More catch-up; the rest of my Christmas knitting.
Shealyn's Vest
As well as knitting a vest for our Grandson, I knit a vest for our Granddaughter. After all, you cannot knit for one without knitting for their sibling too. Note to all prospective parents – go easy on the knitters in your family and stick to two kids. It will make the knitter’s lives easier (I know that is an important consideration in your family planning). Besides, population control is a good thing, I don’t care what the Pope says.
Ahem.
Detail of yarn and neckline
Shealyn’s vest was hand knit in a fingering weight, 100% superwash merino (probably Gems) by Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in the colorway “Poppy”. First, the yarn was bought with no clue as to what it would be when it grew up, just that it would be for Shea as tangerine orange is her favorite. The colors in this yarn are stunning! All the oranges from yellowish to rosy with tangerine dominating. It just jumped off the shelf and demanded (literally demanded) to be knit for her. I bought all we (the shop where I work) had.
Detail of body
There was enough for a vest for an eight year old but the pattern had to be something special, the search began. Then we had a Knitting Matters trunk show at the yarn shop where I work and her Tiny Dancer pattern was knit up in real life, in the same colorway of Claudia yarn (but their cotton version) that I had purchased. Never mind the pattern was a dress for a one year old, I was in love. This pattern by Kim Smith was the perfect solution with only a few modifications; I eliminated the buttons at the shoulder – after all, an eight year old’s head is in proper proportion to the rest of their body and the buttons were too “toddler” looking for an older kid. I redid all the size calculations for her measurements. The three things that made this possible were her Mom providing the measurements (thanks, Penny), Ann Budd’s book The Handy Book of Knitting Patterns and Kim’s pattern itself with the dimensional schematic that let me know where I had to make changes (Bless you , Kim, I love it when this info is included).
Lace detail
I also replaced the ruffle at the bottom with a band of lace “Waterfall” from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year perpetual calendar (January 12th).
Finished Object
The knitting was a breeze and a joy. The yarn was so yummy in color and feel that I did not want to finish it. It was just buttery (soft, not greasy) in my hands.
Turtle Neck T-shirt after dyieng
Of course, the fashion Dictators had decreed that this year, no tangerine orange turtle neck T-shirts would be manufactured – oh well, that is what dye is for!
Shealyn Models
Sigh, but finish it I did. And here is Shealyn, also delighted with the vest.
Grandma is happy.
Deb H
Tags: Finished Object, Kids, knitting
It’s adorable, Deb! You did a great job modifying the dress into a vest — congratulations on the successful project. And Shealyn looks like she’s enjoying it, so that’s even better.