FINISHED - Block Stitch Baby Afghan

Well that was quick!  Last night I finished our daughter-to-be's first baby blanket.  We're going to name her Xena Vermilion and after a routine ultrasound over the weekend, the revised EDD is now Dec 8, 2017.  Being an adopted Korean, raised in America, I never wanted a traditional or common American or English name for our daughter.  "Xena" is after the warrior princess and "Vermilion" is one of the technical color shades of the 2c Jackson Banknote (1870-79) issue that Matthew collects and it is a descriptive term appreciated among philatelists.

This blanket was so fun and easy to make.  I'm anxious to get started on another one soon, either for my shop or to give as a gift.

The edging was a lot of fun.  Just 1 sc, 2 HDC, 1sc over each block all the way around.  Then I made the corners 1 sc, 3 HDC, 1 sc to keep them square.

Now I can start working on my next project which is for charity.  The SF Knitters & Crocheters are making a sea animal themed patchwork afghan for donation.  One of the members brought in a bunch of yarn for us to start with and this is colorful cornucopia I brought home to work with:

I have to crochet 6" x 6" squares with sea animals embellished on them.  Because of my obsession with marine life, invertebrate biology specifically, I am really excited to participate in this project.  Because I have so much travel  planned from now through early Aug, I'll miss our next few meet ups so I have about a month to finish all of my squares.  On Aug 12th we're going on a fiber filled filled field trip to Knitterly in Petaluma.  I've never been there before and I can't wait to check it out!

Depending on how much progress I make, I'm hoping to destash some of my own yarn to make extra squares and appliques.  I've always enjoyed free form crochet and mixing sewing and embroidery with crochet.  I have no problem throwing patterns to wayside and creating unusual combinations of colors and textures.  Stay tuned for the funky results!