Crocodile Stitch Baby Blanket

I'm a knitter.  That's how I classify myself when it comes to needle art.  If anyone sees me working away on something and says "are you crocheting?" I immediately correct them and will happily explain the difference- even though I'm sure they don't care (I care- crocheting and knitting are not the same).

While I am knitting some cute items for my soon-to-get-here niece, I did want to make something different for her.  I don't know why my decision to start something completely out of my element coincides with the birth of a new kiddo (and here is where I realize I never posted anything about the quilt I made for my friend Tania when her daughter was born...super- just pretend you've seen an adorable animal themed quilt on here), but that seems to be a trend.

So while I say I'm a knitter...I don't think I would have become a knitter if my mom had never shown me the basics of crocheting.  Which is why I didn't feel like it was any skin off my back to tackle the crocodile stitch- in a full on baby blanket...you know, because I might be slightly crazy.

That looks tiny, right?  It's roughly 35" x 34", so not that tiny.  Hopefully my niece will be able to use it well into her toddler years- maybe even longer.

Crochet can be easy.  I, however, still struggle with the language and can't read a chart to save my life (where as with knitting that's like my second language and the charts make a ridiculous amount of sense).  I learned how to do the crocodile stitch by watching this awesome video.  I know how to chain and how to single, double and triple crochet thanks to my mom, but other than that I'm out.  Without my mom close by I couldn't read the pattern that I had downloaded from Ravelry, so I had to resort to learning from someone on youtube.  Nothing wrong with that.

The first time I saw the crocodile stitch was on pinterest.  I loved the way it looked and spent a ridiculous amount of time online looking for a knitted version...which I didn't find.  Now that the blanket is complete, I'm glad I went with crochet.  It worked up quickly with only a few slight hick-ups along the way. 

The border...since I can't seem to read directions, was my own creation.  I wanted it to be slightly wavy and girly, but I didn't want it to take away from the crocodile stitch itself.

I would have made the final edge more decorative, but my fingers were aching.  Early onset arthritis I'm assuming.  

If I knew more about sewing items onto yarn-y things I might attempt to line this with some sort of fleece, since the back of it looks like a jumbled mess, and I can't imagine would actually feel very good against skin (then again, this girl is going to be in Wisconsin...warmth is all that matters most of the year).

It was a fun little exercise in knowing my creative limits, and pushing past them.  I have one more knitted item to go before all of this fun gets shipped off to the frigid north.  I will leave you with a shot of what the colors actually look like in natural lighting, instead of the crap lights in my apartment:

Sadly that is all the natural lighting the window would allow.