Don't you with you had abs like that? Maybe you do and you work for Cirque du Soleil. Maisie was being fussy and Rob tried holding her in a different position to see if the change of perspective would help (it did). She was like a little airplane.

Provided your airplane is covered in hot air balloons and drooling.

Pattern: Maile Sweater from What to Knit When You're Expecting by Nikki Van Der Car
Yarn: SweatGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in "Lettuce Wrap"
Size: 3 - 6 months
Yardage: about 80% of the skein (~ 310 m)
Needles: 3.00 mm

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Maisie wore her new sweater out on Monday night. I sewed the buttons on just before we left. I think the sweater turned out beautifully, though I realize now that I never checked my gauge so I don't know if this is really how big the 3 - 6 month size pattern is supposed to turn out. It fits with room to spare and that is the important thing for me. I think the sleeves came out a little longer than the pattern suggests but rolled cuffs are high fashion in the baby world and since Maisie seems to grow in length faster than she grows around it will probably work in our favour.

I made a few alterations to the construction of the sweater. Details are on my Ravelry project page. I think the buttons I ended up using are just right. I'd been thinking of making covered buttons with this fabric (a Liberty print whose name I've forgotten) the whole time I was knitting but looked through my button jars just to see if there was anything else good before I went ahead. I found some really awesome wooden buttons but sadly there were only three of them. I'll have to keep them in mind for another sweater.

I'm still a little surprised that I managed to knit an entire (albeit small) sweater in just a week, almost entirely while Maisie was on my lap or in my arms. It's a nice kind of realization and shows me what I can do even though I have all these new responsibilities and demands on my time. 

Just before Easter a friend sent me a link to this super cute little jacket. I knew I didn't have time or energy to make anything like that for Maisie but it got bunny themed clothing on my mind and very shortly after that I realized that this was Maisie's first Easter and she really needed an Easter bonnet … every little girl does. I hunted around for quick knitting patterns and considered a few different sewing patterns I had in my library but didn't find anything like what I had in mind. Then I remembered Alicia's Storybook Woods bonnet pattern and knew I'd found the perfect base - all I had to do was add ears.

I cannot speak highly enough of this pattern. It's extremely cute, very well written, comes together beautifully and was simple and quick enough for me to make in the odd bits of time I got with a three-week old baby and a long weekend. I mocked it up in some scrap cotton before embarking in wool and liberty lawn. The mock-up let me confirm the size I needed (Maisie is wearing the extra small) and decide about the correct size and placement of the ears. The end result was so sweet I made a second one for her older cousin Hannah who, at a little less than a year old, was also celebrating her very first Easter (The medium size fits Hannah). Don't be surprised if you see a Christmas version of this sometime. This pattern is too good to make only once (or even twice).

p.s. To make Maisie an Easter outfit I added a matching skirt: I cut a rectangle roughly 12" wide and 30" long. Sewed the short edges together. Hemmed up an inch on both ends and left a gap in the hem on one end. I threaded 17" of elastic through the opening and sewed the ends together with ½" of overlap to fit her 16" middle. With luck this little skirt will fit for a while provided I open up the casing and put in a longer elastic when needed.

This is her sweater and these are her socks.