bring on the fork, baby!

I unexpectedly had a little bit of free time (I thought I had a meeting to go to today, but actually I don’t have to be there til tomorrow, woo hoo!) and I did all the finishing of the sweater. It’s blocked, 98% dry anyway, and I sewed on the buttons and label and had a little photo session in what passes for my home office.

So, here it is in all its glory. I stuck the yarn label and the pattern next to it for future reference - in my full-size photo on my computer, I can read the text just fine. Note the fuel in the upper right corner of the photo...



A word about yarn choice: I knit my daughter a poncho last year out of yarn she chose based on color. It ended up being three colors of cascade 220, and one color of Plymouth Encore worsted. After that, I swore to myself I would never knit with the Encore again. It felt as I imagine knitting with plastic bags might feel. Icky. But, as it happened, when I was preparing to make this sweater, I really couldn’t find a nice superwash wool at the shop, and I ended up with this, figuring I’d suck it up. But this colorway really didn’t bother me at all. It knit up basically very similarly to the Cascade 220 I’ve been using for the Ribby Cardi. So that makes me happy, and I’m glad I chose this yarn because with everything going on with my friend she doesn’t need a “hand wash only” baby sweater thrown into the mix, and it’s done on schedule, and my hands are not offended.

Here’s a wider angle shot of the sweater on the blocking board, with one of my bovine friends watching (the rest have turned their backs on me, those fair-weather friends that they are).



And a closeup of the neck with the label sewn in. It actually worked out that it fit very nicely up against the spot where I picked up the stitches.

it doesn't compare

to yesterday’s photo quality, but I do have one more picture to share that I just took with my phone after casting off the neckband of the Garter Cardi for baby J:



It’s unblocked, unseamed, and unfiddledwithtofixsomesmallissues, but I think it’s just very cute.

I did find out that what I’d thought was an error in the pattern (the shoulder seam’s 3-needle-bind-off instructions stated to hold the wrong sides together) was not, it was a “design feature” as per Jil (who did after all write the pattern). She says reversing the bind-off add structure for babies “with hardly any shoulders” and also a nice “design line.” OK, well, to me it just looks inside-out that way so I did it the regular way. I figure the underlying structure is there regardless!

baby J's sweater...

I have major progress on the sweater for baby J, aka JVS, a soon to be new member of our community and circle of friends, as soon as his parents get back from Guatemala with him (expected arrival no later than 3/5/07 but mom-to-be gave me a one week fudge factor so I’m on standby playdate duty for their older child through 3/10).


I’ve completed the back and both fronts; I’ve completed the left sleeve, which is knit flat by picking up stitches along the edge of the front and back. Do you have ANY idea how stressful that is, to try to make sure it is lined up right? I really wanted to do the side seaming FIRST, but - for whatever reason I felt obligated to follow the pattern. So, here are three snaps - a full picture, a cuff detail, and a shot of the buttons I plan to use. Well, one of them. Hopefully it’s boyish enough. Purple can be boyish I think, if surrounded by blues and greens, right? The button has an olive green circumferential stripe there that maybe doesn’t show in the pic. I think this colorway is going to be great for what I expected to be a darker-than-average-around-here baby. Of course I fully realize he could be the palest Guatemalan baby ever and he could be blond for all I know so I guess I will shut up about that. Who cares? He’s going to be S’s brother and P and D’s son. Woo hoo! And, he will have this sweater to keep him warm.



In other knitting news, Lilah’s hat is missing ☹
I’m 99% sure it is in the house but it’s been missing for a week and we’re all really bummed out.

exciting new project

Well, everything has been going great with the ribby cardi and all, but I got some exciting news today and have had to set RC aside in favor of a new project.

Shortly before the birth of my youngest child, my friend P lost her infant son who was then 3 mos old, to what was posthumously diagnosed as most likely to have been long QT syndrome, although the death certificate states SIDS (subsequent to the baby’s death, P and her husband got screened for LQT and P turns out to have it). I actually went into labor at the funeral. It was obviously horrible. Anyway.

I talked to P today and found out she’s been keeping a secret -- she’s days away from heading to Guatemala to finalize the adoption of her new 5 month old son J!!

I immediately picked out some lovely variegated blue/green/purple yarn to make the Minnowknits Garter Cardi (#168 QK)
I have 2.5 inches of the back done so far :)

Ribby cardi progress

I have sleevage!



So, those are the two sleeves, which are done in 2x2 ribbing. I used a cable cast-on. I’m using Cascade 220 in a brown and green, duh. ☺
That’s the beginning of the back sitting on top of the sleeves. I’m excited about my progress, which should pick up quickly now that Sofia is home (although with all the house stuff going on, maybe not, we’ll see.) I’m terrified about having to put this together, though. My previous seaming of sweaters is minimal and I really want this to be perfect. I am BEYOND terrified about having to put in a zipper but we’ll see. I guess I will try and end up with a seamstress if all else fails. Of course, I’m terrified of giving it to a seamstress who might F it up worse than I would have, too. So. SIGH. Baby steps.

A closeup of the pieces:



And a surprise “extra” birthday present from my husband yesterday (he actually got me an amethyst necklace and some chocolate covered espresso beans, but then showed up with this after work ☺)

quick comment

I’m still only about a sleeve and a half into the ribby cardi, due to illness, plague, babysitter on vacation...
Hopefully in another week or ten days, i’ll have something to show.

yay!

Yay because I’m almost done this stupid sleeve that I had to frog half of because I counted wrong, and yay because the new antiCraft is up and it includes the infamous SNATCHEL PATTERN! http://www.theanticraft.com/archive/imbolc07/snatchel.htm I may have to make one for an OB friend of mine :)