Baby Blanket and Booties

I have a whole bunch of pregnant friends right now, all of whom are due around the same time this fall. My current project is to knit a basket weave baby blanket and matching booties to send to my friend Sam in L.A. She is having a baby girl later this month and I really want her to have something made especially for her daughter. As I knit this blanket, I think about who her daughter might grow up to be and how much love she'll receive in the years ahead. I am not a very religious person, but I do hope that the loving thoughts, hopes, and dreams I have for her sweet baby girl are woven into her blanket as I knit along.

Baby blankets have a special place in my heart, not only because they keep baby warm, but because they remind me of the security a blanket can bring to a child. My blanket never left my side for the first four years of my life (except when my mom would sneak it into the wash as I slept). I would carry it everywhere I went, suck on it, poke my fingers through the loops, wrap myself in it and wrap my favorite stuffed animals in it. That blanket was a comfort to me, and by the time my mother put it in my memory box, it was showing quite a bit of wear. I wish the same fate to this baby blanket: I hope it brings her warmth and security and many years of snuggles. I hope it is as special to her child as mine was to me.

Here is my current progress on the basket weave blanket:I think the basket weave with the seed stitch border is just darling. I am hoping to finish it tonight and begin progress on the matching booties.

Just for fun, here's my baby blanket from my childhood: