Embarrassment of riches
Most of my friends and acquaintances know I knit — doesn’t take Sherlockian powers of observation to deduce this when there’s yarn peeping out of every bag I own and I’m actively knitting it at every opportunity. So when Ada’s decked out in cute woolen hats/sweaters/booties, people always assume I made them for her. This is true less than half of the time. My girl is blessed with a great many talented knitting aunties who have made many of my favorite articles of her wardrobe. Case in point: the pear sweater.
I was so delighted to find she’d grown into this. Daphne made it for her and I think it may be the cutest sweater ever. Those stripy sleeves! Speaking of stripes, she’s also wearing this now:
Still loving the toes. I swear I try to get her to do something else in photos, but up go the feet…
But it turns out I didn’t get the shoulders quite right. I need to overlap the fronts and backs more, which may mean changing the shaping a bit as well. So we’ll call this an Okoboji prototype and I’ll add it to my list of designs that need to be tweaked and re-knit…. Anyway, back to the gifts. A fabulous blanket arrived last week from my dear New York knitting friends:
Psst… look who learned to sit, just like a real person!
Knowing my eternal admiration for Elizabeth Zimmermann, they collaborated on a Mystery Blanket for Ada. (That’s a Ravelry link; go check out the many beautiful versions others have made so you can really see what it looks like. I’ll try to get a better photo of this one.) This is the April project from The Knitter’s Almanac and EZ’s singular genius for imagining new constructions is on full display: the squares are knit from the center out and never bound off, but rather grafted together. I’ve knit a few squares of it myself for inclusion in that crazy log cabin-ish blanket that’s languishing at the bottom of my workbasket, and it is fun. As long as you don’t mind grafting. (Which I don’t. But not everyone enjoys it the way I do, and therefore I’m extra impressed that my dear friend Lisa put in as many hours of it as I know she had to for the finishing of this project.) This blanket is soft, soft, soft, and we’re loving it thoroughly.
Thank you, my knitting friends! We wish you all lived in Portland!
Posted: March 5th, 2011 at 8:43 am
She is so adorable and so smiley. She looks so good in her knitted glory. I am attempting the sweater on Ginger Jumbles – I sent off to the U.K. for the pattern it doesnt look too difficult………………….famous last words. The EZ Blanket is on my list and I hope to hone my grafting skills. I did quite will with the back of the Pixie Hat until the dog got into the garbage.
Posted: March 6th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
My goodness is she looking fantastic! Rowan never got into his toes (or maybe not yet?). He’s always been too busy trying to get stuff, or to go get stuff–at least that’s how I see it in retrospect.
Your orange stripes look great! I would definitely do the pear sweater differently next time, making the body longer and perhaps a little narrower. However, I love that the pear’s as big as her head. Overall, I’d do it again and I’m so happy it’s fitting now.
Now I wonder if I have a picture of Rowan in his happy blue and orange BSJ–must remedy before I can no longer squeeze him in!
(I’m going to let the many exclamation points stand, with recognition.)
Posted: March 6th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
PS I’m frequently saying either, “yes, I made it for his cousin and now he gets to wear it!” or, “no, but a good friend made it for us!” Most of his mama knits are hats, which tend to be rubbed off rather rapidly. Now that he’s sleeping in his crib, though, my own knitting is beginning to reemerge. Unfortunately it’s competing with work for my non-baby time. 🙁
Posted: March 6th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
The pear sweater is scrumptious! Your baby girl really is a lucky one to have so many knitting aunties. As are you!
Cheers.
Posted: March 9th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
So glad the blanket made it to you and that you like it! We had a lot of fun knitting it and I think it came out beautifully. Enjoy!
Posted: March 9th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Hooray! I’m so glad Ada likes her Mystery Blanket! We had so much fun knitting it, I have been contemplating making one for Leo. Your sweet girl looks so beautiful and rosy in all of her lovely handknits!