Jaeger 'George' Cardi #2

Pattern: George
Book: Jaeger JB29
Materials: Knit Picks City Tweed DK
Amount: (4) 50g balls 'Basil' (pattern calls for 3 50g balls but I ran out -again)
Needles: US3 and US6 bamboo
Cost: $4.99/ball approx. $20.00
Notions: Buttons (Walmart .99 cents)
Size: 12-24 months.
Start Date: Nov. 12, 2014
Finish Date: Dec. 1, 2014

So, I have a grandnephew -yes, apparently, I am that old- that just turned one. OK, he turned one at the beginning of November And, I'm sure he already has all the cool toys and clothes a one-year old could have so I wanted to make him something hand made. I had made this little cardi for my little boy a few years ago and after perusing the web for some cute boy cardi patterns, which I found plenty, I came back to this one for it's cute cables and relative ease.  I guess I really like green because I picked almost the same yarn!  This one is a bit brighter green, the other one was a bit more teal.  I also didn't realize it, but I ended up making the same size. I thought I had made the bigger size for my son. I guess I should have consulted my blog notes a little more. I could have just passed the original one along as a hand me down, but somehow, I hope it will be a little heirloom that my son can have his son wear one day. It might be eaten by months by then, but that is my fantasy for now anyway.  My grandnephew lives across the country from me, so no modeled photos this time.

After reading my notes on the first cardi, I see I made some changes to the length. I knit this one exactly according to size, except I had to switch to #4 needles on the collar because that previously mentioned, adorable, recipient of the first cardi and his little brother where jumping on the couch, where I stupidly left my knitting for two minutes, and broke my needles.  It helped tremendously to knit the collar on a cable needles this time. The first time, I think I tried to stuff all the stitches on a tiny 12" bamboo needle.

Also, I made a feeble attempt to make an iron-on label on ribbon. Now I remember why I didn't do this before. It came out OK, but it left a darker, textured film on the label that I don't like. And the lettering on the bottom was too small and not clear enough to read. I have made labels on printable "fabric" before which come out better but the so called fabric is pretty stiff and hard and I didn't want that on the neck for a little toddler. My iron-on paper is literally from like 20 years ago, so maybe I just need to buy some new stuff. It's possible it has improved since then, right?

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I have been getting sick every two to four weeks since the beginning of summer and recently, it occurred to me that maybe I should sit down and rest. I know, crazy, huh. But of course, that makes me antsy just thinking about all the things I should or could be doing, so I figured if I knit, while "resting" I would still feel like I was getting something done and making use of my waking hours. In my excitement over this, I went crazy and bought a bunch of Knit Picks yarn for a few patterns from the Brooklyn Tweed Kids collection that came out in the summer.  So I'm hoping on a lot more knitting this winter season.