved and within minutes I was well on the way to making an actual blanket rather than just another swatch.

There are two big thank-you’s for this one:
Little Doolally on Ravelry for the Bertie baby blanket pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bertie-baby-cot-pram-blanket
Little Tin bird for the original colour suggestions from her baby ripple blanket number three: http://www.littletinbird.co.uk/2010/05/08/baby-ripple-number-three/

The yarn was Rico baby classic dk in cream (3 balls) plus one ball each of light blue, light green, light grey, turquoise, ice blue and blue. I cast on 90 +2 stitches, rather than the 80 +2 suggested, and used a 5mm hook. The final blanket is 71 x 54 cm and weighs 225g!
And here is a close up of the lovely stitch pattern:

Busy as a bee

The sun has been shining and I have been busy making my honeycomb blanket.

Unfortunately the midge season has started here in Scotland and the bees were not the only insects flying around as I crocheted.

Bertie baby blanket – work in progress

It has been a while since I have blogged a work in progress – and this one is a bit of a departure from my usual colour palette.

It is a pattern that I bought from Little Doolally on Ravelry, and I can highly recommend it – very simple stitches, very clearly explained, and I love the honeycomb effect that it produces.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bertie-baby-cot-pram-blanket

The yarn is Rico baby classic, and I’ll let you know what colours I have used once I am a bit further along with it!
The tiny pencil case is from Paperchase and makes an excellent crochet hook holder.

And in case anyone is wondering – no I have not finished the blue ripple blanket (waiting for yarn), nor made the linings for my cable cushions (waiting for a clear table!) So I had at least two of what are known locally as UFO’s (Unfinished objects) when I started this one…..
How many UFO’s have you got?