Spring showers, ice babies, and a new sweater
A nice weekend with a visit from my friend Bronwyn (and her hilarious and wonderful friends who I wish all lived in Portland so they could be my friends, too) has quite scattered the clouds after my stressful last few weeks. We’ve had a stormy beginning to May, with thunder and lightning and drenching, sudden rain and just-as-sudden sun. It’s rare for the Northwest to see those pelting rains that knock the cones from the trees and recoil so hard from the pavement that the air above the streets is a blowing soup of spray.
Yesterday’s squall came through just after a baby shower for my cousin Ben and his partner, who will welcome a son next month. There were plastic babies in the ice cubes, which many of us thought was superbly creepy and which put me in mind of National Geographic articles about frozen ice men that fascinated me as a child. The funny part was listening to my aunt tell how much trouble it turns out to be to create clear ice–there was some sort of triple boiling of distilled water that took most of the day, and even then there were still crystals around the babies. Little thawed babies floating belly-up in your drink are sort of unnerving, as it turns out. I didn’t particularly want them to touch my lips. But on to the important part of the shower: the knitting!
This is a wee sweater I whipped up with my new little cousin-to-be in mind. It’s built on principles I like to think Elizabeth Zimmermann would approve of: plenty of garter stitch; no purling (really—even for the short rows to raise the back of the neck I knit back backwards, just for kicks); armholes made like afterthought heels so you can just keep buzzing round and around, then pull out the waste yarn and pick up sleeve stitches later; and her special i-cord button tabs. Here’s a cuff detail:
Mingus felt this photo needed a certain feline je ne sais quoi. Les chats, ils savent.
The unusual construction of the sleeve join means the sleeves can’t lie quite flat in the way you expect of sleeves, but in theory they ought to fit just fine on a three-dimensional baby and offer plenty of mobility for flapping one’s fat little arms.
I-cord button tabs.
I’m calling it the Islander sweater, not because I favor either of the New York hockey teams, but in honor of the island where this little boy’s papa and I grew up. I’ll be knitting a second version for another island baby due in June—a two-color variation this time, I think. It’ll be a great way to use up sock leftovers. This yarn, by the way, is one of the Pagewood Farms superwash merino sock yarns. It didn’t come with a color name, possibly because it was dyed as an exclusive for a particular yarn shop. It was a gift from my beautiful, articulate, witty, and talented friend Kristen, who I’d like to be when I grow up except that she’s only half a year older than I am, so I’m pretty sure there’s not much hope for me. One skein of this yummy stuff, which turned out to be one of the few variegated yarns I think is as attractive knit up as it is on the skein, was ample for the little (three-month size?) sweater. And there were leftovers. Look what I’m doing with them:
Regina Willer’s Blue Step Baby Booties are my new go-to baby present. So adorable! So fast! I cast on the second during this morning’s sermon (the choir director finally moved me to the second row—now I can knit away in between songs and the congregation will never know!) and I predict it will be finished by the end of Masterpiece Theatre tonight. The English translation is still a little bit quirky. Based on my knowledge of brioche stitch, I interpreted the half-brioche stitch pattern like this:
Row 1: *Sl 1 wyif, yo, p1*
Row 2: *K tog the stitch and the yo, p1*
The result looks like the picture, so I’m pretty sure it’s correct. The only other funny bit is where you decrease to form the top of the foot—you pass a slipped stitch over two other stitches, which isn’t totally obvious from the instructions.
And now it’s time to make supper. Something involving lemon-pepper capellini, red kale, and feta…
Posted: May 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
The sweater and booties look gorgeous! Several friends have just hand or are imminently expecting, and you have given me lots of inspiration.
Posted: May 3rd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
The Booties are looking perfect, although my translation is not the best, but it’s not easy to do it in the “right” knitting terms. Your idea with the sweaters button holes is great.
Posted: May 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 pm
the ice baby thing? really truly totally weird.
but a little more entertaining than the wedding shower i just attended where the bride’s family ‘adopted’ me because i knew no one and then started telling me about all their family feuds. whew. and i could only have half a glass of wine because i had to drive.
makes the ice babies sound fun. and the sweater is lovely. as always.
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Your Islander sweater is fabulous! And I agree that the yarn does look exceptionally good knit up, unlike a lot of other varigateds.
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Love the sweater! It looks great in that yarn, too.
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 8:39 am
What a great sweater! So beautiful and playful – both in final design and in process.
I have to say that floating or ice-encampsulated babies is incredibly eery. Having been to a bachelorette’s party where the floating/ice encased object was a bit more risque (wink, wink) I totally understand how unnerving it can be!
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 9:13 am
This sweater turned out gorgeous! Are you going to write up the pattern?
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Not sure what to say about the babies in the ice cubes but the sweater is perfection. EZ would definitely approve. Your knitting genius floors me. Thanks so much for the link to those baby booties too. My babies feet will look adorable in them.
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
That little sweater is just too cute! I love the button details, esp. on the sleeves. Great use of hand-dyed yarn, too.
I attended a baby shower where the little babies were inside the cupcakes. Quite creepy, indeed!
Posted: May 4th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I love that sweater and booties! What a pretty colorway!
Posted: May 5th, 2009 at 5:45 am
I made those booties too! I’m glad I’m not the only one who was disconcerted by the instructions. Love this variegated yarn
Posted: May 6th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I’m so in love with that colourway!
Posted: May 6th, 2009 at 10:04 am
It’s just lovely!! And oh, that I had a friend names Bronwyn!
Posted: May 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Oh, I love that variegated Pagewood Farms!! So YUMMY! That sweater is fantastic, and your dinner tonight sounds delicious.
Posted: May 7th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Very cute top and booties! I don’t know anyone who needs baby clothes right now, which is too bad. I have plenty of superwash sock yarn that could be happily knit up into cute little baby clothes!
Posted: May 11th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
i am glad im not the only one who religiously knits to masterpiece theatre every sunday! i am addicted (to both masterpiece and to knitting). i love the sweater design as well as the yarn – i am always afraid to knit with veriegated yarns because of the possibility of pooling colors but youre right, this skein was perfect for the sweater!
Posted: May 13th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Well, this is old news, but we did the frozen babies thing at my shower too. It was WEIRD, but a great ice breaker