Baby knitting! (Don't worry, Mom.)

I’ve been waiting to post this for what feels like ages. The baby shower for my friend Yarnpr0n was today, so I can finally share what I’ve been working on for her! (Warning: this is going to be picture-heavy, because I’ve saved up months of thinking about this project for one single post.)

I’ve had the Pebble Vest (inspired by Brooklyn Tweed’s gorgeous Cobblestone pullover) in my queue for a long time — since well before I learned to spin. It’s just so adorable, so squishable, and so knitterly. And, you know, seamless. I was also totally inspired by Grumperina’s Wee-ish Handspun Vest — the black borders are a little distracting, but the thought of a sweet little vest, with those gentle drifts of colour that you can really only get with handspun, had me a little obsessed. (Full confession: I’ve had those two links open in my browser almost continuously for at least the past two months.)

Dragon Baby vest

I bought the fibre from Shall We Knit?; it’s a merino/silk blend hand-dyed by Lindsey of Waterloo Wools, a mutual friend of mine and the mother-to-be’s.

Waterloo Wools Merino/Silk Top, colourway 'Planting Season'

I spun it up as my Tour de Fleece challenge — and a challenge it was!

Singles waiting to be plyed

Spinning in high humidity, in an un-air-conditioned apartment, with a silk blend, meant that the wee silk fibres flew everywhere, and stuck to my sweaty hands like you would not believe. (Why yes, this was my first time spinning with silk!) I kept finding tiny fluffs of silk in my mouth, my hair, and especially in my nose. I wasn’t too worried until the fluff also turned up in my husband’s ear…

One of two completed skeins

Eventually, I got it spun and plied, and really fell in love with the sheen and drape of the yarn when it was in the skeins. It was lovely to knit with too — so lovely that I carried it everywhere, and even knit at a Jays game. (The nice lady a few seats over admired my work, then offered to watch for stray balls for me — knitters are wonderful people. Hee!)

Let's! Play! Ball!

The knitting took far less time than the spinning, or at least it felt that way. Spinning on a wheel, however compact, is not as portable as knitting!

After weaving in the ends, I had to choose buttons:

The bus buttons were cute, and the streaky buttons went nicely with the handspun texture

The bus buttons totally won out

As much in love as I was with the yarn, and as obsessed as I was with the pattern + handspun combination, I am even more taken with the final product.

I can’t wait to greet the wee man it was made for, and (hopefully) to see him in it!

Ta da!

Details of my modifications to the pattern (to accommodate my finer-than-called-for yarn) are here on Ravelry.

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