Well, I could not be more excited right now. We just heard the news that my brother's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this morning, Annika! You can call me Auntie Tanis from now on. :)

I designed the Smooth Sailing baby blanket for them when I heard that they were expecting, and now it's officially time to share it. The blanket had to be unisex, since I didn't know the gender until today. I also wanted something relatively reversible, and wanted it to feature some sort of openwork motif (lacy without being too girly) because I knew that it would help it to block out to the finished dimensions I was aiming for without eating up too much yarn. I'm thrilled with the results. It features just the right combination of knit and purl stitches adding lots of texture. And those soothing waves that meander all the way down the blanket are so beachy and fresh. Love it!

I knit mine in the super lux Orange Label Cashmere/Silk Worsted weight yarn in a one of a kind colourway that is very close to Atantic, but with a little extra Seabreeze thrown in. This blanket blocks out to a generous 30" wide by 32" tall and uses just 3 skeins of yarn. Green Label Aran Weight would be a perfect substitute, though I have to admit, the softness and cushiness of the Orange Label makes for a dreamy blanket! I can't wait to wrap my new niece up in this!