Mister Mossy

I'm not quite sure if this project falls under "success" or "failure!" A little bit of both, perhaps?

 I've had the free "Miss Mossy" patterns by DROPS in my favorite for ages, and thought that a new baby was the perfect opportunity to try it out (even though the name would indicate that it's for girls -- hopefully remedied by a masculine tweed yarn). But the pattern runs huge! After knitting a few rows, I reduced the size considerably -- even though I was making the 1-3 months size, based on other comments that it ran large. I don't like my babies swimming in knitwear, after all. With Scout due in July, I estimated what a 6 month size would be in ready-to-wear. I also changed which side the buttonholes were on to be suitable for a boy, and added a second row of buttons.

However, two things happened -- I miscalculated how much yarn I'd need, and Scout was not the 7-8 lb baby that I thought he'd be (after three siblings in the 7.25-7.75 lb range, I think I was justified in assuming he'd be at least close to that)! I was already half-way through, so after much hemming and hawing I finished the sweater -- which was the only way to find out if I had enough yarn. But that meant "skimping" on the sleeve area so I'd have enough yarn to finish, and even with that I had to change the neckline finish due to insufficient yarn. The sleeves seem a bit snug, and will probably have to be worn with only a short-sleeve layer underneath -- but then again, the whole thing might be a bit snug by the time it cools off enough for my little guy to wear this!

I might frog it after he's worn it a few times (can't bear to have done all that work for nothing!) and use the yarn for something else. Not the outcome I was hoping for... I could save it in case we have another baby who's the right size to wear it during winter -- but that seems a bit "specific." Fortunately, it was a relatively simple and small project, so it wasn't a huge time investment. Nothing like practice, right? *sigh* Come to think of it, it could make a really nice winter vest.

Overall, I really liked the pattern! I love the understated design, and it's not difficult to knit. I'd love to try it again in future. That'll teach me to pay attention to yardage requirements in future. Also, I really should work on my seaming techniques, since I don't want to knit everything in the round. The yarn is Knit Picks City Tweed DK in "Toad." It's lovely, lovely.

 After a rather stressful project, I needed something more relaxing -- and with three leftover skeins of worsted-weight yarn from my White Pine Cardigan (which I'll get to wear again soon! Yay!), I set to work on a hat and some fingerless mitts. Very rewarding and quick projects! I'll be sharing them soon -- I think the cooler weather has me itching to do more knitting.


Raveled here.