Hello World!

My name is Heather. I am a university student that recently married the love of my life and we're expecting our first babe the first week of February. I know, I know, that's a lot to take in but life is full of surprsing and wonderful things. I met my love in April of 2008 and we've been together ever since. On July 4th, 2010 we decided to wed and have an October wedding in 2011. This past August, we found out that we were expecting and we couldn't be happier! Sure, the timing leaves a little to be desired - I had thought I would finish my degree before we thought about children - but nothing in life is perfect and that's part of what makes life so interesting.

This blog is an exercise of sorts. Since I'll be taking a semester off from pursuing my degree in English, I need a project to keep me active and engaged. And since I enjoy writing and crafting, I'm combining the two into this blog, Bright Patches. My current goal is to create a square or two a day for my blanket project (outlined below) and once I finish for the day, I will reflect on my current situation in life - whether it be more about being an expectant mother, a new bride and wife, a university student or any combination of the three - and share that reflection and the new square(s) with you.

So let's get started, shall we? These are the colors that I've chosen for my first project:

(From Top): Aqua, Sweet Pea, Duckie, Goldfish, and White Angel

The yarn I am using is Vanna's Choice Baby which has a weight of 4, or medium. I purchased them on a whim because Michael's is currently having a sale, with each skein only costing $1.99 when usually they cost about $3.50 each. Initially, I bought the yarn thinking that I would make a stripped baby blanket but my fear, after walking around with them in my basket while I continued to shop, was that the stripes in such bright primary colors would seem too beachy and therefore not appropriate for my winter due date. When I got home, I immediately went to the Lion Brand website and started flipping through their free patterns.

I'll be honest. Although I enjoy crafting, I posses no great prowess at any one form of crafting - be it scrapbooking, sewing, crocheting, knitting, or anything else so when I look for a pattern, I look for something almost simplistically easy. Thankfully, I found a knitting pattern called Vanna's Choice® Baby Bright Garter Patches Throw that met my low skill level perfectly. Not only did the pattern use the same brand that I purchased and some of the same colors, it also gave the blanket a pieced together look.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the color randomness of the pieces overly much so I tweaked the pattern: 

The arrows signify which direction the garter stitch will be going.

According to the pattern, there are 81 individual squares. Based on my pattern, I'll need 11 squares in Goldfish, 10 squares in Duckie, 10 squares in Sweet Pea, 10 squares in Aqua, and 40 squares in White Angel. Once these squares are completed, they will be sewn together in strips (according to the directions) and then those strips will be sewn together to form the blanket.

I hope to finish this project before the babe comes and I hope you'll enjoy this journey with me!

Edit: My loving husband pointed out that while my pattern is beautiful, the color pattern I have (Goldfish, Duckie, Sweet Pea, and Aqua) is very directional in my outline, so that the pattern is shown only across from left to right and down. I'll be uploading a new picture later this evening with this corrected so that the colors can be showcased from any direction.