Pattern: Garter Stitch Baby Jumper from the latest Debbie Bliss magazine (I have called it Orangina on Rav though, the name is so dull!)
Yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton, orange, a bit more than 3 balls
Needles: 3.75mm and 3.5mm DPNs
Mods: I knitted the sleeves in the round, did a 3 needle bind off on the shoulder seams, and then picked up the collar and knit in the round. I slipped the first stitch of each row for the front and back pieces and boy, am I glad I did - seaming was a dream, and you can barely see the join. I am crap at seaming, too.
Knitting the collar in the round led to a few mistakes, where stitches dropped off the ends of the DPNs and I picked them up again, but in all purl or all knit. This would be OK, were it not for the fact that the collar is turned down, like a fisherman's gansy....and dead centre of the turned down collar at the front is one of my mistakes.
I noticed right after I BO, but I was so happy with my BO edge (I reversed the round and bound off with a k2tbl all the way round so the bound off edge is on the outside of the folded down collar, and I did a great job of covering the resulting gap at the end of the row) that I decided it's just going to have to go as it is. Once it's on Jen's baby nobody will notice anyway - they'll just be looking at how cute Jen's baby is.
She hasn't had it yet.
I am kind of annoyed with Debbie Bliss for 2 reasons - firstly, they recommended a Debbie Bliss cotton yarn for this (of course) but it is a hand wash only fibre....for a BABY sweater?! We're not all 50s housewives....and secondly, the pattern said 4 balls for newborn, 5 balls for 3-6 months and I intended to knit newborn, so bought 4, and ended up knitting the next size up, and I easily have enough left over for some Saartje's bootees. If I had bought 5 balls, I would be pretty peeved. The yardage on the Rowan is exactly the same, too, so I can't even let them off for that.
Still, it was a quick knit - it would have been done in a week if I hadn't had to wait to buy some right-sized DPNs, and I was knitting a cardigan at the same time, so not bad going.
There are some lovely patterns in the latest Debbie Bliss magazine. I wasn't overjoyed with the first issue, and there are an awful lot of things knit in Prima in this issue (must be her worst-selling line), but I am about to cast on for the asymmetric wrap top (without the asymmetric bit, it just looks like it's not tied properly to me, and with some sort of nice edging) and I might consider knitting some of the coat hanger covers for Christmas, and I love the silk sweater and the blousy t-shirt.
The lovely weather has continued all weekend and we cut the grass yesterday, and today Mr Z washed the car. I also examined the lily which flowered so beautifully last summer, and once I'd picked all the moss off the top of the pot I realised it is shooting very healthily indeed - in 3 different places, no less. Mr Z says it needs repotting and I have begged him to do it for me, since when I repot anything I seem to remove its will to live in the process and withering and dying soon follow.
Horrible week coming up. Horrible timetable week, AND I'm a bloody travelling teacher, for the entire week. Must try and stay positive. Perhaps I will get my year 11s to mark my year 10 mocks tomorrow, that might cheer me up, as well as giving them some of this wonderful Assessment for Learning I keep hearing about.
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