Throw back... is it Thursday?

In the spirit of "Throw Back Thursday" (or is it Tuesday? I can't keep up with the kids these days) I'm putting up a baby sweater that I knit probably close to 10 years ago.

When I was in grad school, there was a woman whose job it was to deal with the administrative side of grad students.  Along with reviewing our grant applications she also made sure that we were following the rules when it came to what was technically needed to complete our degrees.

That and she was genuinely a nice person.  So when she decided that she was starting a family of her own, I couldn't resist.  Gender unknown, and doing this all on her own, this woman set out to be a Mom.

There are things I vaguely remember from grad school (sleepless nights, committee meetings, and other things), but what I remember most are the people who made a difference.

Marija - Graduate Student Administrator - and way back with her unborn child, were two people that were important to me.  She was a kind, unbelievably intelligent, and caring person with a baby on the way.  I was a disillusioned grad student with few prospects on the horizon.

But this person that I held in high regard was having a baby.  And she was going to be a great Mom.  And therefore I needed to knit.

When I originally knit this baby sweater, said little one was still in untero.  When I left grad school Mom was just coming back to work (having also gone back to school in the middle for a few years).  And even if it was 5 years ago, I still every so often think about her and the now child whom she is caring for.

Dearest little one, you will probably never meet me, but know that your Mom is a really good person.  I know that your Mom was and probably still is a hardworking, caring, loving person.  If you look back through you baby pictures and come across this sweater, know that it was knit by someone who really believes that you are in the best of hands and that your Mom is pretty cool.  If you are a teenager when you find this, please bookmark it and come back in your twenties.  It might not seem important now, but it sure was at the time.

I made this sweater for you, just because you were the child of someone that I cared for.

Knitters, I can't find the pattern, but I'm pretty sure it was out of a page-a-day calendar.  Originally it was knit all in one colour, but with baby expected in the fall, there was no way that I couldn't change up the leaves.  The yarn was Cascade 220 (I only know because I found the left overs very recently).  Don't ask me what colours, I'm not good with tags!

Dear child (for infant and toddler you are no longer) I really do wish you the best.  And if you find this picture, remind me to your mother.  She is awesome.

Second Verse...

Right.  Another year, another decent amount of knitting, another ton of work, and another whole lot of not enough time.

I can't believe that it was a year ago that I put up the last baby sweater project.  Seems like I might as well continue the tradition of repeating myself.

Another one of the service desk girls at work is expecting.  A wee little man will be joining the family in March.  Just like last year, this lovely lady is part of the store family.  She's warm, friendly, and cares very much for her co-workers and our customers.  She's bright, always smiling, and manages to tolerate André when he arrives with buckets of returns and of course no receipts.  AND NOW SHE'S LEAVING FOR A YEAR!!

That's is about where the similarities end between the two ladies though.  Unlike last year (petite, bouncy brunette with a really cute smile), this year's mom-to-be is taller, more reserved, and has the most gorgeous mane of curly red hair.

Just like last year, I knew that I needed to knit something.  This baby is being born to a family that has seen some hard times over the past year.  The last few months at the store have also seen some dramatic and unexpected changes.  It's been hard to look too far forward, there's too much in the way in the right here and now.

So, a magical Saturday morning (not scheduled at the store for an entire weekend, and without asking for it!) I followed André to his Saturday morning curling game.  And as much as I love watching him curl, at 9.50am I promptly bailed on my spectator/cheering section duties and booked it a few blocks south to Yarn Forward.

I had formulated a plan the night before, and it went something like this:

1) Need baby pattern.  Probably sweater, since no time for blanket, but still want something to hug baby with.

2) Mom is mature and a bit on the traditional side.  Even Coffee Beans like last time is too cute.  Perhaps a cardigan...

3) Scott/Nordic heritage in Mom just BEGS for something with cables.  But modern rather than traditional.  Perhaps in a more structural type pattern.

3) Spend hours on Ravelry.



Cute, but almost too traditional


 

Really adorable, but not a fan of lace for this little man.  However, forest green with red hair...



Ooooo cute! But cotton... not quite what I want.  And the pattern is in French.  This isn't really a problem thanks to my Ontario schooling (and the wonderfulness that is Google Translate).



 PERFECT!!!!!! Cables, but interesting not quite traditional.  Available in 1 year size (I always aim for 1 year, small babies take longer to get there, big babies haven't out grown it yet).  In fingering yarn.  Bonus free pattern.

4) Note the yardage requirements on phone (likely 2 sock skiens, but not use near all of them.  Pick colour I like, may get bonus socks from second skien). 

5) Get really smart and toss needles in my bag so that I can cast on while watching curling.  Hit genius level of organized, include tablet AND charger so I can look up the pattern on something larger than my phone. 

Shopping was a huge success - and in short order 2 skiens of Cascade Heritage Sock in a vine green (creatively named #5612) were in my hands.  I even remembered to ask to have one wound before I left!  I was feeling mighty proud of myself as I hiked back to the curling club.  Perfect pattern, perfect yarn, I couldn't wait to get started.

Back at the club I passed the as yet not open bar (really, 11 am?  Who comes up with these laws?) and settle back in to my seat at the end of André's sheet.  Gather yarn, needles, open tablet to ravelry, select "get pattern here"...

Remember how I said I was feeling mighty proud of myself?  Thinking my self clever for remembering tablet AND needles?  Getting the perfect FREE pattern?  And fantastic yarn?

About that pattern.  The link in Ravelry opens to what looks like an online knitting magazine archive pattern page.  Pattern is all there along with links for downloadable charts.

And every last word of it is in DANISH. 

Once the dark spots had cleared from my vision and my breathing and heart rate returned to something resembling normal, the little creature in the back of my brain blew a giant raspberry and wandered away muttering something about the karmic future of "clever" people. 

Thankfully, there are amazing websites in the world that will take not only individual words, but whole collections of text and translate them for you!  I might still be saved!

Turns out that knitting patterns in Danish are remarkably similar to knitting patterns in just about every other language.  That is, they are written in a language completely their own, which consists almost entirely of acronyms.  But still, between an approximate translation, a really nice chart, and some basic common sense (Front + Back M (140) 160 (184) is probably CO that many for each size...) I muddled my way through.

There was a brief moment of panic as I split for the armholes and completely lost my ability to count, but it turned out in the end.  I'm not quite convinced that it's actually a size 1 year (maybe closer to 9 months) but that might be more due to my complete lack of regard for guage swatches in this instance. 

Behold!  A wee Danish now English old man sweater!

Just like for the rest of the project, I wanted buttons that were traditional-ish but still interestingly almost modern.  A quick trip down to Wool-Thyme (they are celebrating 30 years!!!) and I left with these little abstract wooden toggles.  More perfect to finish off the darling little bit of cuteness! And I will have you know that not even one ball of discount sock yarn followed me home.  This time. 

The shower for the little one was a few weeks back.  Mom's last day of work was at the end of January, although she's been in a few times to say hi.  We'll all just waiting for the day to hear about the new little man in this world, and I can't wait to meet him! 

I really hope he gets his Mom's hair.  Redheaded men are just the most handsome.  Right André?

Bouncy Boy

Back in the spring we took part in another Skanes Migration, this time to Manitoulin Island in memory of Nanny.  There was a gift exchange and much family love.  And what I didn't mention at the time was also much knitting.

One of the girls at work was expecting in the fall, and since she had previously expressed an interest fascination with hand-knits and wishing she had family members that knit, I couldn't not knit something!!  She's a very crafty person herself and was creating a nursery full of teals and turquoise and gray and silver for the arrival of the little bundle of baby boy.  She even had me mix the paint.  You better believe I pocketed the chips for future reference.

Off me and these paint chips toddle to Yarn Forward and Sew On on Bank St with my mother-in-law in tow (yes, baby pattern in hand, and yes, disappointing her thoroughly that I wasn't knitting a grand-baby for her). I'd been looking around online for ages trying to find just the right pattern.  Little one's mom and dad both were younger, but hard working, down to earth but creative types.  I wanted something traditional that could be made more hip with a twist.

And the little one himself was apparently a bit of a bouncer.  He wasn't too thrilled that Mom spent part of her days sitting at her desk and would bounce around until he hit something sensitive (bladder, kidney, rib cage...) it didn't matter what as long as it got Mom up and moving again.

Then I found  Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith.  Adorable stripped button up cardigan - classic.  Pair with charcoal and turquoise Cascade 220 - much trendier.

Add about 10 hours of driving time (to Manitoulin and part way back) and you get:

Now tuck in ends (thankfully short stripes meant that I could strand rather than have a million little ends to hide), add cute little black and silver buttons, and give it a good bath:

The baby shower was at the end of August, and months later Mom, Dad, and little baby boy are doing well.  She's very missed at the store, but she and he come by and just melt everybody's hearts.

And he's apparently just as bouncy now as he was in utero.