A Different Sort of Baby Afghan

So one of my sisters is pregnant. This will be my third niece or nephew. Colleen and Ron do not what to know the sex of the baby -- and it is killing me! I want to make a pink pretty princess blanket for someone. So far I have two very sweet, handsome nephews that do not wear pink at all. Boo.

Anyway, so Colleen is rather particular about her likes and dislikes. She does not like all neutral colors, yellow, primary colors, or farm/zoo animals. This puts me in an odd position. She hasn't chosen a bedding set yet or registered for anything at all... and I need to get cracking on my baby projects.



So here is what I decided to do. Using the first picture as an inspiration for design and the yarn (Premier Yarns Serenity Garden - Gems) as my color inspiration, I am going to make a blanket Col can use as a play mat for the baby once they learn to push up and start to crawl. I am collecting together different tactile yarns and textured patterns.

Any suggestions? Tonight I am starting with making a single crochet square with Red Heart's Pomp-a-Doodle Plush Plum to pull out that lavender tone in the inspiration yarn.