March 15, 2005
Knitting Boomerang
As I've made clear on this site before, I love knitting for babies. Here's one aspect of it that I don't think I've talked about yet: the Baby-Knitting Boomerang. Here's how it works: you knit something for a baby, and you present it to the baby's parents. Baby gets a handknit, parents are touched that you put the time and energy into their progeny, and you get the gratitude and warm-fuzzies of having done something nice. Everybody's happy.
Every once in a while you also get a delayed reward. It's a picture of an adorable baby in a sweater that you made arriving by e-mail. Better still, it's arriving at baby's house to find her dressed in duds you knit months ago. Such were the two Baby-Knitting Boomerangs that came back to me last week.
Boomerang One
I love to get pictures of babies in handknits, but I know it doesn't always work out. Having a new baby around is hard work, after all, whether it's the total life change of the first baby or the exponential increase in demands that comes with any thereafter. So every time I do get a picture, it's a guaranteed Day Improver. In the midst of a grindingly-boring project at work and a sense that this wedding planning is just NEVER GOING TO END, I got a much-needed Day Improver last week.
Is that the greatest baby hair of all time, or what? That's one of our most recent baby friends, modeling the (in)famous Purple Placket Sweater. It's enough to make a girl forget about pattern errors.
Boomerang Two
Remember the teeny-tiny Christmas baby who required an emergency sweater? It's amazing what 10 weeks will do.
Last weekend, Jason and I were in New York for his dad's birthday celebration. Every year, they have a "guys lunch" at Peter Luger's, and two years ago we started a complementary "girls lunch". I arrived at Jason's sister's home to find Syd decked out in her Wrap Sweater and booties. When she went for a walk later, they even had the hat at the ready.
May many Knitting Boomerangs come winging your way!
Posted by shannon at 5:00 PM | Comments (4) | For related posts: Baby Wrap Sweater, Purple Placket Sweater
January 10, 2005
Bad Pattern. No Donuts for You!
I got Last Minute Knitted Gifts before Christmas, but didn't get around to trying any of the patterns until this weekend. I'm at another one of those periods in my life where babies are popping up like crazy among my friends, so I thought I'd try the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover.
The pattern call's for Koigu's Kersti, but I opted to go with Debbie Bliss Merino DK instead. I cast on Thursday evening, and made good progress over the next day or so. Until I reached the sleeves.
There is bad-ness in this pattern, friends. Lots of it. I spare you the details, but if you are struggling with this pattern I will tell you this: (1) if it seems weird to you that all of the raglan decreases are after the markers, you're right (should be: SKK, marker, K1, K2tog), and (2) you're not losing your mind, the pattern really doesn't ever tell you what to do with those 32 (total) underarm stitches that are still on stitch holders (solution: graft them using kitchener stitch).
I assumed that since the book was published in October 2004 that there would be no errata information out there yet. Oh, how I underestimate the Internet! I could have saved myself a hours of frustration with a simple Google search. So despite the fact that the pattern in the book is infested with bad-ness, I give credit to the author for posting corrections in a timely manner.
I finished the sweater late Saturday night, and blocked it on Sunday. All that's left is sewing on buttons. It's really a very sweet sweater, so I suppose all's well that ends well.
Posted by shannon at 11:29 AM | Comments (5) | For related posts: Purple Placket Sweater