I just returned from a 10-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. It was great to be with my family and spend some time at Madrona and Churchmouse while there.  I’m thrilled to be home, too – I’m rather attached to my home/workspace. Whenever I return from being away, I’m always reminded of how much being here keeps me grounded and inspired.

This morning, I wanted to share with you a new twist on an old pattern. I’ve worked up another version of the Tweed Baby Blanket, expanding the pattern with an optional larger size, and blatantly used it as an excuse to dig into the Shelter Naturals… I just love these colors.

My nephew recently had a visit to the Big City and I thought it fitting to shoot him with the new blanket, since the original was conceived for his birth, more than 18 months ago. The original blanket has gotten some serious use during that time! I love seeing babies using, abusing, and loving wool. It fills me with such pride and hope for more wool-filled lives…

The pattern now includes two variations on the same theme – a smaller 2-color version (shown here in greys) and a larger 3-color version (browns). This design is an homage to traditional Shetland Hap Shawls.  I never tire of their simplicity, beauty, and utility.  In Shetland, this type of shawl was always used as workwear and never considered fancy. This is one of the reasons I’ve always felt drawn to them.

The smaller size uses 2 colors and blocks to approximately 41″ square, while the large uses 3 colors with a finished dimension of about 45″. An added bonus: the larger size can easily double as an adult shawl too. I love how Hap ‘waves’ provide a blank canvas for an endless number of color combinations (Sharon Miller’s book on Haps has countless examples of different ways colors were/can be used, with variations in both shade and width of stripes). My favorite Haps usually play with gradations of value, shifting from dark to light and back again, wether in neutral or colored palettes.

The pattern is available here at BT, or on Ravelry.

Speaking of home, I’m only here for a few days. I’m making a quick trip up to Harrisville to visit the mill and work a bit with the folks there on site. I really value the time that I get to spend there watching everhything happen, not to mention being in the peace and tranquility of this part of New Hampshire.

Have a wonderful weekend!