Fourth Verse Same As The First ...

So, y'all know I've been on a bit of a baby sweater making kick, better known as the Baby Sweater Movement (and just an FYI, it ain't over yet but I'll get into that later). This chronicles the last kimono styled sweater I made, the pattern is Carina Spencer's Small Things Sweater. I haven't been able to blog about it because it had not yet been gifted to the recipient yet. And this good friend of mine is on Facebook and as you all know, I post all my blog entries on Facebook. I was a big surprise and I couldn't blow it by blogging about it too early. 

My friend Heidi, who I graduated High School with, was pregnant with her first baby and it was a healthy pregnancy. She and her hubby didn't announce this pregnancy until she was 6 months along. Heidi has a high chance for stillbirth. The fact that she has been having a very healthy pregnancy and little baby Bentley is doing well is a very good sign she will deliver her daughter safely. Heidi and her her husband Todd have been showered, I mean absolutely SHOWERED, with baby gifts. Bentley may already have a car, I'm not sure. I knew when they announced the pregnancy I wanted to do something special for her. She needed hand knits. Period. Anyone can buy diapers and baby wipes. I needed to make a killer sweater and say...some cool baby Mary Jane's to go with it.

This was the funnest of all them I have made so far. Dilshani and I picked the colors together and I am so thrilled with the outcome I could barely stand it. Again, I worked with Knit Picks Shine Worsted because, well, it rocks. Its great in the hand, it doesn't pill, has a nice sheen to is, it is cotton and modal, and it is machine washable and tumble dry low too. Its just great stuff. We chose the colors hydrangea and green apple to go together...

Aren't those color just fabulous together?  The hydrangea was an easy pick but choosing the right shade of green was the hard part. Thanks Dilshani! Once it arrived I couldn't wait to get started on it. Except that it all arrived 2 days after my surgery on May 1st and then 8 days later I was back in the hospital with severe pneumonia and pleural effusion. I was so sick I didn't even knit while I was in the hospital. I didn't want to. I had no knitting mojo at all. Once I was release on May 24th I got home and got to work. I had done of 3 of these previously so I had this down. I was surprised I even needed the pattern but I did. I knew early on that choosing the buttons was gonna be fun! This is about a day and a half into it...

 This is the back of the neck starting to take shape...

At this point I like curling it up and see how much of it is really starting to take shape!

 

 Itty bitty little neckline! I love it! Now enough of it is getting done that you can where the sleeves will go as those stitches have been divided off...

 Enough of the body has been done its time for some color!!

Even the buttonholes are done at this point. The more that went into this the more I loved it! The combination of colors were truly working together so well. Here you can see that the body has been completed, we just needed some sleeves!

By the time the hem was finished I was so in love with this thing that I Could.Not.Wait. to get this to Heidi, I knew she would love it. Heidi has always said such wonderful things about my knitting and my design work, I knew she would appreciate this. Even though the excitement we have for buttonholes can be viewed as unhealthy! One sleeve down and one to go...

Ta-dah! Now she's done!

Let's get a closer look at the buttons I was so excited about...

When I was looking for buttons I couldn't believe I found these. They needed to be girlie but not overdone. I found these and believe it or not, lime green ones JUST the same color as the green in the sweater. I kept laying each ones over the buttonholes to try and decide and then went with the purple ones. The green ones kind of took something away from the green garter ridges in the middle. They matched too perfectly they were almost hidden and no one wants to hide a good button let alone a great one. I went with the purple because you could see them and it helped really set off the garter ridges. They were just perfect. Also, I knew the Mary Jane's were going to be green with lavender buttons too so I wanted to keep it consistent. Now, onto those Mary Jane's...

 Terminal cuteness!

A person could just pass right out from cuteness overload with these tiny little Mary Jane's! And those buttons! The buttons were so fun and perfect for these. Now it was all done...all together now...

All of the photographs were taken outside on our portal and the colors you see are very true. I think I am going to try and photograph little knitted items like this outside from now on because the color is so much better. I loved doing this set, I really did. I joked about how I wanted to keep it but had no reason to. It isn't like I'm going to have a wee one! I truly was so excited to gift this to Heidi and her husband Todd and little baby Bentley who will be arriving in just a couple short weeks, maybe a little sooner. When it arrived at her place and she opened it she immediately sent me a message on Facebook letting me know just how much she loved it and that she was so thankful. I think I spent the rest of the afternoon smiling because I knew she was happy with it. There's nothing cuter than sweet, beautiful, and perfect hand knits for kids and babies!

Okay, now remember at the beginning of this post when I told you that the Baby Sweater Movement wasn't over yet?! Its not. I found the sweetest little pattern for a short sleeved sweater...and then I had an idea. I've decided to make matching sweaters for my Goddaughter Alia and her older sister Savannah! Each of them have a sweater from me, now they need matching ones! You can read about Savannah's sweater here....and you can read about Alia's sweater here. Making Savannah's first sweater was all about learning for me. I had never made a garment before and needed to learn how to do it. What better way than to start out on a child's garment? I didn't take a lot of progress pics of that first one. I also learned how not to make sleeves and that, for me, using a row counter was much more accurate than measuring for sleeve length. I got an education and Savannah got a sweater which fit her beautifully. I was so paranoid that it wasn't going to fit almost the entire time I was making it. Alia's sweater was only my second one and first baby sweater. It gave me a chance to use some of the information I gained when making Savannah's sweater. At the same time it also showed me other places where I needed to improve. In general, I was furthering my education in garment making. Alia's sweater came out beautifully but by the time Heidi's was done, I was confident in even taking a few liberties with the pattern here and there. These matching sweaters will not be difficult to make, its not a difficult pattern. But my abilities have improved and I know they will technically be better sweaters. Here is a pic of the sweater which each of them will be receiving...

 Photo copyright to Rachel, or Ravelry user name Reward

I have gone to Knit Picks again for yarn and will be using Shine Worsted, again. I chose the color called Currant which, from its picture, is a beautiful dark shade of red. It may be a purple red, I'm not sure. I'll know in about 5 days when it all arrives! I cant wait to start them and I will as soon as the yarn arrives. Many of my friends have "Year of the Sweater," or "Year of the Shawl," or "Year of Whatever" to describe their annual knitting trends. For me, I am having a "Year of the Baby Sweater!" I've been wanting to get back to my designing but its kinda been a rough year. Certainly a rough few months here. I'm not going to stress over it too much. I started a new shawl, a DK crescent shaped shawl which is another first for me. I done lots of crescents but none in a DK weight yarn so its exciting for me. I have plans to start a rectangular lace shawl but just haven't done it yet. Hopefully I can get that cranked out before the year is up though. I have one completed shawl that is with Phydeaux Designs and is being test knitting and when its released it will be done through them for the first 90 days, then it comes back to me. I really cannot wait for that one to be released. Hopefully within the next month, I'm not sure. It's a process that's taken a lot longer than I ever anticipated but again, this is something that's new to me. I've never released a pattern through someone else other than myself. Patience will pay I am positive. 

Audrey Grace has been spending her time sleeping next to me as I write this evening. Love this little girl!

Would love to hear what you are all up to and what you're knitting. Perhaps your best sweater making advice?? Have a wonderful evening where ever you are and until next time...Knit on!