*Ciocha (pronounced like cho-cha) is "Aunt" in Polish.  I'm "Ciocia Theresa" to my nieces and as I've heard it more and more I've come to like it more an more. 

For me, apparently, baby socks are like potato chips. I can't knit just one pair!  Talk about instant gratification in so many ways.  First off, they are fast fast fast to knit -- if I had nothing else to do, I could easily get a pair of these done in a day, and still have time to work on something else.  Second, Z gets so excited when she gets a new pair "Sockies!  Sockies!" and she runs off with both in her hands.  Nothing like an enthusiastic recipient to encourage more knitting (and her father likes them, too -- given a chance, he'll put her hand knit socks on her over any other socks in her drawer).  So now Z has 4 pairs of handknit socks in her drawer (there's one more pair I haven't shown you yet) and I think with the remnants from previous projects of mine, we can easily get to 7 pairs -- my goal -- one for every day of the week.

By happy chance, these socks almost match -- apparently Z sized socks are almost exactly one stripe pattern repeat in this colorway (Regia 4450 in Kaffe Fasset "Exotic Color Easter") and there is still at least one more if not two more baby sized socks worth of yarn left from the 50g skein. 

Please pardon the cacophany of patterns that Z is wearing -- we're having some remodeling done right now (as a result of a basement crack, not because we really wanted to) and combined with the cold weather we're getting right now in Chicago, it's colder than usual in the house.  Z loves the butterflies ( "Fly flys" as she calls them) and is resistant to wardrobe changes except when they include clothes she likes.  So to get her to wear an extra layer, we bribed her with butterflies.  She doesn't usally have to be bribed to wear hand knit socks -- not only does she run around with them when she gets them, but she will sit still and let you put them on when you tell her what you are doing.  Put all of that together and you get a big print, a small print and stripes!  And happy warm baby feet.  And happy warm baby feet are really what counts!

Well!  This project has been a long time in coming.  At least, the pictures have.  It's actually been finished for over a month or so now and has mostly been awaiting a nice day for photographs.  So here it finally is: the Zebra Striper Dress from Dale of Norway, enjoying it's time in the fall sun.

This is one of those projects where you had better love the little details because the rest of it is just a slow slog through a lot of stockinette in the round in one color of yarn at roughly the same gauge that you would knit socks.  Since the base of this project starts at about 350 stitches around, that's a lot of knitting after the fun two color part.  That said, I loved trying out the duplicate stitch (which I had never done before).  It's so sweet and so perfect on the little dress.
The edging for the neck and armscyes is also sweet and delicate and perfect for the design. 

Of course, it's really the bottom edging that this project is all about.  It starts with a little lacy scalloped bottom and works its way into the two color stranded work.  It's all easy, but the zebra striping is slow going because the repeat is hard to memorize.  The final result is quite worth it, though.  And having a lot of knitting to do helped me perfect my two handed two color knitting.  If I were to do it again, I would switch hands and hold the white in my left hand and the black in my right so that the black wouldn't look quite as overwhelming.  For my first time out, I feel really good about how the color work worked out.  After blocking, it doesn't pull in hardly at all.

No project like this would be complete without a look on the inside.  See?  Not so bad. 

You might be wondering where my final shot of the recipient wearing the garment is.  Well, apparently 2 year olds in Norway are absolutely gigantic, because my 16 month old baby positively swims in this thing, which is unfortunate, because I think she would really like to wear it.  I can only hope that when she does grow into it a bit more, it will be cold enough for her to wear it without melting.  Then I promise as many cute pictures of her as I can take!

Project Details:
Pattern: Zebra Striper Dress from Dale of Norway, Favorite Baby Designs Nr. 8101
Size: 24 months
Yarn: Dale of Norway, Baby Ull (Superwash Merino Wool)
Needles: KnitPicks Harmony Circulars

Project Notes:
This is an easy introduction to colorwork.  There's no steeking and all the finishing is relatively simple.  The miles and miles of yellow knitting in the main body of the dress become a little tiresome -- until you have the finished dress, and then it's all worth while.

The only element of the project that I changed was to sew the seams on the top of the straps.  The pattern has you put on buttons and loops to hold them closed, but that seemed like a lot of work for something that could just get caught on things and certainly wouldn't be needed for dressing and undressing a two year old (perhaps it would be helpful for a younger baby, but the neckline is pretty wide, so even then I don't think it's necessary).  The other reason I seamed the tops of the straps together was that I thought it gave the garment a more finished look -- otherwise the cast off edge would have been visible and I didn't like that at all. 

Would I do this project again?  Yes, but definitely only for my own kid.  There's just too much time in this thing to make it as a gift if you're making it for a larger child.  Even the smallest size is quite large, so it definitely falls into one of those "labor of love" project categories. But it is clever and sweet and I really just can't wait to see Zosia wear it -- and fit into it -- for the first time!

A few posts back, showed you 4 pentagons worked together and I asked you all to guess what I was working on.  There were several guesses that I was working on a ball.   That is exactly what I was doing.  In fact, I was working the Doddy pattern from the Winter 2007 issue of Knitty. The idea, as you might guess from the fact that it is made of yarn that is very similar to that of the Hemlock blanket, is that it was supposed to be a companion piece for the blanket.

But that is the hazard of knitting toys for another baby when your own baby is running about and very excited about what you are working on.  The project changes ownership. 

I do have a few more reasons to justify the change than just the look in a pretty set of blue eyes.  First, it's quite large in the size I made it and unlikely to be the sort of toy that a newborn can manipulate.  By the time he is big enough, I will have had plenty of time to make him one of his own.  Second, I have a couple of other much better projects in the wings for a newborn.  And finally, Ms. Z loves her balls.  It's really hard for me not to cave in and give her things she can identify with words.  Especially when I know there is a long winter ahead and no more likely outdoor play days in the foreseeable future for a toddler who really likes to go outside.

Doddy Project Specs

Project: Doddy from the Fall 2007 Knitty
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed and Organic Cotton

My own personal touch to this project was to lay out the pentagons such that no two pentagons of the same color touched.  The colors are remnants from the Circles Stroller Jacket, Baby Bobbi Bear and the Hemlock Blanket (I guess that also makes it a fair gift for Z since three of the four remnant yarns are from projects for her). 

This ball looks very round in the picture, but the combination of movable fiberfill and cotton yarn means that it can take on all sorts of strange shapes.  I suspect it will also spend some of its life as a pillow and that round is not something that it will be very often.  But compared to other balls its size, this one is easy for a small person to grab and carry and it is a safe indoor playmate compared to the plastic balls that are also in our collection

Comments on the Yarn:
This yarn is suggested as hand wash or dry clean... well, hand washing and dry cleaning are not something any new mom wants to bother with so I washed it in the gentle cycle of my top-loading washer.  It came out looking a little more careworn but not raggedy or shaggy.  I suspect that if I washed it on it's own in a front loader there would be very little wear on it.  I also washed (and dried) Z's Circles Stroller Jacket in the same load with similar acceptable results.  This yarn is a loosely spun cotton, so I do suspect that over time it might end up moving past careworn to more abused looking, but I think it's worth the trade off to be able to put something so soft next to a baby's skin.  This cotton is probably the nicest cotton I've ever worked with (in fact, it almost has a hand like silk).  It's cost definitely makes it a luxury yarn purchase, but for a special baby, it might be a worthwhile splurge, and I whole heartedly recommend it as long as you can accept that it needs to be treated just a little bit more gently than standard cotton yarns and understand that it may have poorer wear parameters than standard cotton yarns as well.

Blocking has definitely made me happy with this project again, and it will be on it's way to its intended recipient soon... well, just as soon as I stop knitting little toys for Z and make a few to accompany the blanket!