A hat

I know that anything I make right now it completely trumped by what Kristen made.


And what Kristen made is remarkably adorable and I'm totally in love with her even if I've never met her and I'm horribly jealous of Patti right now. And if more pictures of this sweet little girl were to be sent to me, I wouldn't complain one bit.

Can I just take a moment to say how strange it is to see another baby in our carseat? I can't quite explain it, but it's STRANGE. Because Z was NEVER that small. Even if he was the exact same size as Caroline when he was born. Ahem.

But I'll post my meager little creation anyway. I made a hat for another baby that was born recently, Ella, who is the daughter of Rob's biological brother. Ella (and her parents) live in New Hampshire, so I thought she'd probably need something to keep her ears warm.

I tried to get a modeled shot, but, well, you can see that the model was being temperamental.


So here's a still.


It's Knitty.com's Toasty Topper, in Berocco's Ultra Alpaca. I've made this before and it's just a great hat. Zack's still fits him from last year, it stays on, it's not too itchy. And the best part? Only one end to weave in. Woo hoo!

I knit a sweater. And it fits.

This really is something of a miracle, as none of the baby sweaters I've knit have ever fit. Neither of the ones that I've made for Zack did. I made one for the daughter of a friend of mine and it was closer to fitting my friend than her daughter. I have gauge and choice-of-yarn issues.

So this year when we were on vacation and went to the lovely little yarn store in Mystic and Rob said "Hey, this yarn would make a great sweater for Zack", I think I cringed because we'd done the same song and dance the previous year and got one of the aforementioned poorly fitting sweaters. But I like to encourage Rob in his aiding and abetting of buying wool, so I sighed and resigned myself. He was right--it was beautiful yarn, a great color for Zack. So I asked one of the helpful ladies at the store what pattern would be good for the yarn, something simple, no bells and whistles. And she pulled out a pattern that I never would have given a second thought, but is, in fact, brilliant and perfect for me. It's knit all in one piece from the top down--so no seaming. I cast on Monday morning while I waiting at the hospital for Rob to have some tests done and finished it Friday night. And yes, it is a merino sweater for a 19 month old. But I had such fun knitting it I can't wait to knit another one!

Most importantly (and amazingly!), it fits. And may fit him next year (though I may have to extend the sleeves). While (dare I say) the choice of model helps with the presentation, I think it turned out pretty well.