A Sweater For Rylie

I did it! I have successfully knit my very first sweater! I am definitely excited over here, can you tell? It took me a little longer than I had planned, and quite frankly, I was worried that either the baby would get too big or the weather would get too hot before I finished. But here it is, early Febraury and Rylie has her first mama-made sweater.

This is the garter stitch cardigan from Knitting For Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas. I used Cashsoft DK weight by Rowan in Cashew with vintage buttons from my stash. I love this book, it is really comprehensive and easy to use. It not only has timeless and adorable patterns for babies, but it is a nice guide for the novice knitter with very thorough directions.

I wasn't sure if I had a sweater in me, and I must admit, part of me thought if I ever did get it finished it wouldn't fit right, one arm would be longer than the other, and it would unravel upon Rylie's first touch. A sweater seems so daunting, so big and so . . . visible. But here it is - a sweater - finished! It fits my little babe well right now and I think she will be able to wear it for a while yet. Admittedly, it has a few issues here and there, but really I'm quite proud if I do say so. I started this project at the beginning of November and much of it was knitted in the car going here and here. The very best way to pass the time on a road trip, if I do say. This little sweater got put on the back burner to make way for all of our Christmas festivities. I love to knit and when I get on a roll I really can't put it down. If I do put it down for a few days, I get out of the rhythm and forget about it for a while, which sort of happened with this one. Once all of the pieces were knitted and only the seaming was left, the stalling kicked in to overdrive. I was so nervous about attaching the sleeves, but really it worked out better than I imagined. Once it was all sewn together, I had to pick up and knit an edge stitch around the entire garment. It took a while to figure out and this is the one place the book was a little unclear. This video saved me.

Rylie seems to like it and what is better for helping Daddy fill the bird feeder than a warm and cozy sweater knit by mama?


And guess what? I've already cast on my next project which is an adorable smocked dress for my girl from this book. Gotta keep the momentum, ya know? Especially with this little confidence boost I'm sporting today. What's next? A ravelry page? Oh dear, I hope so.

And for Ginny's Yarn Along, I am reading the chapter on feeding toddlers in The Baby Book by Dr. Sears. Rylie has become, shall we say, a bit more scrupulous with her food consumption these days. I found a great tip in here about preparing a nibble tray. Essentially, it is an ice cube tray filled with many different finger food options. Set out on a low table, little ones can nosh as they wish while running back and forth on their relentless explorations throughout the house. Toddlers are typically more into grazing at this age as opposed to sitting still during an entire meal at the table. This certainly describes my little one.