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 little more sweet Amigurumi to round up the week.  This is the apple from the same book as the owl came from: Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet.  The pattern in the book includes a cute worm poking his head out of the apple, but I omitted that detail because I didn't think it would add anything to the toy for Z.

Like the owl, (or rather, I should say Ow-ul) this ami is made from Lion Brand Vanna's Choice acrylic.

I nearly lost control of App-pull before he even got his stuffing.  "App-pull!  App-pull!" I guess she liked the idea of having one of her favorite fruits turned into a stuffed toy.  Needless to say, Z was happy to take possession of the final product.

I only wish that App-pull could help make some of the teething pain go away.  Lately we've been battling the arrival of at least two molars and what look to be a couple of other teeth, and in the evenings our usually happy baby has been having an over abundance of sad meltdowns that are not temper tantrums.  On the other hand, we have added a new component to her bedtime ritual.  Now before she goes to bed she starts saying "ABC's!  ABCs!"  because she loves it when we go to this website and work through the letters.  Some parts of it are a little advanced for the average 16 month old but she likes the graphics and the occasional bits of music that come around.  She will sit with rapt attention in one of our laps so that she can watch this stuff.  She's also thoroughly discovered computer peripherals.  If you aren't careful now, she'll grab your mouse off your desk "Mouse! Mouse!"  and run off with it.  It's just amazing to see how many things she can put real words to now -- and how well she can pronounce so many words.

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!

One thing about knitting for other people's children: it makes you feel guilty if you haven't knitted for your own child in a while.  Ms. Z has a very favorite onesie -- it has an owl on it and it's one of the few items of clothing that she will let you put on her without struggling.  She'll point to it and say "Ow-ul! Ow-ul!" when she sees it.  In fact, almost any owl will elicit that response, so it seems that my daughter has developed a thing for nocturnal birds of prey and that gave me an idea for creating a toy for her.

Sometime back, Mary recommended a great amigurumi book to me at one of our KIP nights.



While I thought the projects were adorable, I hadn't sat myself down with it and tried anything out.  When I was thinking about toys, I pulled it out and saw the owl and knew that I needed to see if I could make one for Z.  Well, one trip to JoAnn's and an afternoon later, the owl was made.  And Z was incredibly excited to see me working on it.  When she finally got it into her hands, she just smiled and smiled and ran around the play area "Ow-ul!  Ow-ul!  Ow-ul!" showing it to her father and me any time she could.  And Ow-ul has quickly become one of those toys that she pays attention to.  She regularly wants to know where Ow-ul is and every time she even sees the Amigurumi World book, she tries to grab it and reminds me who is on the cover.

For the record, Ow-ul is made out of Lion Brand "Vanna's Choice" yarn -- a worsted weight 100% acrylic yarn that has just the slightest halo that makes it a nice choice for animal toys because it gives them that vaguely fuzzy quality.   You might wonder why I would actually go out and buy acrylic when I have a collection of Cascade 220 in my stash.  There are some very good reasons:

• It's washable, and even 16 month old babies still like to chew on their toys occasionally.  They also like to try to give their toys a bath in the kitty water bowl, they take them outside and sometimes toys get invited to dinner when you didn't expect company.  So washability is a must.
• It's soft and comfortable to knit with.  I've crocheted with enough cotton to know that over time it hurts my hands a little bit if I am making a stiffer fabric, which is required for stuffed toys.
• It's cheap.  It was 30% off at JoAnn's and that made it almost as cheap as Red Heart. And it's much nicer than Red Heart from a texture perspective.  It makes no sense to spend a lot of money on yarn for a toy that will probably get a lot of love and abuse.
• It's durable.  Ms. Z was gifted with an acrylic fuzzy blanket that has become her one and only blankie.  It gets filthy and gets washed and comes out looking like new.  If Z gets as attached to Ow-ul as she is to her blankie, I can't afford to use yarn that can't take a beating.

I thought the yarn also was quite nice to work with -- it was easy on my hands and actually felt pretty nice slipping through my fingers.  So for budget acrylic, I definitely give it a thumb's up.  It seems to come in a fair number of nice colors, too.  So it gives you a wide pallette for  toy making.

With Ow-ul under my belt and getting such a good reception, you can bet there will be more toys like this for Ms. Z in the future.  One of her other favorite words (and snacks!) is "Ap-pull" so you can guess what might be next.

This afternoon's latte for a rainy day brought to you by a lovely mug from Jennie the Potter. I've seen her at several craft shows and wool festivals but at this year's Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago (September, 2008) I finally bought one of her lovely sheepy mugs*.  It makes a perfect latte mug and is dishwasher safe (absolutely essential in my house!).  She was lovely to talk to at Renegade (helping me hunt for just the perfect color) and she and her husband provided excellent customer service when we ran into a little snafu with my credit card.  I'm also in love with her Yarn Ball Bowl.  So much cute sheepy goodness!

*I'm showing off Jennie's lovely goods strictly on my own.   I simply think her work is sweet and lovely and wanted to share in case you need a special mug for your own collection. And because I love to show off my latte making skills on my blog :-)

I am taking my sweet time with Rogue.  On Saturday evening I finished up the hood cabling (Claudia is right... the hood eats up a surprising amount of yarn!) and set it down hoping for a sunny Sunday on which to use the good light of day to graft the two cable panels together.  After digging out my Montse Stanley book (Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting ) and reviewing the process of grafting when there are knits and purls to deal with I tested it out on the first couple of stitches and then promptly backed it out and did a three needle bind off instead.  My rationale was threefold:

1.  The grafting is fussy and I am impatient -- especially given that even a good nap time only gets me three hours.
2.  If I am not wearing the hood, no one will be at all paying attention to the seam.  And, on the rare occasion that I have the hood up, most people will not be staring down on my head, and, thus, also not paying attention to the seam.
3. The three-needle bind off results look quite good and don't (in my humble estimation) detract from the loveliness that is the cable work on the hood.

This seam does bring me to the completion of all the major knitting work.  Now it's on to the finishing.  And for the cardiganized Rogue, there is an extravaganza of finishing.  Left to do:

• Graft the back of the head stitches to the hood cable band.
• Block the body of the sweater out.
• Set in the sleeves.
• Attach the applied I-cord edging to the front edges.
• Sew in the remaining ends.
  
• Order and sew in the zipper. 

At the moment I'm in no real rush.  We've still got at least a week of unseasonably warm weather ahead (60 and 70 F weather in Chicago in November qualifies as unseasonably warm in my book -- not unwelcome, but definitely unseasonable) which means the pile of warm wool that is Rogue will not be welcome in my lap.   I've also become mildly obsessed with making toys... there will definitely be more discussion about that later this week.

Happy Hallowe'en to everyone!

P.S. to those of you who like to see baby pictures.  John and Z and I had some family pictures taken by the same photographer who shot our wedding.  If you'd like to see some of them, he's posted a few to his blog.  To anyone in the Chicago area who is looking for a good photographer for family portraits or family candids, I recommend Roger highly.  The pictures on his blog are a small sampling of what he took and don't even include all of the good ones.  He was definitely able to capture some lovely moments with the baby. 

*She's applying that "mine" word to a lot of things.  Tonight, I went up to John to give him a hug.  She walked up to us, grabbed his leg, looked at me and said "mine" and then tried to push me away.  Clearly we're going to be having words about who found Daddy first...

When there are baby pictures, it can only mean one thing: no knitting pictures of any import.  So I am having a random Wednesday on an Eye Candy Friday (assuming that one's children are allowed to be Eye Candy).  And just for reference, the picture above was taken last Sunday at Commercial Park with the new DSLR.  I'm not exactly sure why I like this picture, but I do. 

Random Friday Comments

1. I bought the pink sweater that you see Z wearing in the picture above because it reminds me of one of my favorite sweaters -- a cabled pink cotton hoodie sweater that I bought from the Gap after my first miscarriage. The sweater was a present to myself to help me feel better and think about better things.  It has since turned into my go-to sweater (in no small part because it is washable, but also because it has many features that I think are flattering). When I saw this sweater in a 24 month size, I bought it for Z.  She is certainly the ultimate "better thing" and while I am certainly not outfitting us in a large collection of "Mommy and Baby" matchy-matchy wear, it made me happy that we both got to wear our pink sweaters on Sunday.
2. If you have an iPhone, you should go to the App Store and download "StitchMinder" (you can find it in the "Lifestyle" section or just search for it). It's a nice little program that helps you keep track of row counts, pattern repeats and increase/decrease rows.  It's nothing fancy, and you can only have one counter going at a time, but if you've got a travelling project, or just a project that is with you most of the time that you have your phone, it's handy to have around.  
3. My Hemlock Ring Blanket is complete except for the blocking.  However, as I've been playing with it in preparation for blocking, I am now having doubts about it's suitability as a baby gift.  It is not, by nature, a flat blanket, which means that it will have to be blocked every time it is washed, and that is completely not helpful when you are a new mom.  I have to think about this one some more.  I am thinking there still might be time to make some toys... Doddy and Celestine currently top my list. 
   
4. Z's two favorite websites are Kneebouncers and this odd but fun Flash site.  In fact, she's gotten so that if she sees me at the computer and does not get to play she gets very upset.  And, apparently, she likes Mommy's 24" widescreen flat panel better than Daddy's 21" CRT.  Did I mention that both this child's parents have computer geek tendencies?
5. I am currently engrossed in Richard Dawkins "The Ancestor's Tale"  which follows evolutionary history backwards from humans, introducing genetic, population biology and evolutionary concepts as it goes.  Dawkins is a little over the top at times with a few of his digressions, but, so far it is an excellent read, and definitely a book meant to be approachable by the non-scientist. 
   
6. After last night, I am done with a long series of trips to the dentist to pay for my poor dental visit and maintenance habits.  I have a disturbing amount (for me) of dental amalgam in my mouth.  And I floss every night now.