Thursday, April 26, 2007

And Now We Wait

...for the baby to arrive! I finished the Kenyan Baby Sweater last week, and I blocked it this morning before I went to school. As soon as I install the snaps, I will try to find the camera to take a picture before it's gifted.

The sweater is intended for the baby to be named later of two missionaries in Kenya our school helps to support. T&L have been home on furlough for almost 8 months now, and they are returning to Kenya next month. Before they go back, the school is hosting a baby shower for them after our weekly chapel, and the sweater will make its grand entrance then. I made it large enough for a 12-18 month old because I want them to have things for when the baby is older and for next winter. I know they will have plenty of newborn things from Grandma, the Moose's teacher.

My inspiration for the sweater was Staci's Letterman-Style Hooded Baby Cardi. I only changed a couple of things: I knit it with stripes instead of the "varsity jacket" sleeves, and I used a crocheted cast-on so I could pick up live stitches to knit a different style hood. My hood has an i-cord pull string so it can be snugged up under the baby's chin when needed. Everything else is just the same, and I think it's a great pattern! Go check it out!

I also finished my Nodding Violets socks this week. I wore them to school on Tuesday, and they are some of the most comfy socks I own. I do love STR! I used the Rainy Day pattern over at MagKnits, but I changed the needle size so I could have a much smaller gauge. They're beautiful no matter what size!

(Edited on July 22, 2007 to add picture of the finished socks.)

I have started working on my second Rockin' Sock Club Upside Down and Inside Out Monsoon sock. I actually had knit the entire leg down to where I needed to start the heel when I realized my picot hem had too many stitches in it. Of course, I had to pull it all out and start over, because it would have bothered me intensely to know one sock had a larger hem. (I really do admire knitters who can tolerate such unique differences between socks--they just make me insane.) I'm past the first cable crossover and I intend to finish the leg tonight if I can.

The main reason I'm determined to finish the Inside Out sock is because my new Sock Club kit arrived today! After being one of the last few in the last round, I was thrilled to see my kit arrive so quickly this time. I'm posting no details for at least another week because I refuse to be a spoiler. You'll love it when you see it though! I can't wait to get started on the new pattern with my new oh-so-squishy yarn.

My other project in queue is Hanami by Melanie over at Pink Lemon Twist. I had seen it a few days ago and really wanted to try it out, and then when Kay over at Mason-Dixon Knitting picked it as a project, I just knew it had to be a good one. I picked up some Alpaca Silk laceweight from BBF, and I knew it's deep pink tones would forever remind me of the centers of cherry blossoms. It's kind of fitting since I did manage to survive this year's trip to Washington, DC. I can't wait to get started on it!

Pictures are forthcoming!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very cool, as always!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see how the baby sweater comes out!

Anonymous said...

oooooooo, do we get pics of the nodding violet socks?

i've got your sock pattern picked out, and yarn! fortunately, your colors work just great for waht i want to do!

your sock pal