This has been finished for almost a month… my friends are pointing out that I’ve been a negligent blogger lately, and it’s the truth! I love this shawl, though. It’s another Akimbo — I knew I wanted one for myself as soon as I tried on my brother’s. I still had plenty of Socks That Rock in Pond Scum for the edging; the teal is some flydesigns Monarch that’s been marinating in the stash since… oh, probably 2007. Back when you could get it in 660-yard skeins, anyway.

I went up a needle size to US #7 to achieve a slightly larger size, and I think it was a good decision. I also think I should stand in front of orange walls while wearing it as often as possible. (Especially if those walls stand in proximity to amazing scones.) Although it’s nice against brown, too:

In other knitting news, I’ve finally picked up the Tomten jacket I’ve been knitting for the last eighteen months in an effort to finish it for my nephew’s Christmas. I decided it needed some jacquard patterning at the shoulders a la Franklin Habit, so more on that soon. (Pssst… how do you make an accent grave in WordPress?)

Er. . . pattern singular, for now. But take a look at the Patterns tab above. I’ve posted the schematics for Leif’s Twisted Tree Pullover, and you can grab the PDF and start knitting for your favorite tot. If you do, I’d love to hear about your experiences so I can become a better pattern drafter. The Patterns page is set up just like a regular blog post with a comment forum and everything, so please leave notes of any errors you encounter or any roadblocks you hit in the knitting. I’m especially curious whether I guessed correctly on the yarn quantities. I’ll be knitting the 4/5 size again this fall since Asa’s about the grow out of the 2/3, but it may be a while before I get to testing the smallest and largest versions. My intent is that patterns at Blue Garter will be a communal effort, with dialog amongst all those knitting them, until they’re perfect. It doesn’t seem right to me to charge money for something that hasn’t been thoroughly tech edited, so until I draw up something super schmancy, they’ll all be gratis. I’ll also post notes about patterns I publish elsewhere so you’ll know where to get them if you like my work. I’m excited to be offering something of my own to the knitting community, so thanks in advance for your support!

Meet my little cousin Asa. He’s three and a half, hell on wheels, utterly charming, and therefore a tempting victim when I cut my teeth on knits for shorties. Back in the spring, my lifelong amiga Abbie asked for a cute kiddie sweater recommendation for her nephew Leif. A design idea came to me in a flash and I scribbled a raglan pullover with a traveling stitch motif up the raglan lines and panels of stockinet and reverse stockinet on the body and sleeves. I rummaged up some ancient Cleckheaton Country 8-Ply Naturals from my mother-in-law’s stash and cast on a couple of months ago. I finished just in time to try it on the little dude at the big summer party last weekend — family and hometown friends galore, plus a six-foot boa constrictor. The boa swam in the pond, which the kids thought was awesome, although some of the adults weren’t fully on board with the idea. (I spent a lot of time making sure small children like this one didn’t drown in the pond. It’s a nervous business, the whole lots-of-kids-in-water thing. We played man-to-man defense for a while but eventually had to switch to zone when a medium-size guy who actually can swim stayed in too long, got tired, and had to be rescued…all’s well that end’s well, anyway.) It was a hot day: great for water play, but my little cuz wanted no part of a wool sweater. When the sun finally sank below the trees he was up for modeling, providing I pushed him over the lumpy parts of the meadow:

He wore it the rest of the night and even managed not to get marshmallow all over the front when his brother made him a s’more. He really likes it.

Verdict? The pattern needs work. The arms are too skinny, so I’m doing the math to plump them up before Abbie casts on a version for Leif. And I’m going to have to knit a bigger one if Asa is going to wear it when the weather actually gets cold again. But I think I’m going to like it when it’s done. If the pattern proves sound, I’ll offer it here.