Hi there!

Well, I'm definitely out of my knitting slump and knitting up a storm! I've finished all the baby items for Twig's non-grandkids, but I'm not showing these quite yet (although I've made no effort to hide them, either). I don't think it's giving too much away, though, to say that each kid will get a sweater, a hat, and a pair of booties. So that was kind of alot of knitting all in about a week.

I'm back, baby!

Then I got an accusatory phonecall from my mom:

Mom: So I've been scouring stores looking for warm sweaters for your nieces. Where am I supposed to find wool sweaters in Georgia?? And it's not like they have an aunt who knits or anything!

Me: Ok, casting on a sweater right now!

So I did:



It's just a basic percentagey bottom-up raglan cardigan. The yarn is Paton's Classic Merino in Royal. A friend gave me three skeins of it for Christmas, and while the colorway is gorgeous, and so rich, I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. Not enough for a sweater. I don't need a hat or scarf, and don't know anyone who does AND who would wear such bright colors. For a while, I was going to combine this yarn with the same yarn in Petal Pink, of which I also have 3 skeins, to make the Rambling Rose cardigan (scroll down), but that was a fiasco. So it's just sat, and glared at me accusingly. (My stash in general has gotten rather oppressive, and I've been trying very hard to work from it, successfully.) And so when my mom called, I figured this would make a nice toddler sweater!

The only thing is, the fabric is pretty thick. I mean, it's worsted weight (size 7 needles). It's fine for an outer sweater, but she'll be wearing it under her jacket. Hopefully it's flexy enough. I think it is. I just really didn't want to go out and buy lighter weight yarn without destashing some.

I think the Petal Pink Classic Merino will, too, become a toddler sweater. My baby niece, who can still be swaddled and who has inherited all the wool sweaters I made for Big Niece, will get a sweater, too, and it might just be leftovers from the pink and Royal yarns. They'd be nice striped together in a simple raglan.

Of course, I have an ambitious Christmas knitting list, but more about that later. I've already mentioned the Jean Greenhowe Nativity set, though, and I've been plogging along with it:



Get your minds out of the gutter, people! That's Joseph! Obviously, much work remains for him. And then there are all the other figures to make. But I figure I have Mary and Baby Jesus already, so with Joseph (and a manger), that's a complete nativity, and if I never get around to the Wise Men and Shepherds, I can make them for Christmases to come to be added to the scene. In fact, I might do just that.