i got LOT of knitting done yesterday! i am so pleased—for one thing, that little sundress for a certain soon-to-be-two-year-old? the one that starts at the skirt hem with 180 sts to knit in stockinette for 10 inches?

yesterday morning it looked like this, almost a week after casting on (the birthday is june 7th, mind you . . .). at first, i was a little worried about this colorway. besides looking a little rainbow-ey on the ball, when i began knitting it, it seemed like the overly cool, pastel colors were turning muddy and grayish once they got knit into cloth. you know how, when you’re not sure about yarn or a project, you start seeing bad things that aren’t really there?? that’s what was happening to me. so i did what all of you would do: i kept knitting . . .

and somewhere in between the third and fourth ball of yarn, i began to like it a LOT better. phew! because i really didn’t have much of a backup plan, and i was using up yarn like crazy. i do like the way this yarn stripes. it doesn’t feel so soft to the hand, but it is lightweight and it will wash and wear very nicely for a small child (read: stains will bounce right off it). we might have to get her some pink keds to go with it . . .

the jumper itself is great; the essence of simplicity. you knit this big round skirt, decrease to form the waist, then knit up the bodice to the armholes, and with a little shaping action, that’s all done and you’ve got yourself a dress! i realized yesterday that since it has no tight spots or buttons or fasteners, she will be able to dress herself in it! i’m pretty sure that will score big points with her!

the shop has a dark colorway in this yarn that might make a really nice little christmas jumper—wines, browns, and greens. i’m mulling it over . . . knitting for a little girl is really fun!

i know you all want the shrug!
email and comments tell me so!
i’ve been hesitating because A) as with any new design, i must have ripped at least as much as i knitted on it, so progress was slow after the first heady night, and B) it was jammed on the circular needle and you couldn’t see its real shape at all. i had it down to the armholes, but i was procrastinating because i was worried that it would be too big. i knew i needed some patience and some energy to tackle the next part.

well, last night, i came home, took a deep breath, and went upstairs with my iPod (and some chocolate) to get to work. ok, truthfully, it was a toss-up between avoiding knitting or avoiding email from work . . i took it off the needles and put the sleeves on scrap yarn. i joined it at the underarms and worked an inch, put THAT on scrap yarn, and measured it.

and . . . drat!—it was too big! (which was what i suspected) arrgghhh.
at least i think it was: 34 inches around, and 7.5 inches deep. i’m not sure exactly how big she is, but i’m pretty sure she’s about a 30-inch chest (a clue: she wears a size 10 or 12). and i don’t want that much ease; it’s supposed to be snug, and this fabric will stretch. it just looked dowdy-ish at the size it was. and the last thing i want is to send something she will have to grow into; shrugs will be OUT by that time!
(any moms of a ten- or eleven-year-old girl on the tall side can weigh in with advice at ANY time; i won’t feel bad if i have to rip again!)
ok, so i went with my gut and ripped back about 6 rows, put it back on the needles and the scrap yarn, and commenced re-joining, this time with fewer underarm stitches (i took out about three inches total). and voila:

now i like it! i need to work about one more inch to the underbust area (another measurement that i would like to be more exact, but have no clue what it should be!), then start the eyelet ribbing. once that’s done and it has some edging added around the neck and sleeves, i think it will be cute. and then, i have to make a second one in blue for another darling girl! maybe i’ll make the same one, and maybe i’ll make a different one; not sure yet.

now onto something i feel MUCH more confident about—socks for david! that green handyed, handspun yarn is knitting up quickly and i like the colors

the romney fiber sure makes a “catchy” yarn though. that is, the yarn catches and snags slightly on the wood of the needles, the points, even on my fingertips; and it does it all the time. i noticed it with other romney handspun, but not so much with other fibers. i’m beginning to build a prejudice about it. at first i thought it only concerned the fiber from one grower, but now, i notice it with this wool from another grower. hmm.

and the weather continues to be dismal. we are in our 7th day of rain with no end in sight. we really NEED the rain, too, but it means i haven’t been out on my bike in that time. i am seriously considering getting some raingear; that’s how much i’m jonesin’. it also means our garden still looks pretty forlorn; i never got the plants in on sunday because the heavens did not cooperate long enough.

sigh. i guess i can dream about my skirt design in the meantime.