Well, here we go: Stitch One!

I was not overly enthused about this stitch before I began, but the more I used it the more I liked it.  This baby blanket is my favorite so far!  Yes, I know this is only stitch one, but I've made many baby blankets before, and this tops them all.

The color pattern I used is 1 row of maroon, 2 rows of white, then (2 rows of maroon, 2 rows of white) repeated, ending with a single row of maroon.  This generated a checkered look.

The two sides are similar but slightly different, and it is a matter of opinion which is prettier.  There is a slightly puffy side, and a flatter side.  I personally prefer the flat side, but everyone else I've shown it to preferred the puffy side.  What can I say?  I'm an engineer; I never claimed to be normal.  Anyway, the puffy side is shown first, then the flat side.

 So, here are the details of how to make this:

 Ch 94, and work the stitch as directed by the book with the color pattern already described.  (I picked maroon and white because I'm an Aggie and these are our colors; choose whatever colors you like.)  Repeat the stitch until the blanket is square.  These stitches are basically the same height as width, so my finished blanket was 15 x 15 white shells.  I made the border all in maroon as follows:
Round 1: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 2: dc around, 5 dc in each corner
Round 3: sc around, 3 sc in each corner
Round 4: (sc, ch 3, sk 1) around, (sc, ch 3, sc in same stitch) at corner

I used Bernat satin yarn in Bordeaux and Snow with a J hook to make this blanket.

This stitch worked great for a baby blanket.  It would also make a gorgeous scarf.