My son and daughter in law are expecting their first baby the end of January. This delightful news has caused the knitter in me to begin formulating a number of knitting projects – all baby items, of course! I started the search for baby blanket patterns – finding several I like, now to decide which to use. I am planning to knit a matching sweater, cap & booties as well.

Then there is the matter of yarns for my baby projects.—I am vascillating between cotton & cotton blends and washable wool or wool blends. I haven’t completely ruled out using an acrylic baby yarn, but I really want to find something that is more long-wearing and high quality. As a long-time knitter, I’ve come to appreciate cotton and wool yarns. But now, we also have new yarns made of bamboo and corn and a myriad of other “new” fibers. Whatever the choice – baby items must be machine washable to be practical and usable for any new mother.

And then, there is the matter of colors. I think color is always an issue when a knitter begins to contemplate knitting for a baby. Do you go with the traditional baby blue and baby pink? Do you go with a cute mix of pastels? Or do you go with primary colors? – which seems to be the latest trend in baby wear if you look at the various knitting magazines and yarn catalogs. Oh my! Lots of decisions to be made here.

Now, most knitters approach a project by selecting a pattern. I have two possibilities for my baby blanket. I will be using very basic patterns for the sweater, cap & booties. I want to use the same yarn for all the items and want to find coordinating colors. I plan to select a yarn or yarns I like and want to use for these projects and then work with the patterns — So off to window shop online for yarns…