Pattern: Wee Brock by Gudrun Johnston
Yarn: Quince and Co. Tern in Wampum
Size: 24½” size circumference, 29” size lengths
Yardage: about 2.25 skeins
Needles: 3.5 mm bamboo
Ravelry Link here.

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I’ve been wanting to knit Wee Brock for Maisie ever since I saw the pattern but since I don’t see the point of making too many things that will all be grown out of at the same time I had to wait until she actually needed a new hand knit sweater* before I made one. This summer looked like the right time. To help bide the time while I was waiting to knit I had Maisie help me pick out the yarn. I chose to use Quince and Co.’s Tern and Maisie chose the colour Wampum. I checked three times before ordering to make sure she really did want a purple sweater. It wasn’t the colour she was most into at the time (blue) so I was a bit surprised but she was consistent so I went with it. Of course, when it was time to start the sweater she was completely against it and insisted that it should be a blue sweater instead. I had a feeling she’d come back to the colour she’d chosen though so I just put it away for a while and in May she started asking if I was making her a sweater. The purple yarn was pulled out again and this time she was excited and stood next to me while I wound it into balls.

The sizing for this sweater is very generous and there is plenty of build in ease. I went for the second size to give Maisie the most growing room without being too sloppy. For some reason I thought this was listed as a 12-18 month size but the Ravelry page for the pattern suggests it’s for 2 to 3 year olds. Since Maisie trends towards the string bean style of body shape right now I worked the largest size for the body and sleeve lengths. The ease and style of this pattern should make this a cardigan that fits for a long time. Something I’m particularly thankful for because she hasn’t been willing to put it on since I finished it, even though she’s expressed plenty of excitement over it and tried it on several times while it was in progress.

The buttons are a favourite detail. I hunted all through my stash for something just right and couldn’t find anything so I turned to Easy and discovered Remembrances Pottery who had these sweet little purple flowers. The buttons are glazed on both sides so they don’t catch on the yarn and fell very nice to handle. Maisie really likes them. The small ½” size might be too small to stay in the button loops easily when the sweater is in action so I got a set of slightly larger flowers to switch to if we need. I decided not to change them out until I see how Maisie does when the sweater is being worn though. There’s no point cutting things off a sweater unless you really need to.

This little cardigan represents one of those times I was a bit sorry to reach the end of a project. I was very excited to finish the sweater but I’d enjoyed working with the yarn so much I didn’t really want to stop**. This happens a lot for me with Quince and Co. yarns and has made them one of the yarn makers I go back to again and again because working with their yarns is always so satisfying and the finished projects have consistently help up well.

Hopefully, sometime in the future, I’ll manage to get an action shot of Maisie wearing this sweater. Until then, these ones of it on the deck will have to do. I’ve got one last picture to share though. If you look just past the sweater and down the steps there is a trail leading over to the rhubarb at the corner of the shed. It was made by our local squirrel who runs back and forth between its nest, wherever it is, and our feeder full of peanuts on the deck railing dozens of times every day during the late summer. Somewhere nearby is a lovely stash of food to keep a small, busy critter full through the winter.

*This is not the same as needing a sweater. Through the joy of gifts and hand-me-downs Maisie always has a good selection of clothes but I like to make sure she always has a few key Mummy Made items to round things out.

**I’m now knitting a hat out of this same yarn in a grey.

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in "Jasper" (green) and "Beryl" (purple)
Size:  Errr..... see below
Yardage: Probably about a third of each skein (maybe as much as half of the purple).
Needles: 2.00 mm, 3.00 mm & 2.50 mm

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I finished the Endpapers!

Does anyone remember me starting these? It was a little under four years ago. Four years to knit two little mitts that could have been done in four or five afternoons.

I wasn't quite sure what to put for the "size" category above. My mitts fit my hands but they are in fact different sizes. Last year I pulled these out of hiding and knit the second mitt on the same needles I'd used the first time - 3.00 mm. It came out much bigger that I was expecting. I frogged and started over on 2.50 mm and then put the mitts away for another year of hibernation. I finished the second mitt last week and it turned out about half an inch shorter than the first one (and very snug). I guess I should have only dropped down to 2.75. I considered frogging them again.

When Rob saw what I was working on - and worrying over - he said "Oh, those. Finish them and knit a new pair." His idea was that something can only be redone so many times before you cease to make any headway and I secretly knew that if I frogged that second mitt again I would never knit it. I finished the mitt. I think I might be able to get the pair a little more even looking when I block them but really, they were my very first colourwork project and I learned plenty of good stuff from them and I'm proud of them. In fact I'm wearing them right now.

I really like Rob's suggestion of knitting another pair (a pair that matches properly). I've never been totally happy with the colours I used for this pair. My choices were limited and in the skein these two looked sufficiently different to show the pattern but once they were being knit together I found they didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Sometimes it is because of one of the little red spots on the green skein (!!!) but mostly it is just that they are too close in value. If you look at them in black and white the pattern disappears completely and all you see are the variations within the yarns themselves.

Almost since I started this pair of mitts I've been daydreaming about other colour combinations: blue and gold, red and ivory, robin's egg and chocolate, saffron and coffee. I'm especially in love with that last one right now. I'm eyeing some of the semi-solids at Sweet Georgia. I've never used their yarns but they look so lovely.

Pattern: Hawthorn by Susanna IC
Yarn: Sundara Yarn Aran Silky Merino in Flower Studies #91
Size: As written
Yardage: About 2 and a quarter skeins
Needles: 4.50 mm bamboo circular (32")

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My hawthorn is finished!

I gave it a little bath (during which it bled a lot of dye), rolled it in a couple of towels (where it bled some more) and pinned it out (on pink towels so the bleeding doesn't show) on Saturday night. It took up half of my studio floor and I had to keep reminding myself that the sewing machine was off limits so that my shawl would remain undisturbed for the whole of Sunday. I'd actually put off blocking for a whole week just because I wasn't willing to go without my sewing room. On Monday morning I unpinned my knitting and wore it to work.

(Photo by Amy)

I love my shawl. It feels so fantastic, drapes so beautifully, looks wonderful against my black coat, and makes me feel like a grown-up.* I haven't measured my shawl but it is long enough to wrap loosely around my neck twice and still have plenty to hang down. This is going to be my dressy scarf for the winter. It feels a little too special to be worn every day.

*I'm curious to know if there will every be a point when I feel grown-up all the time.