A Happy Blanket for Joshua

I think we have established by now that I am not crafty. I don't quilt. Or knit. Or cross-stitch. Or crochet. But (and here's the secret to always giving handmade gifts), I know some people. Some super-talented crafters who blow my mind with their talent.

Among the very best crafters I know is Dawn Alley. She's the talent behind the blog Idle Hands, and she has contributed so much awesomeness to O Chickadee. Remember her Mother's Day silhouette? Her amazing annual Shrimp Boil? Her thoughtful gift wrapping? And Dawn always gives the most lovely handmade baby gifts.

So when Dawn got pregnant with her first child, the stakes were high. I wanted her to have something beautiful, an heirloom that would remind her of the happy early days of her life with her child. This was complicated by the fact that she and her husband had decided to wait to find out the baby's gender until he was born. Also complicated by the aforementioned fact that... well, I don't craft.

Happily, my mom does. Remember all her handmade gifts? So I enlisted her help in making Dawn's gift. I wanted something sunny, gender-neutral, and cozy. When I saw this blanket over at Dada's Place, I knew that this was it. I love how it came out!

I wanted the blanket to be washable and cozy, so we used 100% cotton yarn. I loved the rich colors of the Tahki Cotton Classic yarn.  For this blanket, we used about 9 skeins of white, and I bought three shades of each of the other colors- for example, one light blue, one dark blue, one medium blue. After a bunch of trial and error, we found that the brighter colors really helped the blanket sparkle. Doesn't it look great in Joshua's nursery?

And of course, this adorable little one certainly adds to its charm!

Just because you aren't crafty yourself doesn't mean you can't give beautiful handmade gifts. I love partnering up with crafty experts, where I buy the supplies and they lend their talents to, together, create something special.