A Poem for Baby S or Baby J

The Poetry in Stitches baby sweater for one of the two anticipated grandchildren has been completed. It was a labor intensive project but seems to have been worth the effort.

The sleeves are done in "elm stitch" which is a pretty stitch but very, very slow. The front side is simply knit, but on the back side one has to do a yarn over, purl two stitches and then pull the yarn over. It's a lot of stopping and starting, but adds a lacey look to the sweater.

The motifs are done in double-stitching which is a lot of fun. However, I was surprised to find that the spots on which the sweater is embroidered become hard and inflexible, altering the pliability of the knitted fabric. I guess I should have anticipated that this would be the case, but I didn't. I don't think it will make that much difference in comfort for an outer garment.

On the back is this cute little butterfly.

Specs:

Pattern: Baby layette from Poetry in Stitches, p. 22-23, by Solveig Hisdal.

Yarn: Dalegarn Baby Ull, 100% wool, machine washable, approx. 3 balls (165 meters each) using doubled yarn throughout.

Modifications: took artistic license with the embroidery, changed the placement and did not include the tulip or cherries in an attempt to make it suitable for a girl or boy.

If I ever knit this again, which I tend to think I won't, I wouldn't use doubled yarn as it seems too heavy (or maybe it was just the yarn I chose) for US1 needles.

Now onto an easy, colorful baby blanket on US6's as a hiatus from little tiny needles.