Oh, Baby (Sweater)

The good thing about making a sweater that is probably too big for a newborn is that it will bunch up on them and hide the ugly seaming job.

That's the finished Mason and Dixon Baby Kimono, modeled by Sleepytime (aka Ugly) Ernie, the closest thing we have to a newborn in the house right now. (I finally had to take his batteries out. He had a bad habit of saying, "I feel great!" from behind the toy box without anybody pressing his buttons. Freaky.)

Here are the stats:

The Pattern: M&D's baby kimono
The Yarn: Dalegarn Baby Ull in a not-too-babyish green
The Needles: Addi Natura US2 (3.0mm) 40" circular (because that's the only non DPN set of US2s I have) and Addi Natura US1 (2.5mm) DPNs
Time: January 29 was the original-original cast on day, and it was finished March 3

I had a couple of false starts with this sweater, and one is now a design feature. The yarn is fingering weight, instead of the worsted weight called for in the pattern. I also got a different gauge than called for. So I had to modify the pattern slightly to compensate.

I also ended up making the sweater slightly wider than in the pattern, because after I switched from the original kimono to Haiku back to the kimono, I didn't want to re-frog the work I had put into the Haiku attempt. Call me lazy. Or call me an independent thinker.

I did the M1 increases around the neck instead of the yarnovers, because I thought it would be more unisex that way. I also left a hole in one of the side seams so that the inside tie could come through and meet the front tie in the back.

Besides the seaming (IHATEIT), I am generally happy with the sweater. The yarn is soft and machine washable, and I like the color because it matches the footie pajamas and other babywear I already have.

KnittinSis has made a hat to match and is working on (or nearly completed?) matching mitts and booties. It should be a cute handknit combination.

And a perfect thing for Slim to bring up in therapy later in life..."My mom knitted my little X sweaters, but only finished one hat for me. I knew she never loved me."

Excellent.

So I am going to cast on for the Monkey socks this evening now that the cleaning and kid entertaining is done for the day. Unfortunately we did not make it to the Botanical Garden today (maybe tomorrow?), but I did get the laundry finished and the whole house cleaned. Baby Dos is in no mood to come out, so I may be able to make a good bit of progress on the socks before making them my hospital knit project.

And just in case they are too complicated, I couldn't resist casting on with some birthday yarn KnittinSis gave me for a scarf to give to my SIL. She just got word the play she is directing in LA will be moving to a bigger theater for a longer run, and I want to make her a congratulatory gift. Since she lives in LA, it's hard to make her something too warm and wintery. This scarf should be nice and light.

The yarn and I got off on a bad foot before I got my ball winder from the Cap'n for my birthday. A good chunk of it still looks like this:

But it's a beautifully hand dyed rayon from KnittinSis's LYS, and it's already showing up beautifully in a Feather and Fan stitch pattern. (I'm cribbing from Scarf Style's Misty Garden pattern again.) I'm also using my KnitPicks Options set for the first time, and I am loving it! The needles are smooth and the yarn moves fast over them. Great stuff.

So I'm still feeling kvetchy (I have a sore throat, chest cough and reflux...wah) and still avoiding some chores I have to do (filing, tax prep, etc.), but let's keep this post lighter and picture-ier.

Here's a random shot of Slim checking out the cows at the National Zoo yesterday. He has learned to turn on the tv by himself and asks to see his photo on the back of the digital camera. He's really getting quite big. Let's just hope he's bigger than the jealousy he's going to feel when Baby Dos gets here...if that day ever comes.

Nope. It's not a basketball hiding under my shirt. Alas.

39 weeks, 6 days...tick, tick, tick...