Finished Green Sweater, and The Allergist

So it might have taken me the time it took me to gestate the model, but the green sweater (Trellis) is finished and functional. I finally got a chance to get the boy outside for his photo shoot. Isn't he an excellent model!

I'm pretty happy with it, the sleeves are a bit long, which doesn't bother me because I can just role them up, and it isn't quite as roomy as I would expect an 18 month sweater to by on my little guy, but it is finished, and even has nice wooden buttons.

However, in what a consider a great twist of irony, the night after I finished sewing the buttons on, I took the little guy to an allergist to look into the excema rash (which isn't very apparent in this picture, but probably is in some of older posts) that is on his cheeks and has been there since he was four months old. As we hit the colder months it started getting worse and worse, and we decided it was time to see if it was being caused by a detecable allergy to something. The Allergist recommend a dozen things to get the rash under control, and sent us on a treasure hunt all over town to find good lotions. But amoung the recomendations was to avoid clothing of any other material other than 100% cotton. Being that I knit everybody else's babies things in at least a cotton blend so as not to be irritating, I find it a little ironic that I knit this in wool, it took so long, and I put so much love and care to making it nice, and now little guy can't even wear it! Ah well, Thems the Breaks! I'm sure Anna will like it next year.

A sweater for Anna Lucy

• Harvey Kimono sweater (the girlie version) from "Natural Knits"


• in green apple shine sport weight (a somewhat unatural yarn, but it should be non-allergenic and machine washable which are big pluses for baby sweaters)


• knit on #4 knitpicks harmony needles, and #3 whatever they call their metal needles

This is the 3rd or 4th baby sweater I've knit in this yarn. I like it for the above mentioned reasons, but I'm not thrilled with how it feels on the needles. It's pretty slippery, especially on the metal ones. Thank goodness I got gauge with that size 4, harmony needle that are wood, and all I have to knit with the metal is the picot edge and a little bit of cuff.

Not to scoop my sister, but she did take my name afterall, but this sweater is for a very special little girl who I'm looking forward to getting to know better.

Welcome to the world, little one! You have a great family to take care of you .

There might be even a slight chance that one day she will ask me to teach her to knit (which I don't think my son, or my nephew, or my other niece for that matter ever will, but who knows they might suprise me). I hold out great hope for this one. I should do that whole holding the knitting needles thing with her. Too bad I'm not a better knitter

We Survived Holiday '08!

Last year the holidays passed in the blurr of having a 1-month old. I remeber everyone coming to us, and eating some kind of dinner, and holding the little guy who slept most of the time. And somehow presents were exchanged, but it was basically a blurr to my sleep deprived mind, but a pleasant one.

This year was rough. It was important to me to start observing the holidays a little bit, so we got a tree (and put all four ornaments on it). And we did the family thing at my parents which was fun. I did eventually finish the little guy's sweater. And a was looking forward to a little time off work, and letting my husband take care of the little guy a little bit, so I could do something unheard of like knit during daylight hours, and maybe I would get to go out somewhere by myself.

Unfourtunately, I had two bouts of a stomach virus one a week before Christmas, and one, that everybody got, starting with the little guy, over the New Year's Holiday. I guess this is just one of the things you expect with a kid in daycare, but I sort of feel a little ripped off about the Holiday thing. I mean I'm really glad nobody was sick on the actually Christmas day, but I've been dealing with a cranky kid all weekend, and I'm tired from being sick myself. I don't feel at all rested, I had to take two days off of work I wasn't expecting to (and can ill afford), and I didn't get time to myself,and I don't see much prospect for that in the near future.

I know I shouldn't be complaining too much. I have alot to be thankful for, and I know there are alot of people out there in that world who were suffering a lot more than me over this holiday, but I'm a little crabby.

However, tommorrow is the start of a new week, and the start of a new life (well, probably more than one, but at least one I know of). Good luck big sister, I hope everything goes smoothly tommorrow, and hopefully sometime this week I will get to visit you guys and welcome my new niece. And if that isn't something to be happy about, I don't know what is!