I was adamant about finishing it though, as it was a gift for a very dear friend of mine who is pregnant with baby boy #2 after she and her husband suffered the heartbreaking loss of their first newborn son in November of 2006. Her baby shower was being held where she lives in Vermont, so Dear Husband, The Little Princess, and I took a 2 day trip down to Vermont this past weekend.
A few of the things that went wrong included me gabbing away and knitting one of the panels 3 inches too long (I also mis-read the pattern) and having to frog back those three inches of knitting. I forgot to write down what changes I had made to the first panel so when it came time to knit the front panel (identical piece) I had to figure it all out again. I brought the project with me to work on during a long-ish car ride last Thursday and forgot to bring my cable needle, I sewed a seam that I later had to rip out...getting the picture of how this project went?
Despite having worked on the sweater for three weeks prior (I probably could have finished it in a week if I had not been so distracted) I was still working on it in the car on the way down (and holed up in the back bedroom during breakfast the day of the shower...). Knitting in the car presents a whole host of other difficulties, including loosing my tapestry needle and needing to stop at a random Wal-Mart to get a new one. But I finally finished it and it is too cute, and I also made a hat to go along with it. All the mishaps just make finishing the piece that much more gratifying.
They both really liked it and it got all the "oooohs and awwwes" at the baby shower that you might expect, hehehe. I am just glad she got to have a shower, and it was nice to see her and her DH with hopeful smiles on their faces! Also the 5 hour trips to and from Vermont were a fun family adventure and we saw a lot of the New Hampshire country side, as DH likes to take back roads:
The trip back was interesting because we have no a/c in the car and Sunday June 8 has been the hottest day of the year so far. Here is a picture of our car's thermometer (EXTERNAL!) just after we crossed the bridge back into Maine:
Here are some photos of the finished sweater and hat (the first one is before sewing the side seams):
Well, thanks for looking! -Diana, The Ivy Kitchen
2 comments:
That's just awesome, Diana! I think handmade gifts are the best, because you know that it's been made with love. I'm sure that your friends feel blessed to receive this, but also blessed because you took the time (and gas money!) to travel this great distance to deliver it in person. It's great to have friends that care.
So cute you really are creative!
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