Disasters always happen in threes

I've not had a good week knit wise so far. Or, if you go by "the longer I get to work on something, the better" I've had an excellent week. The sweater I picked out for the little girl's birthday turned out way too big and way too rough for a baby. I like the yarn but more for something like a pair of thick socks for myself. I let Joe feel it and he said it was fine, but I know I wouldn't put Ariel (DD, 15 months) in it so I didn't feel right about giving it to someone else for their baby. So I rummaged through my stash and found, oh joy, a leftover skein that was virtually the same color way but a lot thinner and a lot softer. So I had to start that one over.

Next there is the case of the kangaroo-turned-rodent. This is a rather sad one. I picked a cute kangaroo pattern from a knitted-toy book and decided to do it in pink Patons Be Mine since I had that in my stash. The finished product doesn't look anything like a kangaroo whatsoever. The ears that are supposed to be perky and upright, are drooping forward instead. The legs are too short and I put them on way too far back, away from the belly. I sewed the tail (which is HUGE) on crooked. In short, the whole thing now looks like a giant naked rat. Don't believe me? Here is proof. Don't say I didn't warn you, and don't email me because you have lost your eye sight or your hair turned gray.






See what I mean? And since Joe's camera is a pain in the hiney, the pictures are fuzzy so you don't even get to see the full extend of the disaster. Lucky you.

Lastly, I discovered a major mistake in my cable sweater for Ariel. So I frogged that one as well. There you go, three projects that have gone horribly awry. Well, at least I won't have to worry about what to knit next for a while!

Future projects

I downloaded a few patterns last night that I would love to try my hand at, and I decided to go ahead and make the sweater for the little girl's birthday. Joe brought up a good point when he said:"I wonder how she is going to explain to her husband where the present came from." and that basically made me decide. Yes, I have a mean streak. Also, I love to knit. And third, Joe paid for the yarn (which normally comes out of my allowance - I know, I know, it sounds very grade schoolish, but it works for us) so it's all good. The birthday isn't until March so I have some time still. The pattern I'm going to use is from "Knits for kids" and it's called Fringe Benefits. The design is by Jean Schafer-Albers.

To knit or not to knit

Wow! Joe (DH) has asked me to knit a sweater as a birthday present for the daughter of a coworker. Her little girl is turning 1 in March. I'm flattered, and at the same time a little dismayed. This is a coworker whose husband accused her and Joe of having an affair and forbade her to talk to him. And then on Valentine's Day she came up behind him and hugged him and said Happy Valentine's Day, oh and by the by, hubby lost his job, their marriage was in big big trouble, and she was pregnant again.
I had told Joe a while ago that I wondered if she had feelings for him, and he told her that (!) and asked her if it was true. And she said yes.
He has no interest in her, which I believe, and he sees her as a friend.
I don't know... I do know men are prone to turning into the knight in shining armor, the one to save the damsel in distress. I have seen situations like this get out of hand quickly, not because the guy sets out to cheat on his wife, but because the poor pregnant friend has no one to turn to but him... and the rest is usually a blur of clothes on the bedroom floor, crumpled bed linen, and a bit (or a LOT) later one guy feeling like an idiot and one woman feeling rather accomplished.
Bitter? Maybe. Been there, done that. Both sides of the fence, albeit not pregnant in either case. And let me tell you, they both suck.
I haven't made up my mind about the sweater yet. The jury is still out on that one.

First posted projects

My first two posted projects are both for my 15 month old daughter. She is the light of my life and I love knitting things for her. The toy turtle is done in stockinette stitch and measures about 10 inches from head to tail.

The sweater is from Zoe Mellor's book "Adorable knits for tots". I had a lot of fun making this and I think it came out really well.