Knitting Tales

I decided that I needed to take my knitting up a notch as knitting something and then felting it does not stretch your ability to knit evenly to gauge. To improve my skills I decided to take a class at Twisted Yarns just outside Old Town Spring. As a stretch I signed up for a class on knitting a short sleeved Tee Shirt. It was knitted in the round from the top down. It included torso and neckline shaping and needed to be knitted to the stated gauge if there would be any chance that it fit. Here are the results:

It turned out to fit like a tunic despite the shaping so I eliminated the sleeves to give it a capped sleeve look. I knit it in a 100% mercerized cotton which is probably why it grew on me. I also found out that I had switched dye lots when I took the photograph though I don't see the shade change when I wear it. I do wear it around the house and for morning dog walking. I do not have the nerve yet to wear it to public place. I learned a lot from the other knitters in the class and I coud see myself knitting another in a different yarn.

While I was in the class I saw a notice for another upcoming class that looked interesting. It was for an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern called the Baby Surprise Jacket. I had some leftover yarn from the Tee Shirt project plus some white that I never used. I bought the pattern and, once again, learned that gifted designers are not gifted pattern writers. Fortunately there is Dawn Adcock on the internet and she figured out all the increases and decreases by rows. In the end I knitted the garter stitched sweater from Dawn's notes rather than the actual purchased pattern. The surprise is that something like this:

turns into a sweet baby jacket like this:

This was a fun project and I would do it again. It looks particularly great in varigated yarns that are self striping. I am also looking for assistance in constructing an adult sized surprise similar to Dawn's notes. No luck yet. My basic problem is that I don't know any babies who would fit this jacket as the chest is only about 18". Maybe I'll trade it on Leahpeah's Trade-a-craft.

COMIC RELIEF - While photographng the baby sweater I noticed Alex working on something. It turns out his new favorite toys are the pine cones that fall into the yard from all the trees I have. I guess I should give up trying to find the perfect toy for him as old plastic bottles and pine cones seem to be his favorites.