Pretty little thing

I finished the EZ baby sweater last night, and wove in the ends this morning. I keep staring at the garter and gull pattern in wonder as I can't believe that I was able to do that with some needles and wool. While the construction is simple, the pattern did take a lot of concentration--not an easy thing when you have an 11 month old who is teething no less (you can probably guess that most of the sweater was created at night after she went to bed!). Here are the results as of 9 AM today (I still have to block it and sew on the buttons):




I found it challenging to knit a lacy pattern. If I spaced out even for a second, which I tend to do when I'm knitting, it was easy to forget a yarn over. But now that the sweater is finished, I'm in awe of this magical process and eager to take up my next long-term project: a lace shawl.

Update: The sweater was blocked last night and is still drying.



It looks like the washing has clarified the pattern, and also created some extra wiggle room for my quickly growing child. I'm happy to say that she might be able to wear this past her first birthday, after all.

Second update: The sweater is blocked and dry, buttons are sewn, and the best part: it fits the little recipient perfectly!





I now see why everyone loves Elizabeth Zimmermann. The other sweaters I've made for Elsa do not hang well especially in the yoke, but this one drapes on her neck and shoulders perfectly. I am also happy because blocking brought the sleeves to seven inches, so they no longer look short.

(Not so) EZ baby sweater

Finally, I have something to show for my efforts. I've had a hard time getting this one off the ground, but here is the beginning of Elizabeth Zimmermann's baby sweater from the Knitter's Almanac:




The "gull" pattern is really my first attempt to knit lace, and after a few botched attempts (forgetting yarn overs, mostly) I am finally getting the hang of it. I understand the structure of the pattern now, how all the stitches line up, so I know immediately if I've made a mistake. For me, the key to executing any pattern is really understanding how it works from the inside out. Until I understand it, it never comes out right. But it's funny because in order to understand it, I have to mess it up and then piece it back together.

The only thing I'm not so sure about are my ssk's. I checked Knitting Help again to make sure I am doing it correctly, and I am. But the diagnol looks slightly jagged compared to the K2tog's.

I'm doing one pattern modification and I'm pretty sure it will work out: I'm knitting the sleeves in the round rather than flat. I thought the overall effect would be neater, especially since I have no idea how I would seam the lace work. The only question is if knitting the sleeves in the round will be a problem later when I return to the body and have to pick up the cast on stitches on each sleeve. I have thought about it, and it seems that won't make any difference--but I will update when I get to the sweater body.

I'm also placing the buttonholes every 16 rows rather than 8, since I did not want them so close together.

ETA: More modifications: I made the sleeve 6 inches (rather than 5)so it will fit Elsa better, and I knit the garter stitch cuff with size 6 needles to make it a little tighter. I find the sleeves a bit too wide, although I think that is the intended style.

Materials:

Plymouth's Suri Merino (barley color)
Size 7 needles