Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Done!

Two things I know for sure now that the Tofu Baby Sweater is done:

1) I have finally mastered seaming.  If nothing else, this project was worth it for that accomplishment.

2) This sweater contained an excruciatingly large amount of ends to weave in.  Tedium!  Not much is worth that.

No question, this was a lot of work.  But the cuteness is a pretty big payoff, especially in such bright, energetic colors.  The yarn is lovely to knit, and I upped my skills in several areas while making the sweater.  

Someday, some little baby is going to be decked out in this adorable cardigan—I just have no idea when.  

It’s the adventure of knitting…sometimes the project needs to find its recipient, and you never know how that will happen.

Thanks, Flying Fingers, for a true fiber adventure!

Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Day 5

Lots of assembly required…

While this pattern is adorable, and provides all the direction you need to create the four needed pieces, it assumes you know what you’re doing in the seaming process.

Which I don’t.

I avoid sweaters and other large seamed projects like the plague, so I found myself stumped when I finally had my four flat pieces.  Honestly, I looked at the process with the same trepidation I felt turning my first sock heel.  I knew it could be done, but I wasn’t sure I had the skills to make it happen.

Fortunately, the first two steps were well within my skill set: the button bands.  I can pick up stitches, I can make ribbing, I can wield a cast-off-cast-on buttonhole. I managed the left and right button bands with relative success.

Once I got to the collar, however, things began to look murky.  I was glad I tackled it at my Saturday morning knitting group, where another knitter far more skilled in sweater assembly coached me to join the shoulder seams before starting the collar band.  Nancy showed me the basics of a stitch ideal for baby items because it doesn’t leave a lumpy wrong-side seam.

Once fronts and backs were attached, I picked up around the neck hole according to the pattern instructions.  Three rows of ribbing, and I was good to go.

Then I had to tackle setting in the sleeves.  I was glad to have the shoulder success under my belt, because this one required two YouTube videos for skill acquisition and a hot bath for composure.  They didn’t turn out too bad, but I fear for the tangle that may show up when I join the side seams and try to create an un-bunchy underarm.  

I can hear the cranky baby cries already…..

Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Day 4

Watch what I'm not knitting...

What’s up my sleeves this week (sorry, I couldn’t resist)? A lesson in what not to watch when knitting…

Normally, I’m especially fond of knitting while watching television.  I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, knitting makes it feel like less of a time-suck because I’m multitasking.  Plus, I’m the fidgety type who doesn’t sit still very well, so this is a perfect time to invoke my value of knitting as “socially acceptable fidgeting.”

That axiom works well in most cases, but not this past week.  Why?  Because this past week was filled with compelling television that demands your full attention.  This week’s viewing entertainment included some long-awaited episodes of my very favorite TV shows, none of which lent themselves to accurate knitting:

While many Doctor Who fans are knitters, the past two episodes have been so mind-bendingly complex that I mostly just stared at the screen with my mouth open rather than stitching.  Really, I feel like I need to see both episodes again multiple times while taking notes in order to comprehend everything that happened.  The Christmas Special, always a treat and this year one of the most humorous and delightful episodes I can recall, was good for knitting.  I got a lot done and was near giddy with entertainment and accomplishment by the end.

Sherlock, which specializes in excruciatingly long gaps between seasons, offered another dose of “wait a minute…what just happened?” television.  Clever, enthralling, but too enthralling for simultaneous knitting.  I think I managed three rows during the whole program.

And then, there’s Downton Abbey.  Which needs no explanation. Sigh.

Fortunately for me, my Netflix ensured I had a few backups to entertain my knitting self.  Longmire and Jessica Jones are excellent, well-written shows, but not so challenging that I can’t knit.

Now those networks need to calm down so I can finish these sleeves!  

What television keeps you from knitting?  Post to Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #knitlesswatching and share what's so good it keeps you from stitching.

Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Day 3

Hey, it worked!

Not perfectly, mind you, but I’m okay with that.  The neck shaping took a bit of concentration, and the arc isn’t perfect as you can see.   That won’t really matter I think, because I’ll be picking up stitches to do a ribbing band as a collar.  

Finally, I was able to manipulate the camera’s flash to give you a true picture of the sweater’s lovely vibrant color.  Blues are always so hard to photograph with any accuracy.

I have found it best to label each side—left and right—just to keep my progress across both pieces in order.  This will be especially useful for the sleeves, which will have no neck shaping to tell them apart.  If I don’t label, I may end up going back over one sleeve without doing the corresponding row on the second sleeve (a problem I encountered with the identical part of the front panels).  

I like to label with these little gems. The marvelous Starla from Crafty Hands in Bowling Green KY taught me this trick with basic Clover locking markers, but there are several pre-made beauties out there as well if you want to get fancy.

You’d think, given that each panel or sleeve has a right and wrong side, that I could keep this straight without the extra step of labeling.  Evidently not.  My knitting life has taught me that I am far better off opting for stitch markers and labeling than relying on smarts.

It’s New Years Eve at DestiKNITions HQ, and how am I spending it?  With my knitting, a nice homemade Moscow Mule (requisite copper mug included), and Doctor Who episodes. Call me dull—I don’t care.  I’ll be happy.

Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Day 2

Outsmarting myself…hopefully

The next two sections of this sweater—mainly the two front pieces and the sleeves—come in pairs.  Now over a decade of pair-less  (not “peerless,” “pair-less,” as in all alone without a mate) sock knitting has taught me that duplicate tasks don’t sit too well with me.  Attention must be paid.

I’ve decided the best way to ensure I don’t botch this is to do both pairs simultaneously.  This requires a bit of pattern interpretation—but not yet.  Thankfully for me, the first 9 1/2 inches of the front sections are identical.  And they're supposed to end up looking identical, which is another fine reason to make them simultaneously.  Sure, it took a little brainpower and some labeling to ensure that row 12 on one side was completed the other, etc.  And yes, I had to go back and fix a few things more than once.

The result is, however, that I’m sitting looking at two identical front panels…so far.  Now, bolstered by this success, I’m pressing on toward the tricky business of adding the neck shaping.  This will entail more labeling, and the higher level of concentration required to read two sets of directions at the same time.  Hey, I’m a risk-taker.  Challenging those brain cells is supposed to keep them young, right?

Besides, if it does’t work out, I’m sure it will make for very entertaining blog content.

Tofu Baby Sweater from Flying Fingers - Day 1

Before anyone gets to making unwarranted assumptions:  There are no babies in my life.

Grandchildren are far off on the distant horizon, and I have no nieces or nephews soon to be parents.  This baby sweater is simply the result of Elise Goldschlag not being able to make up her mind which project to give me.

It makes it kind of fun, this lack of pressure.  Some baby some day will be blessed by my knitting, but I’ve no idea who or when.  There’s a certain adventurous spirit in knitting for an unknown recipient.  The last time I did it, I ended up with the intended little girl right under my nose!  I always trust that the perfect person will show up in my life when the project is finished.  It’s always happened, so I have faith that it will happen this time as well.

I must say I am a particular fan of bold baby colors.  Pastels are sweet and all, but I’ve always liked baby projects in bright hues.  They feel extra cheery and playful to me.   The soy ribbon yarn is so soft and shows off the stitches with such zeal that I’m quite enjoying myself (if you don’t count the endless untwisting).  

The small size also makes for quick progress—I’ve only made two adult sweaters in my knitting lifetime, and both were marathon efforts with less-than stellar results.  Baby togs guarantee quick and satisfying outcomes.  

Eleven inches of stockinette for the back?  Piece of cake.

Or is that piece of teething biscuit?