Your afghan is very pretty. Great baby gift.

I am curious about your comment that you have to constantly pick up stitches. It kind of looks like a knitted basketweave to me, but then that usually combines purl sections with knit sections to get the woven look. I notice this is all knit on the right side. I just cannot visualize how or where you pick up all the stitches.

I'm with Sheilajoyce. I cannot envision the technique. This blanket is beautiful, and I agree that the wrong side looks nice, too.

Each one of those little blue rectangles requires you to "pick up and knit" 5 stitches along the next white group. Each one of the little white rectangles requires you to "pick and and purl" 5 stitches along the next blue group. All those edges you see of the waves on the wrong side are where I had to pick up stitches. You won't believe how many times I started this pattern before I figured out what I was supposed to do.

-Babka

Very nice looking blanket. You're right, both sides do look good. Nice work you've done also.

I would be curious to know if it keeps that nice, "bumpy" texture once it is laundered. I made a darling afghan for my grandson of all bumpy clusters. It flattened out once it was washed and now is a real blah looking afghan. I threw that pattern out!!

You are looking at the machine washed and dried blanket. I always wash them, especially after working on this one for a few months while sipping wine, snacking, etc. I wouldn't want to give someone a gift that smelled like garlic toast. ;-)

The picking up through two loops gives it bulk, and curves the edges of each rectangle to make it look woven.

-Babka

Lovely! I'm in awe of your talent! I wish I could knit like this! I know one stitch and have only knitted dishcloths and plain blankets, No patterns such as your beautiful work. But I do crochet beautiful things. I need to take lessons in knitting.

Makes me want to learn to knit. Beautiful job. TFS.

Oooooooh! How Pretty! Congratulations, you did a very good job!

I did a baby blanket very similar to this it was called entralac knitting. Wish I knew how to get the picture to post. Jill

Crochetmama-

Entrelac knitting!!! I had no idea it had a name. I just followed the instructions row by row. I saw the pic in the Mary Maxim catalog and bought the kit. Since then, I've made two more. Simply Soft yarn makes a bigger/stretchier blanket...youth size? The designer is Pam Blair of Canada.

I also purchased a pattern from Annies Attic called "Baby Blocks". This is very similar, BUT the instructions aren't anywhere near as easy to follow as the MM pattern. The MM pattern tells you what to do for each row, even if that row is simply "P2". The AA pattern refers to bunches of rows that are worked similarly, (like Rows 1,3,5,9 knit, turn, then Rows 2 and 16 purl 8, p3tog, turn)and that is very confusing unless I take the time to write down each row myself.

This looks are lot more complicated than it really is.

-Babka

Yes Babka, it is a lot easier than the pattern directions sound. I got my pattern off the internet. How did you post a picture on here?

Crochetmama

Posting photos is easier than crocheting!!! Are you familiar with copy and paste? That is all it really is. You need to have the photo on the internet somewhere, then you copy it and paste it to the forum.

Go to Photobucket.com and set up your own account. It is free. There are other photo places too if you go searching.

Then upload your photos(they give you instructions). They even will allow you to re-size them in case they are too big (megabite-wise) to easily load on computers.

Once you have the photo there, you put your mouse on the photo and options appear below it. Left click on "HTML" and a little word "copied" will appear.

Then go to the crochet forum and type your message. Hit enter a couple times to give a little space between what you are writing and the photo you will be placing.

Right click where your cursor appears and then left click the word paste. Voila! You should see a few lines of code.

Then preview your message. IF you can see the photo, everyone else will too. If you don't, you messed up somewhere and need to try it again.

Try it and see.

-Babka

I have my photos in Picasso but it didn't work. I also have them in an adobe photo file on my computer and have tried to copy and paste but it still won't show up on here. Thanks, Crochetmama

Are they too big? Are you copying and pasting the HTML code? Try just one with Photobucket and see if that works.

-Babka

picassa photos are on your computer, same with adobe. The photos to post here have to be uploaded on the www.

try again, using photobucket, like it is described above.

Moni