Many of the pearls of knitting wisdom that I have amassed in the past year are from Mary, who works at the shop with me on Sundays. I often hear her voice in my head as I'm working on a project, figuring out a pattern or selecting yarn. One of Mary's Pearls is "when selecting a knit pattern for a baby or child, cover the model's face and then see if you still like the pattern." She is so right! All those adorable kids that are straight out of a Gap ad are distorting your view of the main thing. The knitted garment or item!

You want to knit something for your sister/daughter/granddaughter/niece/cousin/friend who is expecting a baby. First of all step away from the pastels. No baby blue or light pink. And forget about yellow or pale green for that gender neutral color scheme. Think bold and bright and non-traditional.

Look at any children's clothing store or website and you will be surprise by the number of commanding color combinations in the under 3 years old wardrobe. And knitting pattern designers and yarn manufacturing companies take their color trend cues from the fashion industry. For boys, a hue of medium blue and chocolate brown is just the thing for a sweater or jacket or hat. For girls, it is all about bold purples and pinks. And if you just have to go the gender neutral route, then look to cream, khaki, and browns.
Oh and make sure whatever you pick that it is machine washable. The parents will thank you later.