somebody somewhere somewhat somehow sometime...

i finished that blanket for somebody's baby, and it is currently sitting in a post office somewhere in Brooklyn. i hope mom likes it, and that the lady she intends to gift it to likes it even more.

this is the Daisy Garden Baby Blanket by Stephanie Boozer. the yarn is a light clayish-beigey-taupelike color, as mom instructed requested that it be gender-neutral, but non-white, in case the recipient wanted to use it for future babies. i could have made a sweater in the time i spent working on this thing. that being said, it is rather lovely (she says modestly).

the alternating solid and textured blocks separated by bands of seed stitch create a patchwork effect. i opted to go for seven blocks across and seven blocks high, because it is the most awesome of all the numbers. i was not willing to risk my life on a ladder to prove that there are in fact forty-nine blocks, so you will just have to trust me on that one.

there were a few balls of yarn remaining, so i picked up stitches all around, and extended the seed stitch border. said border could have been wider still, but i had to tap out before i completely lost the will to live, so there are a couple balls of this yarn floating around in the stash.

a quick flip of the corner reveals the ridge created by the picked-up stitches.

the blanket is lovely and squishy, thanks to a round yarn that allows the textured stitches to pop.

it feels like you are running your fingers over teeny tiny bubble wrap.

i wanted that dimensional element to carry through to the bound-off edge, so i opted to finish with an applied i-cord. the i-cord was only two stitches wide, but it was enough to provide the desired definition along the edge.

there is somewhat of a picture-frame effect with the added border and the i-cord edge. i like it!

this is a lovely design for a blanket (for a baby, or otherwise), and i would recommend it to anyone looking for the same. [i mentioned in my last post that i had trouble finding the free pattern in the location linked on Ravelry, so i contacted the designer who sent me a copy. the link has since disappeared from the pattern page, so it may take a bit more effort to track it down in future.]

i was absolutely drained by the time this was done, so i needed an instant-gratification project to recharge the crafting spirit. i purchased some lavender last summer, a tiny portion of which was used in my soap-making adventure. [aside: that soap with all the nubbly bits of oatmeal is a-maz-ing if you, like me, enjoy serious exfoliation when you bathe]. this seemed like a good time to (finally) put the rest of the lavender to the original intended purpose. note three containers, each one a different variety of lavender.

what was the point of buying three varieties if they were going to end up mixed together, you ask? because i do so love a blend, i reply.

i had an assortment of those little bags people use for handing out favors at cheerful events. keeping moths away from my fiber stash seems plenty cheerful to me.

the next part is a bit tricky. grab a bag...

shove a bit of lavender in there somehow...

and tie it all up. repeat until you run out of bags or lavender... or both.

i made about thirty moth-repelling sachets in total, most of which have since been tucked away inside bags of yarn. i may toss a few into my clothes drawers. sometimes you want a bit of floral freshness, even when you are just searching for socks.