Knitting Project: Tree of Life Baby Throw

When my friend Elizabeth told me she was pregnant about a year ago, little did she know that she was in luck! You see, if a friend announces they are having a baby, and I happen to be in between knitting projects, a baby blanket becomes my next project.

I've made lots of baby gifts, but blankets are the ones that really stick. A baby sweater or booties are cute, but they're outgrown quickly. A blankie is forever.



It's completely random who gets a blanket. You have to conceive during the perfect window when I'm about to finish a project and have yet to start another.


Over the past few years, I've been working on more complicated projects than I did in my early knitting years. Different knitters gravitate toward different kinds of knit kink - intarsia, Fair Isle, steeking (yep - those are all words). The particular brand of complication that I like is creating cables (where one row of yarn crosses over another). 

I've been jonesing to try a particular pattern, the "Tree of Life Baby Throw", which is a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. It has a pattern of intertwined trees using cable techniques. I decided to knit this up for Elizabeth's baby (I'd knitted a blanket for her older daughter).

The pattern, as written, had a ruffled border. I'm not down with ruffles, but I like a seed stitch border, so that's what I did.

The pattern did need a few adjustments, particularly with the garden section that you see below. It was definitely more of a challenge than I expected -- but it's been awhile since I tackled a real knitting challenge.

The baby throw turned out beautifully, and I managed not to spill anything on the white yarn that Elizabeth picked out. I'm going to make sure that I save my notes so that if I choose to make this pattern again, I'll be able to use those notes to work more quickly.

I'm anxiously awaiting to find out the gender of another baby in the belly, so that I can start my next project!