This rose and a pitcherful of its friends grew outside my house. In January.

There aren’t many patterns I’ve knit three times, but when you need a pretty little cardigan for a wee girl, it’s hard to go wrong with Elizabeth Zimmermann’s gull lace and garter. This latest incarnation of the Baby Sweater on Two Needles from Knitter’s Almanac is for a baby born in Costa Rica last October, which shows you just how back-logged I am on knitting for my friends’ children. Thank goodness it blocked out like a champ — I thought I’d be lucky if a four-month-old could be stuffed into it for as long as a week, but now it looks like it might fit her next fall!

This yarn is Deep Stash. In fact, in stash terms, it basically dates from the paleolithic. It is so old the internet doesn’t know it ever existed. (Okay, a few other knitters on Ravelry have some, but nothing comes up on Google so I haven’t been able to find out just how ancient it is.) I inherited it from my mother-in-law, and I’d been doubting whether I’d ever use it — cotton and viscose blends are not my cup of tea, and this one proved to be just as splitty and unpleasant on the needles as I’d foreseen. But the yarn, made by Crystal Palace, is called Helena and so is the baby. How could I resist? And I have to admit the finished cardigan is pretty charming in that antique ivory, with the vintage buttons that match so perfectly…

(What I’m going to do with the other seven balls, I have no idea. They’re a brighter white than the three I used here. If shiny, splitty cotton-viscose yarn really floats your boat, drop me a line and I’ll mail them to you.)

Almost exactly one year ago, Jess and I started batting around the idea of an Elizabeth Zimmermann knitalong. We launched it and cast on for our projects. Today, Zimmermania is more than 500 members strong; new recruits rally to the banner every day. (Email me if you’d like to be among them. The banner is purely figurative, but if we actually had one it would read I AM THE BOSS OF MY KNITTING.) My own little EZ odyssey has brought versions of the Fishtrap Aran, the Rorschach Jacket, and two Baby Surprise Jackets into the world, and now I’ve added a February sweater to the ranks.

Specs:

Sweater from “Some Babies’ Things,” February chapter of Knitter’s Almanac

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy Sock, colorway “In Vino Veritas”, well under 1 skein

Needles: US #4

Modifications: Because I was using a sock yarn, I cast on 57 sts to begin. Out of sheer laziness, not wanting to strain myself with too much math calculating how to adjust the garter yoke increases to suit, I opted to knit the yoke in stockinet and work raglan increases. I allowed too many stitches for the shoulder portions and ended up with enormous kimono sleeves, but they still look cute. And maybe it will be easier to stuff the wee recipient’s absurdly fragile little arms through. (I don’t know if mums and dads actually worry about this after the first few days of putting their new sprogs through more costume changes than a troupe of variety show actors, but I know that when my turn comes I’m going to be petrified that I’ll damage the tender little morsels trying to get them dressed. My babies may have to wear handknit togas until I’m convinced they’re sturdy enough to be manhandled into sweaters.)

But enough about that. Let’s see some cute buttons:

Aren’t they girly? Of course, flowers aren’t just for girls, no matter what faces Mr. Garter might make to the contrary:

(And yes, when you work on your own start-up you can toil in the hammock in the shade of the lilac tree. Of course, you’re in the hammock working on a national holiday when the rest of us are enjoying time to potter about the house assembling Ikea bookshelves, sewing buttons, blocking hats, and blogging about it all. But it’s no cause to make impolite gestures.)

There, that’s better:

I think the Japanese anemone nicely sets off his manly scruff, don’t you? (The self-employed don’t have to shave if they don’t feel like it, either.)

We’ll close with one last pretty flower picture:

Summer’s almost over. Let’s squeeze out every last drop.