Long ago FOs

I have quite a backlog of projects to blog about, what with the year and a half absence, plus the fact that I somehow didn’t post anything I’ve finished since, um, 2008. I won’t bore you with every. little. thing. - if you are really interested you can check things out on ravelry or flickr. But I’ll try to hit the highlights, starting with 2009. 


For Easter that year I knit her a little yellow cardigan. It is the Eyelet Ribbed Baby Cardigan  - a free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns. I remember having a little confusion with the pattern - I thought it had the right side and wrong side reversed, but I couldn't tell from the photos. I also think either the fronts or the back was too short compared to the other side? I know I added length somewhere. I only had two balls of yarn, and even though I ordered a third, it didn't arrive in time. But it worked out great - it was a little cool that day, but not cold. And the sweet yellow echoed the yellow bits in her dress. 

Way back in 2009 I knit the Tulips sweater for Samantha. I used up a bunch of Knitpicks Merino Style that I have no idea why I ordered. It took much longer than it should have, but I was probably working on 10 things at once. I modified the distance between color changes and the number, based on the amount of yarn I had. I also didn’t do the i-cord edging around the bottom, because I thought I would run out of yarn. It turned out really cute! She didn’t get to wear it much, because she outgrew it before it got too cold, but she did wear it around Portland when we went to Sock Summit. And hopefully, Ellie (one of our new sweeties) will wear it sometime. 

I also made Samantha a cotton sundress that spring/summer. I used a pattern by Zoe Mellor and some leftover Rowan Cotton Glace that I had left after I made my striped vest. I did end up having to buy another ball of brown, but it was worth it. It turned out pretty short for Samantha, but it’s a baby dress, so length is not super important. I also made the mistake of not going down a needle size for the seed stitch edgings around the armholes, and that is not a mistake I will make again! But again, baby dress. Most folks won’t notice. One additional issue I had with the pattern, (besides the length) was the length of the straps at the shoulders. They should be lengthened - the dress would fit better and for longer. I worry that it rides up along the back neck because they are so short.  But Ellie is wearing it now, so win!

That winter I knit her a pink cardigan out of a Nashua pattern book (Bloom) with some Cascade 220. It turned out pretty cute and I added adorable silver elephant buttons! I knit the whole sweater while we were on vacation - it was super quick and the yoke pattern was very easy to memorize. She wore this one a lot - it’s not quite the same shade of pink anymore, but very well-loved. 

For Halloween that year she was a cow. I used a pattern out of Wacky Baby Knits for her costume. This was a great project because I had the yarn in stash and it turned out really cute! I had made a cow hat for her when I was pregnant, and it still fit. One major modification I made was to eliminate the button band along the inner thigh. She was only going to wear it for a few hours, so it was easier to take it off to change her diaper. And even then, it wasn’t a big deal. Buttonbands can be such a pain that I am sure it was not worth it in this case! This was one of the few intarsia projects I’ve done, and by far the largest, and I was surprised at how easy it was! Don’t get me wrong, I won’t start churning out intarsia-ed everything, but it was much less stressful than I thought it would be. 

And, in keeping with tradition, I knit her Christmas dress. I used the Little Sister’s Dress pattern and some stashed solid red Lorna’s Laces. I added sweet little Mary Englebreit buttons on the yoke. It was adorable, and I cannot wait until Ellie is big enough to wear it! The only mod I made was to use two buttons instead of three, and to use a piece of yarn for the button loop, when I think it called for a crochet chain (but it has been 1.5 years since I knit it, and I have been pregnant and given birth, two things that screw with my memory). 

Naptime is over, and someone is calling me. More soon!