Sweetness and Light

The shower was today… and the sweater was the first gift opened!! I swear I had nothing to do with the arrangement of the packages, I swear! It just happened to be sitting right in front of L when it was time to open the packages.

I think they liked it Although they didn’t know it was hand knit until I told them. That was a bit awkward… I had written the washing instructions on a card tucked in the neck, but hadn’t mentioned that it was hand knit. So while L was handing the sweater over to her husband and looking confused as to why I’d write out the washing instructions, I blurted it out rather uncerimoniously. Yug.

So here’s a few snapshots taken right before I wrapped up the little sweater. Of course, I thought I would finish up last night, but as I was watching the obligatory distraction movie–last night it was The English Patient–I fell asleep, drooling, with my head lolling from side-to-side. I took that as a mild hint that it might be time to go to bed. I finished just in time to pack up the sweater and the kids in the car and head on out to the southern suburbs. Here’s the overall picture

A close up of the lace detail

The last minute addition of the embroidery

And the lace edging…blocking is dope!

Final notes on my first matinee coat: I really thought the final sweater was a lovely little thing for a baby girl. I had my frustrations with the pattern, but in the end, I think this is one of my favorite FO’s. I didn’t make many modifications other than to add a picot edge–my first!–to the neck line, and I knit it up in a tighter gauge so that it would fit a newborn. I used a grosgrain ribbon to tie it all together, although I would’ve really preferred a silk ribbon… unfortunately, I’m having trouble finding that here in town. I used a variegated DMC cotton floss to embroider the little bullion roses; if I could’ve found natural silk, I think I might have tried some ribbon embroidery on the fronts. We’ll see how the Cathay blend yarn holds up after a few washes, but I have to say that after it was blocked, I couldn’t believe how soft and smooth and light the sweater felt. It was rather splitty, but the sheen and the drape of the knit fabric was just marvelous and makes me think there might be a Cathay garment for myself in the near future… what a beautiful summer fiber.

Tomorrow I cast on for JJ’s sweater… guess I better figure out what pattern I’ll use. Off to Ravelry I go!!