Crochet project goes awry, leads to frustration and tears

My cousin is having a baby. I got the invitation to the shower months ago along with the web address to their baby registry. Not wanting to get anything off the registry I decided to crochet a baby blanket for them. I coordinated with mom-to-be to make sure the yarn I was going to use would work with the nursery. I then set about creating the blanket - stitch by stitch - hour after hour - month after month. As I sat stitching I thought about the baby and wondered who he would be and how this would change their lives. It was relaxing and fun. 

Just last night, I stitched the final stitch. With just a few short weeks until she is due I was excited to put the finishing touches on and get it wrapped up and in the mail - wanting it to arrive before the baby. I laid the blanket out under a light to smooth out the transitions only to discover that something had gone terribly wrong. One of the skeins was a slightly different shade.

You can see the top 5 inches or so is darker 

I could just cry.

The yarn we picked had NO dye lot so it should have all been uniform. I check, double checked and triple checked to make sure that each skein had the same numbers on it. They were all the same, or they should have been. I honestly don't know what happened. I will be placing an angry call to the company later this morning to complain but that won't change anything. Ultimately, the blanket is ruined and there is no way to fix it. I will simply have to start again. 


Still full of the frustration and disappointment over having something I worked on for so long be ruined, I will need wait a week or so before I start again. It will be late but at least it will be right. On the upside, Gypsy did need a small blanket to put inside her crate so at least it will have a use.