03 April 2010

I have been knitting!

Which explains why I'm so far behind in posting!  And reading!

First of all, I have a new baby niece - Alexis - and she deserves a pretty cardie.

This is the Classic Yoked Cardigan by Erika Knight.  I had to use Ella Rae Lace Merino (100% extra fine merino) yarn to get the right gauge (i.e. not very big).  It's a lovely blue-green-lavender-off-white that creates a pretty variegated fabric when knitted in stockinette on US2 and US3 needles.  The only major drawback is that there's no dye lot on the skeins - it's a hand-dyed yarn so no two skeins come out looking exactly alike.  Even though I color matched as close as I possibly could the second skein had a little more green as an overall color than the first skein which was a little more blue.  So the right sleeve is slightly different than the rest of the sweater...boo...but Alexis is a baby and she'll look cute anyway.

Alexis's older sisters turned four in March...and they needed a pretty knitted garment apiece.  Ana and Livy are getting to be big girls so I made them each a ribbon-trimmed shrug in a very drapey bamboo yarn from Sirdar (Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, 80% bamboo/20%wool).  The bamboo lends this yarn a lovely shimmer and the pattern from Claire Montgomery's Easy Kids Knits is very easy to knit.  It only took about a week each to get the shrugs done before the girls' birthday party.  The hardest part was getting the ribbon to lay flat while threading it through the eyelets!

The shrugs do fit - Ana modelled one for Grandpa so he could see what it was but she didn't wear it long enough for me to grab the camera (I was burping Alexis so I didn't have a free hand).



Now that I have the girls' knitting finished I can work on other things...like socks!!  I have a whole drawer of sock yarn....and I have a sweater to finish for me...and a shrug....

Did I mention that I'm afflicted with knitting start-itis?

2 comments:

  1. I am in love with these colors and impressed by your skill!

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  2. Thanks Erin! My camera work doesn't do either Alexis's cardie or the sock much justice, tho :)

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