Persistent Knitter

I’ve been working on a baby blanket design for a little bit. I found a stitch pattern I liked, and then a blanket idea I liked (working from the center out) and put the two together.   Now I’ve done three repeats of the pattern, and wanted to see how it was going to look when not on the needle.  I’ve been concerned that some of the lace parts aren’t going to block out flat. 

Here is what it looks like blocking:

I slipped all the stitches onto some cotton yarn, and then sprayed some warm water on it while stretching it out.  According to the pattern as I’ve seen it in books and on other garments the edge will be scalloped, so I pinned it as it would sort of look once fully done.   I let it dry and poked at it a few times while it was on the blocking board. It seemed pretty flat and like blocking was doing the trick.

Then I took it off the blocking board. Here it is, sitting next to my computer, wrong side up, looking a bit like one of the aliens on the original Star Trek series:

You can see the little mountains in it.  If you flip it over, they look a bit like small valleys.  These mountains/bumps were much more pronounced before blocking. This is what I hoped blocking would solve.

*sigh*
It doesn’t appear to have fully fixed the bumpiness in the lace.

Some thoughts on why this is happening:
1) The pattern needs more horizontal room to stretch out, more than being allowed by the way the blanket is constructed.
2) The blanket needs more severe full-wet blocking, rather than the slight dampness I applied today
3) It hates me

I’ll admit, #3 is a bit of a stretch, but it’s possible!

Now I’m faced with a dilemma.  Do I stop, assume it won’t fully block the way I want it to - and be flat at the end?  Do I pick a different pattern? Do I try a swatch knitting back and forth to see if my horizontal squished-ness theory is correct?  If that’s the case, and I still want to use this stitch pattern, do I make a more ‘normal’ blanket and not a center-out one?  I have until May to finish the blanket (or whip up a quick baby quilt in it’s place if I never come to a good solution).  More thought is needed. Suggestions are welcome!