knitting for baby

It's so fun to have a reason to knit, long before Christmas presents are calling for completion. It has also been wonderful to have some cooler weather in the evenings - makes holding yarn and needles a wonderful thing!

About a week and a half ago, I cast on for this vest, using some gray Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn that I had purchased on sale somewhere a long while ago. One skein was missing a paper label, but I don't generally see that as a big deal when I'm paying, oh, $1.50 per skein. Especially since the full price on Lion Brand's website is listed at $7.69 per skein. Yeah. Not a bad deal.

So, I forged ahead and cast on. I love knitting with cables, and was so pleased at how the back of the sweater turned out.

Here's the back of the sweater, before ribbing was added to the sleeves.

I chose to knit the 12 month size so that Baby can wear it next autumn all the way through the spring. I'm thinking it might make a really cute Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter outfit, depending on how fast the little guy grows. I also decided to leave out the buttons at the shoulder, because the v-neck looks big enough to stretch over a baby head without too much trouble.

The vest is made in two pieces - front and back - and then is sewn together before the ribbing around the arm holes and v-neck is added. I ran out of my first skein of yarn halfway up the v-neck on the left side, and joined the new skein. I knit the other side of the v-neck, seamed the shoulders and sides, and only then did I realize...

...these two skeins of gray cotton are two different dye lots.

Translation: the color is not an exact match. It's subtle, but I can see it, and it's frustrating. However, there is no way that I'm ripping out that much of a sweater; I'd have to undo the perfectly seamed sides (thankyouverymuch) and knit the entire front again. Not happening. Not until the next time I make this sweater.

In typical Linnea style, I just continued with the pattern, adding the ribbing at the arm holes. Cute.

Then I picked up stitches for the neck line, knit the five rows of ribbing as prescribed and had a second frustrating realization: there are no instructions for a decrease at the v-neck to make the ribbing lie flat.

This time, I did rip out stitches - but just three rows. I did some decreasing at the point of the "v" - as neatly as I could - and tried to make it work. I think it was somewhat successful.

See? Somewhat successful, almost-flat v-neck trim.

Most of my disappointment at this point is because I had hoped that this little project would be an exquisite heirloom, destined to be passed down from our Baby to his baby to the next baby... as long as it would last. It's really cute, but not perfect. Not a complete failure, but still sad.

I do like it, though. And I'll try again...but not for a while! Now, it's on to other little projects.