Baby Blanket Bingo

I started a new project a few days ago for a new neighbor expected in February. It's pink and it's lacy. And yes, the new neighbor is going to be a girl. Don't judge. It's the right yarn, and my LYS either had this lovely pinky-purple, a lime green, white, or black. Pinky-purple it is, although my camera seems to have brightened it a bit in this shot. The yarn, made by Araucanía in Chile, is called Itata, the iname of a Chilean River. It's a blend of wool, silk, and bamboo that's quite nice to work with after the straight-up Scottish wools I've been working with lately. And it's washable -- a must for baby things.

The pattern, Honey Baby by Anne Hanson, calls for sport, but I decided to go with fingering. Instead of size 5 needles, I started with size 3, and then quickly switched to size 2 (2.75mm). It looks about right now. The blanket will be smaller, but then, babies are pretty small -- or so I've been told. I seem to remember my nieces and nephews being tiny little things at one time...

So for now, I'm just following the chart around. Honestly, how anyone can knit lace from written out row-by-row instructions is beyond me. I can't wait to move from dpns to a circular, but my 16" 2.75mm needle is out on loan, and my one other one is a 32". I tried it earlier today, and trust me, I'm not quite there yet. But I so long for the speed and ease of whipping around on metal needles. These bamboo ones are getting very crowded...

I should also mention that I was totally inspired to make this by a lovely example I saw in Ravelry by gcnatter. So, so beautiful!