Girly girls

 I gave birth to our daughter Dahlia about three weeks ago.  She is perfect.  I mean that.  We're all completely smitten with her sweetness.  I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.  Life has taken on a Disney princess in the woods glow.  When we wake up it feels like the birds are singing songs just for her. 

In addition to being wonderful she's been doing a lot of sleeping, which has left me with plenty of knitting time.  I've been cruising Ravelry looking at knitting patters for little girls.  It was there that I discovered the world of tiny knitted dresses.  It is a wonderful world.  It is a world full of all sorts of things that I like: lace, cables, yokes, knitting in the round, small projects.  I wouldn't dream of knitting myself a dress.  Knitted dresses are beautiful, but I just can't justify the work involved.  Knitting a dress for a little girl is a whole other story.  It involves less finishing work than sweater.  She can wear a knitted dress over other clothing, which means that the dress can be worn for a longer season.  Dresses make diaper changing a snap.  I could go on and on.  Suffice it to say, I'm a fan of the little knitted dress.

I did some online pattern shopping and then cast on for "Muti", which is a pattern by Taiga Hillard.  I was drawn to the full skirt and delicate lace yoke.  I have about two years before she starts letting me know what she does and does not want to wear.  I'm going to make the most of those two years.



My stash is full of small amounts of luxury yarns. Years ago my family bought me three balls of an oatmeal colored cashmere wool blend, for Christmas.  I remember it well because it was the first cashmere yarn I'd ever owned.  I've been saving this yarn for something special and Dahlia certainly qualifies as special.



The knitting is going fairly well.  I made it through the yoke without a major mishap.  Then the pattern got a little wonky.  I had to rip back the last few rows of the lace yoke because the charted directions don't include the direction to join in the round.  Then I had to rip back a second, and then a third time because I can't read numbers.  Not everything can be blamed on errata in the pattern.  Despite several set backs I'm making quick work of the knitting and I believe that the dress will be done before the end of the week. 

I've also been working on the "Winnowing" shawl by Bristol Ivy.  And by "working" I mean almost finishing the body of the shawl, finding a mistake that I made months ago and ripping out an entire pattern repeat.



Right before I discovered the mistake, each right side row was taking me about fifteen minutes to complete, so ripping it out was like watching someone erase hours of my life.  I haven't been able to pick it up since, but I know I need to face that demon sooner rather than later.

If you look closely at the photo below you can see that the second petal of the last repeat begins with a purl stitch instead of a knit stitch.  I could have ignored this problem and just fudged the final stitch count by adding in an extra stitch.  I could have done that, but that would have made me feel like cheat and a fraud.  Sometimes I wonder why my knitting demands this level of perfection.  Maybe it's because I know that if I leave the mistake, years from now, I'll still notice it every time I see the garment.  I don't believe in ghosts, but I do believe that a job poorly done will haunt me.



The one thing I have managed to knit without a major frogging incident was "Clementina" by Lisa Chemery. 



This was a quick knit with some interesting shaping around the collar.  The yarn, Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria,  has been in my stash for years.  It's weird.  I've tried to use it many many times.  The knitted texture is odd and works best in garter or stockinette stitches.  This pattern worked perfectly.  The giant mother of pearl button is vintage.  I think it goes very well with the soft green color of the yarn.



Before I go, I'll leave you with a photo of the ruffle butt.  I love the ruffle butt.