4 Comments »

Monica: One of my dearest friends asked me a few weeks ago to make something for her sister who is expecting a baby mid-October. Normally I would’ve said “no way I don’t have enough time” but I couldn’t say no to her. Luckily I had enough worsted weight yarn in my stash to make a sweater and I knew that I could finish it pretty quickly.

Pattern: Body based on the Little Bean Coffee Cardigan pattern
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease in light pink, dark pink and purple

I used the pattern for the body of the sweater and got an XO motif from Mary Jane Mucklestone’s 200 Fair Isle Motifs book. I highly recommend this book if you want to design your own fair isle projects. After this challenge I am confining myself to easy straightforward projects that don’t require adjusting for increases. It was not fun trying to get the design to work out correctly. I found a heart chart from a Lopi pattern (PDF file).

Since I finished that sweater really quickly — in about 2 days — I also wanted to make a quilt. But those take me much longer. Luckily I remembered Carolyn’s pretty quilt that she was able to finish quickly. So I was able to whip one up quickly too.

I used fabric that I already had (because of course I already have a fabric stash) so I used the lighter yellow solid. I would’ve preferred a brighter solid but I was happy I used what I already had. I guess it’s good that I have a stash because I didn’t have any delays in making the projects since I had everything on hand. (Is that one of the lamest excuses you’ve ever heard for hoarding?)

On the back I used some of the fabrics from the front and some chickens and dogs and cats in party hats. I would’ve eventually made something for my friend – probably AFTER the baby was born though. Then I would have picked out projects that use fabric and yarn that I didn’t already own. So I guess it’s a good thing for my stash to be rushed into making something, right?

Filed under: Baby Items, FOs, Monica by Monica