August 1, 2008
Not All Projects that End Well End Well
On the surface, this Phil'Onde baby pullover looks just fine. It's complete, the collar is attached, it is ombred. It's even big enough for the intended baby. But it's really a failure. Why?- It's shaped just like it looks -- like a big sack. Even babies don't look all that good in big sacks.
- The armhole positions are more appropriate for a dog sweater than they are for a sweater for a human. The sweater is flattened so that you see the front half. There is an equal amount of back -- which means about 3/4 of the circumference of the sweater ends up between the baby's shoulders. Way too much fabric in the wrong place. So the sweater doesn't hang right.
- This project was knit on smaller needles than the sweater I knit for myself out of the same yarn. This created a very dense fabric. Since the yarn is mostly acrylic, which is good for a baby garment, the dense fabric turns it into a very warm garment for a garment that is short sleeved and meant for warm weather.
- It's knit to gauge (yes, I checked several times) and it's knit for an 18 month old, and it's something like 34" around at the widest point. Given that my bustline is around 34" this is clearly too much fabric for a child's garment.
- I hate the way the kangaroo pocket sucked up all the dark pink part of the ombre ball. It looks stark connected to the white fabric at the top. I would have preferred the shading to be more gradual.
There's no picture of Ms. Z in this sweater. I put it on her once, hated it instantly and could only think about getting her out of it and forgot to take a picture. She's not all that excited about multiple wardrobe changes in short succession, so I'm not going to put it back on her for a photo shoot. It wouldn't make either of us happy. And an ugly sweater is really not worth causing her distress.
So, instead, I'll close with a picture from last weekend when we took her to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the first time.
She's still around 20 lbs and is 30 inches tall now and is getting to be quite the accomplished walker (that little dark spot above her left eye is from a tumble she took while walking at the zoo -- so clearly she hasn't gotten everything worked out yet). She is still a big flirt, but has gotten more reserved around people she doesn't know. She's a lot more conscious of where John and I are and she makes a whole array of funny faces on purpose -- she has one where she wrinkles up her nose that always makes us laugh. She's also got clear words. She knows who "Dada" is and is getting pretty good with using "Mama" in relation to the right person (she uses it for other things, too, like her bottle). She has a word for bird "Caa" (which we think comes from the "quack quack" sound that we made when we showed her ducks) and "Ny ny" (the Polish word for "blankie"). She is beginning to understand "No!" and stern tones of voice -- and she gets very upset when you use them with her -- not entirely different from her mother, I fear. She is still very much a "go go go" baby and while loving, is not very snuggly. She has absolutely no interest in food that she cannot manipulate herself -- and John and I are beginning to wonder what the negative effects of an all pretzel diet could be for a toddler.She really just continues to get more and more fun to be with all the time. We just love her to pieces and can't imagine missing out on her happy smiles and new learning adventures.
said:
I like Lauren's suggestion.....And baby Z (although not so much a baby anymore! *gasp*) is just beautiful!
Lauren's suggestion for an overweight dog made me laugh because my parents used to have a very overweight beagle who would look good in pink. Though I'm not sure what she would use the kangaroo pocket for...chew toys maybe :)
I actually like the colors on the sweater but I can see how it would look ginormous on an actually child. I hate when you follow a pattern exactly, get gauge, and still aren't pleased with the result.
Ms. Z is super cute! She looks adorable in that very mod outfit :)
wow yeah that sweater does look like a sack.. lol
I havea phildar sweater in boucle yarn waiting to be knit, i just have to finish BG's halloween costume, or atleast get far enough on it that I'm safe to knit for myself.
said:
Oh, darn! I was just about to suggest and overweight dog myself. No offense intended to your knitting, of course. I love dogs.
My son used to call his bottle "ma". Or "mamamama" if we weren't quick enough. Since he was breast fed, I figured it was apt; he called me the same thing.
I love the etymology of baby talk - so fun to figure out where their words come from, and how their meanings evolve as they get more specific about who exactly mama applies to, etc. Too bad about the sweater, but I am cracking up about the idea of seeing it on a pudgy dog!
Oh I fondly remember those early self-feeding days. It became an ongoing kitchen experiment to see what could be cubed or julienned. Pretty sure my oldest ate (wore) bowtie pasta marinara w/cubed cheese and veggies about 6 nights a week.
ps: I like the pretzel diet for myself so I'm sure it will be fine for Miss Z
I'm sorry to agree with everyone else. Big, fat, dog is what pops immediately to mind. I loved YOUR sweater that you made out of that yarn and had high hopes for this one, but alas, no. Sometimes that just happens. I'd be tempted to just frog that lovely yarn and apply it to a simple kiddie sweater where you'll get the nice bottom to top gradient that you got on your sweater.
My oldest was on the "I shall only eat what I can put into my own mouth" diet too. Some suggestions that we liked: frozen peas and corn (still frozen), flavored rice cakes, whole wheat pasta with a little butter and salt, cubed cheese, cheerios and other cereals, cubed fruit (the already preserved variety that comes in little plastic containers, the fruit aisle ones are way cheaper than the baby aisle ones and not detectably different as long as you get "packed in juice"- no syrup kind). A big hit with my youngest was the "freeze dried" fruits and corn available in the baby aisle. It comes in a little resealable pouch, is not messy, is portable and my kids love it. I also had good luck with my oldest with baking super healthy cookies (filled with carrots and whole grains and very little sugar) which give you that good feeling that your child is getting some RDA but they feel like they're eating something junky. I only got by with this with my kids until they were about 3, except for my #2 child who never bought it for a second. She was too smart to be tricked into eating something HEALTHY. So... your mileage may vary. ha
Okay - I'm on the chubby dog bandwagon, too! Although I have to say I like the dark pink pocket against the white background. The rest, though -- not so much!
And Z is just darling!
That sweater is a pretty darn funny Humpty-Dumpty shape! A learning experience. We all have 'em.
I just wanted to say that I enjoy your blog and keep up the good work! Also, you could always find a friend with an overweight dog and see if the sweater was improperly marked as human-wear :-)