it's ages since i blogged but the Fall brought Stitchery Guild meetings and socials; singing with the Senior Songsters; playing bridge on the computer with friends and dog sitting. i also managed to knit this outfit for our neighbour's daughter meghan who turned one in October. i bought the Sirdar pattern and yarn at Uptown Yarns in Courtenay in September. once the gift was finished i picked up the skirt and finished that too. i previously mentioned that i thought i wouldn't have enough yarn and i'd thought about how i'd cope. it turned out that i was skinny enough, thanks to my ongoing weightloss program, to omit a panel. it meant that 6 rows of garter stitch lay next to 6 rows of garter stitch but it looks alright. as my Nanna always said - no one will stop a galloping horse to see it!! i used Patons Classic wool merino in black, which seemed thicker than the burgundy merino, to knit the waistband. i also added a border around the lower edge using the same black. i did this as the edge was curling. the skirt in the photo didn't look like it was curling and i wondered about blocking but i'm allergic to my ironing board. :-))
do other knitters find that different colors in the same yarn can feel thicker? i am now working on a baby blanket for the grandson due in December. i am using Sirdar Tropicana cotton effect 4ply in cream and blue and when working the fairisle the blue seems thicker than the cream. does anyone have the answer? my first 3 patterns were of waves, boats and fish and i was going to repeat them until the blanket was long enough. however, i made so many errors while knitting the fish that i decided i'd never finish the blanket in time so i designed some more fairisle patterns and after 5 different ones i knit the waves, boats and fish again. i had trouble again with the fish and ripped back but then discovered that i'd placed the boats incorrectly. i wasn't about to rip back the boats so i paid very careful attention to the first fish and completed the patterning without further ripping. as i worked i thought about the Yarn Harlot who tells in her books how she writes to designers whose patterns foil her. as i'm the designer i only have myself to blame. :-))
the dog we are babysitting goes home next Tuesday and then i'll take some pics of UFO's and the skirt.