Challenges with OddBall Blankets

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Oddball Blankets is a group on line on Ravelry. Each person knits their section based on a theme. Rules say no ribbing or cable stitches should be used as they draw in and make things uneven, count your stitches before and after your section to be sure you have 100, adjust the number of garter stitches for the edge to prevent curling, use the same type of yarn (sport, baby, knitted worsted etc.) mail onto the next person on the needles after knitting your 4 inches. The above theme is Mardi Gras. My spot is called border patrol. Crochet a border on this knitted blanket......pull it together and finish it off, mail it onto the organizer to be donated to local hospitals. Stitches selected should be reversible and have no right or wrong side. I've found over time, there's lots of leeway with the stitch selection, the yarn selection and sometimes it's quite a challenge to finish them off doing the border patrol. The yellow and purple sections do pull in, quite a bit. Hoping when I add border stitches that unevenness is less noticeable, and or when laundered and blocked it will be even.

I select 2 bright colors and do several rows of border. It does, I think pull it together...color and theme wise; but it doesn't even it up as much as I had hoped. The yellow section though not cables or ribbing definitely pulls the blanket inward. It's a lovely stitch too, so it's a shame. Click to enlarge, I don't know what the stitch is. Probably not a good choice for a group project, but would make an awesome scarf, and or blanket on it's own.

Close up of the border, and the pretty yellow section. Fingers crossed when blocked I can even it up more.
WOW, this one Cinco de Mayo really has issues with being very uneven. The black in the center is infact ribbing. I love this blanket, I love it's bright colors and variety of stitches; but am concern about the challenge of evening this one out.
It's a beginning. Yarn selected and stitches to use for the border patrol pattern have also been selected as this point. But, as you can see after one round of single crochets how far off it still is.
A close up shows a good 3 1/2 inches variance is the width of this blanket. I don't know if even heavy duty blocking will get the job done here. Pondering my choice of stitches again on this. As I continue to work on it, am constantly pulling, stretching it...in hopes of improving the rather large gap.

OddBall Baby Blankets

6 Knitters each on these Baby Blankets for the western group in RAV Oddball Baby Blankets. I love seeing the different stitches people use, and how they interpret the theme. Someone starts the ghan based on the theme and then it makes it way around with each person doing a section and mailing it on. I was the border patrol for both of these blankets. The blanket on the left is titled Pumpkin Patch and the one on the right is called Sweet Pea. I expected Sweet Pea to be lots of shades of green...my interpretation...however right from the start it seems everyone else thought of the flowers Sweat Pea's which are all different colors and thus the blanket begins to take shape.
Here's a close up of the 2 tone orange boarder. I did several rows of single crochet to try and give the blanket a bit of shape...even it up. As you can see in the first picture, there's quite an hour glass shape due to the differences in stitches and yarn used. Then with the darker orange did a simple scallop/shell. That darker orange to me is true orange.
Did some tugging to again even it out, and am hopeful when the blanket is laundered and blocked it will maintain the square shape. I also thought this blanket though appropriate for male or female looked a bit more boyish, and thus didn't want a real frilly border.
A close up Sweat Pea's boarder here. It's all in one color, made with single crochet, chains, triples, and V stitch. I like this boarder for adding a few inches to a smaller blanket. And with the name Sweat Pea, seems more girly to me. Plus the pastels so went with a more frilly boarder here. Considered doing a green border since it started and ended with green...and because green is the first color I thought of for Sweat Pea before seeing the blanket. But, since blue was the middle section on the blanket I choice that to pull it all together.
These blankets are done for charity. All given to hospitals around the country for babies and families in need.