Knitted: Tomten Sweater and Toddler Mittens
Due to the extremely cold temperatures around here (have I mentioned how COLD it is here in Michigan yet? Oh yes, now I see that I have...), sewing hasn't been as high on my priority list as knitting, which is a relatively new hobby for me. I've made the occasional washcloth or scarf, but nothing this serious until Elli started making a Tomten for Elliot and I got The Bug. It just looked so simple and cute, which is of course the huge draw of Elizabeth Zimmerman. A big part of it for me was the idea that it knits up in one piece and then you just sew the underarm seams.
Pattern: Tomten by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: 4 skeins Jo-Ann Sensations Dolcetto (body) and tiny bit Shepherd's Wool (trim)
Needles: Size 9 (unlike Elli who cast on 88 sts and ended up with a 18-24 mo size, I cast on 104 sts and ended up with 2T)
I realize it's a serious knitting faux pas to use such a nice yarn as Shepherd's Wool only on the trim of the sweater. But in my defense I didn't realize that the yarn store just blocks away sold it until I was looking for a nice contrast trim after I'd already knitted the entire rest of the sweater. Now I can make something else with the rest of the skein! I'm pretty geeked about Shepherd's Wool is because they make their yarn in East Jordan, Michigan, which is literally minutes away from my Aunt Jan's house (field trip, Elli?).
I also realize it's kindof cheating to crochet the trim and totally avoid having to knit buttonholes. I used three rows of half double crochet around the hood and buttons, and two rows around the end of the sleeves. In the end I like how it turned out totally different from Elli's and doesn't look TOO much worse, although it's pretty obvious from my bubbly garter stitch who the more experienced knitted is. The other nice thing is that they are totally different sizes. This one will probably fit Elliot next fall.
Since I'm on the knitting thing here, I thought I'd post a picture of my first DPN project, the Toddler Mittens from Knitting for Babies, one of a bunch of knitting and crochet books I received for Christmas last year and have slowly gotten around to trying.
The yarn is also Jo-Ann Sensations Dolcetto, but in yellow rather than green.
Don't look too closely there...you would never guess that these two came from the exact same pattern..but hey not bad for a first try at knitting in the round, right?
