Sunday Knitting Report

I started working on the baby kimono sweater from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms on Thursday and it's already almost done - love the small size of baby knits. This photo is not the best for showcasing the beautiful, subtle, light chocolate brown and pale pink of Amelia's first sweater, but I was enjoying the sunshine on the table this morning and took it anyway. Better color photos promised after it's completed. Just the two sleeves left to finish (knitting them two at a time which is a little tangly, but better for uniformity in the long-run) and the picot trim around the entire front. Easy and sweet!

(And I already bought more of this yarn so she can have some pink and brown stripey pants like her brother's blue and green stripeys!)
I knit a patchwork baby blanket for Jackson before he was born* that is quickly becoming a family heirloom, at least in my mind. I was very happy with how it turned out, love the colors (that was pre-blog so I have no current photos, I'll get one for next time) and it's kept my baby boy warm on many occasions. There is no nicer feeling than putting a warm, wool hand-knit blanket over your child as they sleep, especially while camping! The machine-washable wool has come in handy more than once too...we'll just leave it at that.

I knew immediately that I would want to make a similar blanket for Amelia so Dan, Jackson and I headed out to my favorite LYS yesterday to pick out the yarn. I thought about KnitPicks yarn but I knew I needed to touch this yarn in person before buying it. Dan made the ultimate choice and we came home with six different colors of Cleckheaton's Country Naturals line (pretty much the top line of the color swatches on that link for the yarn). Again, this is a crappy "sunshine shot" again so you can't see all of the beautiful specks and flecks in the yarn, but you'll have to trust me - it's really pretty. (And at only $4.75 a skein, it wasn't much more expensive than KnitPicks would have been, so score!) It's only 85% pure wool since there's a bit of acrylic and viscose thrown in, but it is also machine-washable. And very, very soft. Just the thing for a new baby girl when the weather turns chilly next fall.
Boy, do I have knitting for Amelia on the brain these days! I also have a must-knit project lined up that is only being held up from casting-on due to postal service delay. It's the "Amelie" dress from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms (totally my new favorite pattern book). How could I resist an adorable knit dress with flowers all over it with a name so similar to my daughter's? I've already got the "deep purple" Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool ready to go and am just waiting for the "vibrant green" and the "shocking pink" to arrive for the stripe and flowers. (Found a great deal on these clearance colors over at the Fuzzy Mabel. They have good quantity left in some nice colors too, if anyone's looking for a sweater project!)

And just so you know it's not all "baby, baby, baby" around here (indeed, it's more like "2-year-old, 2-year-old, 2-year-old" 24/7), I offer a photo of Jackson with his friend, Calliope. These two truly are great friends and it's such a joy to see them play together (in their hand-knit pants...C's mom is a great knitter) and actually enjoy being together. There is much conversation about each other in our respective homes when we're not all together...they both think about each other a lot. Here they are enjoying a bowl of Cheerios recently. Enjoy!
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*I worked on Jackson's baby blanket off and on during my pregnancy but wasn't super motivated to finish it. I just figured it would get done eventually (and it was patchwork, so the more I finished, the more I thought about all of that seaming...) But my boy was 1-week overdue so I got going on it again during that last week. I turned into a hurricane knitter and raced through the end, seaming and blocking right up until we left for the hospital. Indeed, Jackson's labor started the very minute that I put the last pin in for blocking. Was he waiting for his baby blanket to be finished before making his appearance?! I'm not taking any chances this time with Amelia and plan to finish her blanket well in advance!