Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Red Thing and Green Thing

Nope, not Christmas knitting, or Christmas decorations. No holly or evergreen wreaths with red ribbons.

There are two things you can be certain of as a reader of this blog.
  1. There will be lace projects, because I can’t seem to keep away from the lovely stuff.
  2. There will be baby knitting, because the women in my life keep reproducing.

And sometimes I will combine the two.

First, for the Red Thing:

The timeless Baby Sweater on Two Needles, also known as the February Baby Sweater, by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

FBS-02

I’ve deviated from the pattern in a few places, but I don’t think that EZ would mind. After all, she was forever discouraging people from being blind followers, wasn't she? I made eyelets for the second set of increases, just to start the lace idea a little sooner and to keep the garter-stitch tedium at bay. I also cast on extra stitches under the arms when I was putting the sleeves on waste yarn. I’ll be picking up into those stitches when I start the arms and knitting them in the round rather than back and forth.

I’m quite pleased with the way this is turning out, and I’m completely in love with the Crystal Palace Merino 5 I’m working with. It’s a super-wash merino, and just about the bounciest stuff you’ve ever seen in your life. Great stitch definition and a lovely hand to the fabric.

And now for the Green Thing:

Helena by Alison Green Will.

Helena-02

Kind of a cardigan, kind of a dress… it may have a bit of an identity crisis, but it sure is pretty!

Helena-03

Even on the inside, with all those long ends to be taken care of.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Prima and oh goodness is it ever lovely. It’s got this lovely shimmer to it, which simply refuses to photograph properly, and the drape is everything you’d expect from an 80/20 Bamboo/Merino blend.

I’m thinking that if I settle in on the couch for a few evenings I can get both of these done soon… always assuming I can tear myself away from The Big Red Blob.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anree, I think I've seen you do more baby knitting this year than anyone else I know! You're SURROUNDED! :)

They're both lovely, though.

marycatharine said...

They are both lovely sweaters! The eyelets you added to the February Baby Sweater are such a great touch.

Dilly said...

I have 6 more babies to knit for. Can I hire you to help me? I knit Helena in the summer for the baby of a co-worker. Such a great sweater!

Chandler said...

Funny—you're surrounded by baby knitting, and I'm buried in fingerless gloves! Every time I wear a pair somewhere, some friend or loved one drops a big hint about receiving one for Christmas...

essjay said...

Both are beautiful!

Donna Lee said...

Great colors for babies. I try to not use the traditional colors because they're boring. That red is gorgeous.

Caffeine Girl said...

What lucky babies. And the colors are appropriate but not so babyish!

knittinmom said...

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Chrissy G