Monday, May 07, 2007

Cosmo's cardi

Don't you love how quick baby cardi's knit up? Especially garter stitch all in one piece baby cardi's like this one, for my friend Leaha. She is due to have her 3rd baby in a couple of weeks and so I thought I'd better get cracking and make something quick. This fit the bill perfectly! She said it would be baby's coming home from hospital cardi! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Details:
Pattern: Garter stitch cardigan from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies (a recurring favourite of mine!). Very easy construction - knit up the back, cast on for the arms, knit to the neck then knit the rest of each arm and front separately (eg left first, then right). Pick up stitches along the sleeve edge for decoration (although I made mine a little longer than specified, as the sleeves are only 3/4 length, and I wanted to make them a bit longer) and then sew up and pick up buttonband all the way around the front and neck edges. On reflection, the top button is probably a little high.
Yarn: I used the recommended yarn, as I had some in stash (woohoo stash reduction!). Rowan wool cotton, 3 x50g balls (probably about 2-3/4 for the middle size), shade 948 poster blue.
Sticks: I actually used the recommended size on this one! I even swatched! 3.75mm for the cast on edges and sleeve/buttonband, 4mm for the body.
Time: 24 April 2007 - 2 May 2007 (with the knitting actually finished on 30 April - as usual I did a full wash/wet block and it took forever to dry!)

*my label - why - because I can!

What I learnt: That flashing your new baby cardi to a work colleague who is also a new grandma is the perfect way to get rid of more stash yarn (she loved the colour and since I had a few more balls of the yarn I offered them to her - hurrah, more stash reduction!)

8 comments:

Bells said...

good work! That's a fabulous colour! And I love the label! Where did you get those made?

Jenny said...

I love knitting little things.

Lynne said...

Your tension is absolutely remarkable! I don't think I've seen such beautiful garter stitch - congratulations. Mine is much more uneven than that!

And I love the idea of the label and your brilliant location - not rubbing on poor bubbie's neck! Like Bells I ask: "where d'ya get it?" (an old TV ad but your probably too young to remember it!)

Georgie said...

Really gorgeous, and a great colour for a baby! I keep picking up that book in the bookshop then putting it down again, but next time it will certainly come home with me - worth it for that pattern alone I think.

Love the label as well - I'll queue up to hear about too!

Anonymous said...

So adorable. Love the tag - very decadent (in a good way).

amy said...

I love Rowan wool/cotton for baby thingies. Lovely.

Melissa said...

Very cute. I love your labels!! I mailed off a letter to you on Friday, maybe it will be there soon.

Linda said...

That is lovely and such a good idea for the label position!