I completely forgot to mention the first problem I had with the Moss Stitch Jacket sleeve. Riddle me this, if you knit the pattern as per the instructions and you get gauge then your sleeve will be 1.5cm longer at the end of the increases than the pattern claims the final length should be. Basic math people.

If 34 rows = 10 cm.
Then 49 rows to complete wrist band and the increases = 14.4cms

You simply cannot then knit until the total length from cast on is 13cm. My sleeve is a smidge over 14.5cm (you need to knit an extra row before casting off).

I finished the centre square of the Stonington Shetland Shawl and what I learned while knitting this vast expanse of garter stitch (well it’s not that vast but it certainly seemed that way as I knit it) is that this yarn is not going anywhere near my baby. The more I knit with the yarn the less I liked it. So when the square was done I tied it off, put the remainder of the current ball in a ziplock bag and washed it, lanolised it and blocked it. Which certainly improved it’s size and now it smells like breastfeeding woman (well woman with damaged nipples to be precise, not a fond memory of mine), but it’s still scratchy.

Goodbye baby shawl, hello dolly blanket. I am going to add some sort of crochet trim to what you see above and give it to Isabelle for her dolly when the new baby comes. Conveniently enough she asked for a new dolly blanket just today. I never did fix the last one I made her….

Having abandoned the Stonington Shawl I moved right along to nicer yarn and a project that just seems to be flying by. Another Jacket with Moss Stitch Bands, this time in Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton from the stash. I knit the back and two fronts in two nights, I was having great fun. Of course their had to be a hitch.

The wrist opening is WAY too small. It’s been a long time since we had a tiny baby, and Isabelle was never that tiny (as new babies go) but I could tell it was going to be too tight even before I pulled out some clothing to double check. I think I am going to make the next sleeve almost straight, it will be easier to get on and more comfortable for baby.

Pattern: Shedir - Knitty Fall 2004 Surprise
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Khaki
Needles: 3.25 Addi Natura circular and 3.25 Addi Bamboo DPNs

Shedir #2 is all done, and check this out: leftovers.

My first Shedir sat on the shelf for a couple of months while I searched the world for a second ball in the same dye lot to knit the last 20 or 30 rows. This one I squeezed out of one ball. Consistent tension? Evidently not me.

I spent most of the time I was knitting this Shedir wondering whether I could make a baby sized one by dropping two of the pattern repeats in a row to make the hat 6 segments instead of eight and also dropping one or two of the main cable pattern repeats. What do you think? It would be so soft and comfy for a baby to wear and so cute, don’t you think?

My baby knitting has stalled again. This time the interruption comes not in the form of my own health problems, but someone else’s. A dear relative who had surgery for one cancer last year has now been diagnosed with another. She faces eight months of aggressive treatment and a great deal of uncertainty, so those balls of calmer I was hoping not to need have made it out of the stash and onto my needles.

I had a wonderful time last year knitting Shedir from the Knitty Fall 2004 Surprise. I still love this pattern but some how it is harder to have fun with it when I am so heartbroken to need to be knitting it right now.