19.10.10

baby's first sheep & wool festival (a.k.a. - woo! RHINEBECK!!!!! yeah!)

february baby pullover - love that garter yoke!

Where to start with the post-Rhinebeck post? It's like asking where to start with Rhinebeck itself? You want to be everywhere and see everyone and everything all at once. Let's find a thread and go with it, though, for the sake of some sort of flow. Let's start with the fact that I didn't take any photos. No sheep shots here, folks. Not for lack of wanting to, since I do so love gorgeous photos of our fuzzy wool-bearing friends. I did, however, meet a ton of people who I have been wanting to meet for so long and to reconnect with friends who I haven't seen in ages. It was delightful finally getting to meet so many people who I only know through this amazing internet thingamajig. Sadly, there were a few people who I didn't get a chance to meet or who I didn't even know were there. And I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked to with some folks. I was all buzzing and distracted, happily so though. Much fun was had, and I finally made it to the ravelry party, which was wonderful. Jess, Casey, Mary-Heather, Sarah, Kyle, Erica, Nancy, and Ysolda really busted their butts to put together a fabulous event for everyone.

In addition to the social aspect of it, this year Rhinebeck was all about it being someone's first sheep & wool event. So much so that I actually knit the first Rhinebeck sweater I have ever knit - for him. Thank crunchy it was a small one because I only decided to go for it at the very last possible minute. Or maybe it wasn't quite so last-minute, but knowing how bad I am about the finishing details I knew I would wait until the last possible second to sew the ribbons with snaps on them onto the placket. Speaking of the details....

february baby pullover

pattern: February Baby Pullover in stockinette
designer: based on the pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann (from Knitter's Almanac)
yarn: hello yarn in Thrive, spun by the übertalented and multicraftual Stacie
needles: Addi Turbo 16 inch circs US size 4
 
When Elizabeth Zimmermann calls her patterns "recipes," she is so spot-on. Well, but of course! She's Elizabeth Zimmermann, after all. What I did for this wee sweater was take the basic structure and number of stitches used for the February Baby Sweater and knit it in the round for a pullover with a placket (because babies have ginormous heads and need a little bit of room to pull that sweater on properly). Easy-peasy! I was done in just a couple of sessions. The yarn I used is some squishy and fabulous Thrive by hello yarn, as spun by Stacie, who rocks big time. It's such an autumnal colorway. The wee one was all matchy-matchy with the trees.

Because I was rushing, my stitching was a little sloppy on the ribbons of snaps:

february baby pullover - frankencollar

february baby pullover - oh snap! frankencollar


I might rip 'em out and redo them at some point. Right now, they're doing their job brilliantly, and it's also the back of the sweater so I am not so invested in having it be perfect. Funny thing about the ribbon - that ribbon has been sitting around in my stash for years. It was a length of ribbon that was tied to some thing or another I bought at Barney's NY, and I kept it around because I figured that some day I would reuse it for something. Ten years later, it was the perfect match for this sweater. Being a hoarder has finally paid off! Woo! The snaps were so easy to attach to the ribbon, and now that I know how to do it, I am tempted to start making more baby items with snaps on them, like a romper... either striped or with colorwork... possibly with squirrels on it... using Quince & Co. Chickadee.... Hmmm....

To the drawing board with that idea! In the meanwhile, here's a shot of the sweater in action:

february baby pullover in action

7 comments:

Unknown said...

This is such a fun and bright baby sweater!

maitai said...

cutest little sweater ever! and even more awesome because it was knit using yarn hand dyed and hand spun by friends! thank you for letting me touch your bottom. not surprisingly, i once again like cheese and wang. i also like apples today.

knithound brooklyn said...

Awww, you sweetheart! Thanks for the linky-dinky. And wee Finn in that sweater? Nothing at the Festival was cuter, hands down.

Oiyi said...

I love how you made it into a pullover with the snaps in the back. Genius! How did I miss seeing your cutie pie baby at Rhinebeck?! Beautiful hat!

knitjoyy said...

so i am loving the sweater but i am wondering what pattern the hat is?! i adore that little hat!!

Anonymous said...

My goodness what a handsome boy! I'm loving the handspun sweater, too. I hope you had a lovely time at Rhinebeck - I hope to make it out to the East coast so I can attend one of these years.

earthchick said...

It was so flippin' fantastic to meet you and little Chicken Findaloo! I just wish it hadn't been so chaotic so that I could've actually spent time with you. Still great, though! (and the sweater was fab!!)