One of my dear friends just had a baby girl and she has been such a source of knitting inspiration. The first sweater I knit her was the Norwegian Fir Top Down Cardigan. I had two skeins of light pink Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn in my stash and as soon as I found out I would be going to California for work, I cast on looking forward to 5 hours of uninterrupted knitting time on the plane. I am still shocked by what a fast knit it was and how smooshy the yarn felt knit up in garter stitch. 2 skeins was not quite enough to knit the sleeves per the pattern but I figured this Cali girl would not mind so much.
I was so in love with the pattern that I dove into my stash and came up with 2 skeins of Rowan Kid Classic in Smudge (grey). I didn't think anything would top the Debbie Bliss but there is no denying how gorgeous the cardi is with the halo. This one went to a new member of my team at work who welcomed his baby girl a few weeks early. I thought the sweater would be out of my systems after two iterations but I am still thinking of making another in Debbie Bliss. The smoosh factor was so soothing.
In the meantime, I was trying to make space in my stash and targeted a skein of Manos del Uruguay Algeria in oxygen for use it or lose it. Baby girls to the rescue again. Our Cali girl will have outgrown her Norwegian firs by the time she gets back from visiting her dad in Europe so she will need something light to wear for walks along the beach with Mommy. Enter the Ellen's Playset. I only knitting the cardigan and I am in love. The pattern is well written and easy to memorize. When I showed it to my mom while on our annual family ski trip in March she commented that it is a very old style pattern. I agree and love the whimsy of it.
The sweater is a cardigan but when I took this photo of the back, my breath caught in my throat and I could see this as a small t-shirt style sweater with a ribbon tie at the back. If I end up knitting one, you will be the first to know.
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