Late August found us in the mountains of northern New Hampshire, enjoying one last hurrah before the close of summer.
One of our favorite walks in the woods is Diana's Baths, a place my parents took my brother and I a lot as children. My brother Patrick and I would run through the woods and suddenly the treeline would open up and we'd be surrounded by beautiful waterfalls. Some of the pools were deep enough to swim in and although the mountain water was freezing, we'd swim until our lips were blue then come back out for a picnic lunch. Over the years Diana's Baths have become more commercial with paved paths, hand rails and an actual parking lot and while it's certainly gotten much busier and less rustic, these additions have made it more accessible to those who may not have been able to enjoy it before.
While my husband, son and I enjoyed a final stroll through the woods to get to the Baths, I tucked a knitting project I had just finished in my backpack along with my camera in case I got a chance to shoot. With the boys occupied with throwing small stones in the pools and watching for bugs, I waded out into the water to shoot my latest design, the Enver Baby Blanket.
Enver appeals to the quilter in me... A patchwork-style blanket that can be made with as few as 24 blocks like the one shown for a baby blanket, or as many as it takes to create a full-sized throw, this is a pattern that is designed to be knit on-the-go. Knit a square on your commute home on the train, knit a square while you are watching the game on TV or knit another square while you're hanging out with your knitting group. The squares are small and meant to be easy to tuck in your bag to grab a row here or there. I'm on a small project kick lately because the holidays are coming up and will be here before you know it!
The real fun begins when your squares are complete! Lay them out the way I have to create a diamond pattern with the garter ridges, or randomly place them as you wish. If you've ever made a simple patchwork-style quilt, the magic happens when you've done all the cutting and it's finally time to decide how the squares will play off one another. Once you have your layout down, seam them up, add the attached border and voila! You have a blanket!
Knit on US 5 needles in the delightful Zen Garden Serenity DK (a yummy blend of 90% superwash merino and 10% cashmere) I'm loving the color combination of the rusty orange, the blues and the gray. Zen Garden is known for their great color ways and this is one of my favorite yarns from the Canadian company. This yarn feels great as you knit with it and blocks out beautifully (plus, cashmere!) and needs only one hank each of 3 colors and 2 hanks of the MC. What I liked most about this project is that it's a no pressure knit - you knit up a square whenever and eventually you have a lovely little pile of squares waiting to be placed and seamed. I seamed it up while watching a movie and before I knew it, I had a knitted version of a classic patchwork quilt.
I love that this baby blanket came on a small adventure with my family and I. I got plenty of interesting looks from hikers as I waded into the cold water and draped a blanket across rocks and fallen trees and happily snapped away with my camera. This blanket seemed to belong there, out in the falls, hanging out in nature. It certainly kept me cozy after my feet got too cold and I had to come back out of the water!
Let's give a copy of the pattern away, shall we? Answer the below trivia question in the comments section correctly and you'll automatically be entered in to win a copy of the Enver Baby Blanket pattern. A winner will be chosen at random on Friday, October 23rd and will be contacted by me via email. Contest open to readers worldwide.
What is the most visited park in the National Park System?
Download the Enver Baby Blanket pattern here.