Wednesday, June 8, 2011


It's an emotional week, with my oldest graduating from high school. To add to all of that emotion and work, I decided to knit a baby gift instead of buy one for a baby shower at work this week. I felt like I had a homework assignment, albeit a good one. I'm not sure why I impose these kinds of deadlines on myself.
So without further ado, and very quickly, I might add, PRESENTING:
Sophisticated Baby (Baby Sophisticate....Raveled).
Yarn: By some strange chance of luck I found an acrylic (oh my goodness, my hands twinge at that word) yarn at Michael's. I'm not sure what I'm doing in the yarn section at Michael's, but that's another story for another day. When gifting my knitting, I'm also never sure whether the parent would appreciate a wool sweater that wasn't knit with superwash wool, so I knit this in, wait....I can hardly wait to tell you. I hate this advertising scheme....but it was.....Vanna's Choice - in the Harbor Mist color. It ALMOST resembles hand-dyed yarn, and it's super soft, without the wacky, scratchy feel of Red Heart. I used less than 2 skeins for the larger size, and the only modifications I made were to change the method of the raglan increases. I used a knit-into-the-front-and-the-back of the stitch instead of the backwards loop cast on. Much nicer and easier to complete the yoke.
The buttons were a great find at.....Walmart. $1.50 - amazing!

Needles: US #8 Addi Turbos. Love them!
The other beauty - I knit this sweater, wove in ends, sewed the buttons, in... three nights, with some nights not really knitting that much at all. So it's quick, and I'm a slow knitter.....you figure it out. Most people knit this little beauty in two nights.
There are complaints on Ravelry that the finished object runs a tad small, and I tend to agree. The larger size yielded me a sweater I'd consider to be about 3-6 months, maybe a little larger. I didn't do gauge, as it's a baby sweater, and well....I am nothing if not lazy at times with my knitting.
So, as I send MY baby off into the big wide world, it's bitter sweet for me to knit a baby sweater for an expecting Mom who is just beginning her journey.

2 comments:

knit one, knit two said...

that sweater is adorable! for acrylic yarn, it looks really nice, and those buttons are perfect! do i get a show and tell at our next knit night or have you sent it along?

tell todd the pictures are wonderful.

Morticcia said...

acrylic? you survived. :P sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I never know what to knit babies because every parent believes in their own set of immutable facts. Everyone's happier all around with a gift cert. Heheheh. I'm a lazy knitter that way.

And that sweater is adorable!

Second And: by the way, congrats on your big girl graduating. It's been a long journey. What is she doing next year?