Monkey Blanket

I've been jonesin' to make a Monkey Blanket for quite a while now. It incorporates stranded knitting at a large gauge, cool colors, and steeking. What's not to like?

So when we found out our friends were having a baby, I showed the pattern to David and he liked it. So he bought the yarn and I knit it up.

It was quite a project, involving not just numerous balls of yarn but also a team-effort of machine-sewing the steeks to reinforce them, since I used superwash yarn. (I couldn't really give a new mother something she'd have to handwash.) The border, knit on each side and then grafted together, was its own project. You basically knit two blankets, which the pattern conveniently neglects to point out.

Anyway, here it is.
Monkey side:

Doughnut side:

Some of the monkeys. (I changed the pattern to give each monkey his own expression.)

More monkeys:

And finally, baby Olivia! Not sure yet how much of a monkey she might turn out to be. . .