Oh my oh my, have I let things slide by. Not just on the blog mind you, but many other pursuits have fallen by the wayside. For instance, I have yet to complete one project that was late for Christmas delivery… not a single one. And many more items are being added to the list every day. At least one pair of slippers is desperately required for some horribly cold toes; I finally have an excuse to finish a knit for myself as a nursing mother has need for winter warming cardigans; several newborn babes are screaming for a simple hand knit sweater; and no household heads, or heads in this household, have had any hats knit up this year. I am running out of winter! But what’s a girl to do when laundry needs laundering, and dinners need heating up, and little ones need attending to? I am waiting for the day that my first born shows the slightest interest in learning to knit, I could so use the help. At the moment she is most enchanted by anything princess–good heavens, how did that happen–although she has requested that I knit a sweater for her beloved bunny and also that I fix the cropped sweater she believes is too small by knitting her a new one. More items added to the list! And alas! It appears that for now, princesses don’t knit. They wear funny hats, dance on tiptoe, and are smart–at least I got that last one added in!
And to make matters worse, projects that are mostly completed are getting re-worked because my perfectionist self can’t stop obsessing over every detail. For instance this little sweater, which I began and finished most of the work during a cross country flight, needed only buttons for the longest time.
This sweater was originally intended as a baby gift for my niece, who was born a week after my daughter in December. My niece, it turns out, was a nephew… surprise! Although the sweater was blue, my sister-in-law’s favorite color, it was a bit too feminine for that family’s tastes so now it will be Elena’s… if it’s ever finished.
The sweater design, ribbon edged cardigan by Debbie Bliss, called for a bit of ribbon to trim around the collar and button placket, peeking out from being sewed behind the edges, but I had trouble finding the ribbon I had envisioned in my mind. I loved the idea of a pleated velvet trim, but I couldn’t find anything that was quite the right color or width.
I found the daisy trim at the local mega-craft store and it seemed befitting for my SIL, who prefers that particular variety of flower. It took quite a bit of time to attach it securely to the sweater. But I found the bright white of the trim rather distracting and slightly misplaced on the antique slate blue… a bit too jarring for my taste. And it made finding buttons I liked almost impossible. Here are some of the options I tried.
The shell buttons were for an emergency, but the color and style wasn’t quite right.
The frosted glass buttons stood out against the blue, but were slightly too large.
The daisy buttons were cute, but were a touch too much and made of plastic. I mostly try to stay away from plastic. I think I might use these on a hat.
The metal daisies were nice, but got a little lost on the color, and were also a bit too large.
I loved the color much better than white, which made me think that I might have to rip off the bright white trim.
I’m still kinda diggin’ these little bees.
In the end, I went back and ripped off the white daisy trim and replaced it with some embroidery. Tomorrow I’m hoping, once and for all, to find buttons I’m happy with so Elena can wear this blasted thing at least once before she grows out of it. Or I might gift it to another baby soon to be born. We shall see.
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.
