After a year on the waiting list, the roofers got started today. Noisy. Can’t read to hear yourself think, so after an initial attempt with the fish yarns the baby afghan is the one that got the progress.

The color is Ravelry Red in a dye lot more to the orange side than some, which, it turns out, is perfect. When I bought it I thought, that’s for someone Asian. And it was, but I had no idea at the time why that seemed the very thing I needed to have on hand, for–? I had no plans. But it seemed to, and it demanded to be ready for them.

A year later, here we are.

The lace pattern is Barbara Walker’s Flames, and (knitting it for the first time ever, now that it’s finally found the right reason for it) it does match the name.

What if… I went to Ravelry and searched for dragon patterns.

I found a sleeping dragon, which goes with babies but even if you skipped its pile of treasure it seemed more Welsh mythology to me. The grandparents are Chinese and Japanese and this needs to please both cultures and if anyone knows anything to fill me in on or to be careful of, please tell me.

There was a curly-tailed upright one that looked definitely promising. No feet, but, I like it.

A little research… A white dragon would convey mourning in Japanese culture. No way! How about a white square center with a red intarsia dragon in it, it seems that would work? Or should I make the background black to avoid any Imperial-ness?

The solid heavy fabric of intarsia inside a sea of lace would both distort the fabric and keep it from having the stretch across that I want it to; I am for once actually making it baby blanket size because there were only a thousand grams in the dye lot. It’s 45″ wide in the lace and will stretch a little more; you really don’t want it narrower.

Though, hmm. I do have more red that’s so close it’s hard to tell they’re not quite a match so if I did dragon it, I could use those skeins inside the white-or-black. If it came out too narrow I could add an edging since for once I didn’t put anything other than a few plain rows and stitches around the thing.

But…

Eh. I’m not to where I have to worry about it yet. The dragon is 85 rows long. I’ve done 32 rows and it’s 6″ (could become 7″ after blocking). So the dragon would be about 16″ long, (maybe I should up a needle size on the intarsia?) plus whatever size white square frames it, meaning if I started the motif right now the whole blanket would come out about 30″. Nope. Ten more inches, easily, before I start messing with the center.

Sixty stitches wide to my 151 stitch project.

The eye likes things in thirds, and 16″ red, 16″ dragon, 16″ red–it would be smack dab in the center, which doesn’t fit the rule of three quite so well, but it is by thirds so tough.

Or not.

I could add a border if it gets too narrow!

I’ve only twice ever bothered to actually add a border to an afghan, and I’d have to do a whole ‘nother dive on the cultural color thing. A darker shade of red?

Lots of time to think about it yet.

I just think a dragon’s breath keeping a baby warm would be so cool.

(And no, they have no idea this is coming.)