FTW!

After my last post of a steaming pile of failed knitting projects, it was time for a little self-reflection. I had never had so many repeated failures and frustrations, and so few satisfactory finished objects. Knitting less meant knitting worse. It meant finishing nothing. And for a product knitter like me, knitting and producing nothing was worse than not knitting at all.

It was time for a new paradigm of knitting for me. Knitting less isn't just forgoing a morning knitting session to hit the gym for me. I've had to release some of the mental energy that I was giving to knitting to give it to other areas of my life. I just don't think about it as much, and my failed projects were indications of lack of thought. I don't have the time or the inclination to think through design challenges. I don't have the energy to frog and re-knit the same project until I get it right again and again. I need the simple, the rewarding. Not instant gratification, necessarily, but the old, reliable standards of knitting.

Thus, I turned to EZ, the quintessential source of all that is classic, reliable, pleasureable knitting. Two of my dearest cousins are both expecting their first babies, and since both have wonderfully unique aesthetics, I was able to perfectly match those classic EZ baby sweaters for each of them.

First up was for Ellie's baby. She's expecting her first girl any minute now. Ellie has a very feminine but quirky, vintage-y, arty personal style, so the February Baby Sweater was the perfect choice.

A two skeins (and a little bit of the third) of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a yummy, grape-y purple, some beautiful silver rose buttons, and a little label embroidered with the initial E, which she, her soon-to-be-born daughter, and I all share. It's yummily soft and absolutely feminine without being overly twee. Classic.


Teri's baby is due in about a month. She and her husband have chosen not to find out the gender of their precious firstborn. In these cases, I usually knit something in a deep red color, since I think all babies look beautiful in red, and am not a fan of the insipid yellow, light green, and white sweaters these "surprise" babies get. However, Teri has a good chance of having a red-haired baby, since her husband and many of his family are vibrant redheads. Thus, their baby is receiving a Baby Surprise Jacket in an amazing green from Dream in Color (Happy Forest). This was my first time using this yarn, and it will not be my last. It was wonderful to work with, and the colors are vibrant and bright.
Teri and I happen to share the same last initial, so this sweater gets a "K." I am sort of obsessed by these cute little tags, so I'll take any excuse to sew and photograph them. I know nothing about embroidery, but these look better than I would ever expect.

You can check the details on my Ravelry page if you want to know more. But in the meantime, expect to see more old reliables, the trieds-and-trues from me in this space for the next little while. I'll be spreading my wings in other spaces in my life right now.