Fair Isle

I've been playing around with an idea for a baby dress - Fair Isle intarsia to be precise - as a 1st birthday present for my niece. I have till April so hopefully that will leave enough time for me to actually complete it;)  I was thinking about this while knitting the bird in hand mittens before christmas but when they took about two weeks to knit, I quietly shelved the idea away as my completion rate for garments, even baby sized ones, isn't stellar!

And then, this month my friend Marilyn over at the Room on the Left started experimenting with intarsia and writing her own patterns. Just about the time when I was thinking I really must get focused on my art work and put away my knitting for a bit, lol! That's always the way life happens isn't it? You make a decision and then, wham! Something comes and whacks you out of your comfort zone again, just as you think you have a tenuous grip on what you want to do. I think I'm getting a big neon sign telling me to find a happy medium :))

But back to the lovely fair isle knitting. Yes, it is very traditional looking, especially on these clothes, but there is the potential to be cookie and cool at the same time. If I get the right shape for a baby dress I think I could pull it off - that and my love of all yarns bright and beautiful! I do love the adult dresses but I don't have the patience or the figure for them, but I can appreciate them from afar.....:)

You know, I think I may be subconsciously being influenced from my youth. I seem to remember having a knitted fair isle dress in soft bluey purples and greys that was lovely and warm - and well fitting - but a 10year old can carry that off! The only thing I hated was the really tight ribbed polo neck - aaargh! Strangled every time! So no polo necks in this design!! I like the little rounded pockets though, might try to incorporate them. Now I just have to decide whether to go for a dress, hoodie top, tunic style to go over long sleeves.... :)

Soft and snuggly

Well the baby knitting is now well underway with one top blocking as we speak. Alas, the rain hasn't really let up for over a week now so good light for photos is a bit scarce so no pics as yet - but I can show you the  lovely colours of baby yarns I'm planning to use.

I first bought Patons Fairytale DK online thinking all baby yarn would be reasonably soft but as it is 100% wool, it does have a bit more roughness than I was hoping for - although the colours are rather lovely.  The pinks and the apple greens are especially nice for some stripey numbers, I think. Maybe this will be better for heavier cardis and tops that aren't directly next to the skin. I do also want to be practical and acrylic is hardwearing and easily washable so I wanted to get some acrylic too but it had to be soft.

So my trip to the wool shop found me some Sirdar Snuggly - sooo soft! I didn't manage to get all the colours I wanted but the main ones were there so I was happy enough:-) The deep pink is lovely although I did want to find another mid pink to go with it but no. I do have one ball already (top left ball in box) but one may not be enough. But, I'll wait and see.

So what am I intending to knit with all this lovely yarn then? Oh, I have so many ideas! I've been looking for inspiring patterns and projects on Ravelry and in magazines for shape, pattern and colours. I'm trying to think of things that will be versatile as well as lovely, like cardi's that can go with lots of tops and dresses, or knitted dresses that can be worn over long sleeved tops if it's a bit cold. Here's a little look at some pics I've been inspired by so far:

The top that's blocking is a little cardi with a small lace motif in a solid colour. But while I'm waiting for it to dry and be ready for seaming then some crocheted edging, I'm thinking of casting on a dress...... but which one? Sis, any preferences?

Other knitting - Vivian made some good progress and is at 12" high. Saying that, I have noticed one cable is longer in height than the rest which means either dropping stitches at each cable down 12 rows to fix which is taking ages or  shoving in a lifeline and ripping back the 12 rows..... so it's on hold while I think which one would be less painful. At this moment in time I'm favouring more drastic action as in all honestly it may well be quicker!

Righty-ho, off to sort out the baby dress patterns..... see you soon!