Rainbow Obsession

Sometimes I find I have to search for inspiration for a project, and sometimes inspiration walks by at the fair.  

This summer (almost a year ago!) my husband and I went to the Scottish Highland Gathering and Games at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA.  We saw sheep dog competitions, birds of prey, and endless halls of Celtic goods for sale.  We even ate some not at all event appropriate food, I think I had a burrito.  What really caught my eye, however, was this tote bag:

I would tell you to squint your eyes, but that doesn't really help.  The picture is blurry because I was not brave enough to stop this grandmother and child to ask if I could please take a picture of her cheap nylon tote bag.  Instead I ran behind this woman, as surreptitiously as I could, casually trying to capture this crazy rainbow in the wild.

I chased this woman to take this picture because I knew I was seeing something important!  There is something about the color combination and progression that I find unexpected and irresistible.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it at the time, I just knew I needed to have a way to remember it.  

Thank goodness an opportunity to use this progression presented itself, or I might have exploded!  As I started looking for patterns for a baby blanket for a good friend (the same one who got this sweet little pink set seen here recently), I was so excited to be able to put this discovered rainbow to use.  

I found a lovely baby blanket pattern that would highlight the rainbow and I ordered yarn.  I ordered my yarn based on softness, washability, and color selection.  Right before starting the blanket I realized that the slippery, cotton/beech wood, very soft and smooth yarn I had selected was going to be at major odds with a pattern that demanded a color change every 4 rows.  My heart sank as I thought about how many ends I would have to weave in, and how they would all work themselves loose because the fiber would have nothing to hold on to.  

Thankfully, I realized I had recently seen a pattern for a stunning adult afghan that was graphic, modern looking, and most importantly, would highlight my color choices, (and was free!).  Worked on smaller needles and smaller yarn, I figured I would have to end up with something baby sized.  And it worked!

Using sport weight yarn, and US size 4 needles, the blanket came out 34 x 44 inches (instead of the pattern's 52 x 74 inches in worsted weight).  I am so pleased with the way this came out.  While I was working on it I got to revel in and gain a whole new appreciation for my found rainbow.  As I added each new stripe, the new color would informed and improved the others.  I was so impatient to get to the blue at the bottom, because I knew it was going to pull everything together and really finish the whole look and feel of the blanket.  As I worked on it, people would say, "that's nice," and I would say, "yes, but it really is going to look different when it's finished," which only makes people say "well, it looks nice now."  At which point I just try to take a compliment.  :) 

I had intended this blanket to be a light spring time blanket for this baby born in January, not knowing that the northeastern United States is apparently never going to thaw.  So I guess it is an "inside blanket?"