Grid Obsession

I've blogged about my obsession with the GRID previously. I like the grid used as a painting device. I like the grid used as a knitting and/or crochet device.  Symmetry is my middle name. The order and clean lines of the grid make me happy.

On Sunday, while I was at the Blu Elefant Cafe for a meet-up with the West Adams Knitters, Diane was working on a baby blanket.  She found the pattern on Ravelry, "Call The Midwife Inspired Baby Blanket."  "Call the Midwife" is a BBC television show currently broadcast on PBS.  From pattern-solver Rebecca's website: Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a nurse in London's poverty-stricken East End in the 1950s, "Call the Midwife" is an extremely moving story of a group of women who face incredible odds to bring life after precious life into the world.

Naturally, LOTS of crocheted and knitted baby blankets are featured on the show.  Many of the patterns definitely have a 1950s,1960s look to them.  Rebecca liked this pattern, so she figured out how to crochet it and offered the pattern on her website.

Photo from Rebecca's Website

I perused Ravelry patterns a bit and used "filet crochet baby" as my filtered search words.  I found more patterns almost like this one.

The description of the Easy Crochet Flowers Baby Blanket by Sara Turner states, This is a very simple baby blanket pattern, just a repeating block of double crochet and chained flowers, which I adapted from an ancient pattern I inherited from my grandmother.

Crochet Pattern Chart by Sara Turner

Aha! So, this is a vintage pattern!  I love when TV shows get the details perfectly.  Either the set designer found this baby blankie in someone's attic or at an antique store, or had it made from an old pattern.

Jessica McDowell's "Peter" baby blanket is another version of this flowered grid design. Jessica says that the traditional style of this pattern reminds her of illustrations in "The Tale of Peter Rabbit."

Jessica McDowell's Peter Baby Blanket

I've narrowed this pattern a bit and am using it for a crocheted scarf.  I bought a beautiful skein of Anzula Squishy in the Raspberry colorway during the L.A. County Yarn Crawl at Twist, Yarns of Intrigue in Manhattan Beach. I like the results. 

Ellen's "Raspberry Midwife" Scarf

Once I get a pattern in my head that I like, I use it over and over again with different yarns. I think this flower-grid pattern would make an excellent washcloth or table place mats!