Circular MK Baby Sweater Done!

I have a reputation to uphold among my mk friends. I'm the one who doesn't "do" UFO's. It's a compulsion with me that once I start something,I have to finish it. Don't know if that's good or bad, but that's the facts, madam. So here she is, laid out on the floor. Had to finish it even though I'm not 110% happy with it. Learned a lot, though.
Wish I had a toddler to try it on. Supposedly if worn one way, it fits a baby (the extra length forms a hood) and turned the other way fits a toddler. If the sleeves were placed exactly in the middle, it would only fit one size. Regardless, I do think it needs a button closure in front. You can't see the cuff very well, but I tried to mimic the scalloped border and add some lace holes. Was not happy with the hole in the middle so added an I cord flower to cover things up a bit. So now that I have the concept, I can contemplate making an adult version. Haven't found the perfect yarn yet, so it may not be soon. Isn't it amazing what you can do on a manual midgauge machine? I love mine.

Ugly duckling

Didn't get around to posting my circlular baby sweater progress yesterday. Had to go to some doctor appointments with my husband so didn't get anything done on the knitting front. Here it is straight off the machine. I did graft the beginning to the end of the circle by hand last night, but I haven't blocked it yet, nor have I run in any ends. The grafting was moderately successful considering I used a waste yarn that wasn't a very good contrast to the main yarn and I could barely see which stitches to sew. (You'd think I just started machine knitting yesterday. Dumb mistake.) I'm hoping that the trim and some judicious blocking will turn this into something prettier than it is at the present. Kind of reminds me of a half a dried apricot. If I knit this again, which I probably will, or turn it into a pattern for sale, I think I'll modify the center to be less open. Maybe do fewer transfers, a less complicated design, since they won't show up very well when worn anyway. Need to knit the sleeves today.

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of the edge I plan on doing for the circular baby cardigan. I am almost done with the "good" prototype. I find that I need to do just a few wedges at a time and then walk away for a bit. It's not that it's difficult, but my poor mind wanders and I forget what I'm doing. Hope to be able to post a picture of the finished product tomorrow. If I like how this turns out, I will go to my local LYS and buy some really nice yarn to knit an adult version. Am visualizing some hand painted wool...dark blues, purple, olive. Just what I need, more yarn.
Another gorgeous day here in Minnesota. My only obligation is to take the beast in for her yearly shots. Wish it could be skipped---both for her sake and the pocketbook---but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm going to ask why the immunity only lasts one year. Curious. Here's hoping you have a spectacular day!
Mar

Sunday, June 29, a good day to start

It's my first blog post. Not sure what all it entails, but I'll jump in and test the waters.
On the knitting front, I'm working on constructing a baby circular sweater for the midgauge machine. I'm on "draft" number 3. The first was too small with not enough wedges. The second produced sleeve holes large enough for a 7 year old. Let's hope this "draft" works. I got the idea from the Elann hand knit version, although mine won't look much like it. I'll post a picture when I have something to show.
It's beautiful weather-wise in Minnesota today. How we love our summer days since they are too few in number.