A Year in Handknits

Dear Baby Girl,

I can't believe how quickly the first year of your life went by. Is it really possible that you are already a year old? I know your birthday was last month, but as I am slow about sorting through all your clothes, it did not occur to me until recently that I need to keep at least a partial record of what I made for you.

It was when I was pregnant with you that I rediscovered knitting. So, in the years to come when you wonder why there's yarn and needles all over the house, I'll remind you that you're the reason. I knew how to knit before you were on the way, but I wasn't a "knitter."

It all started because I wanted to use cloth diapers. After much research, I decided that I should knit some wool soakers for you. I bought some wool yarn from eBay and a pattern from Little Turtle Knits. I started with the Ribby Wrap. I think I must have knit about half a dozen of those. Unfortunately, I don't have them all anymore, so you'll just have to trust me. All I have left is this one. Having finished those with relative ease, I set out to make your more soakers, but in a different style. Next up were the Picky Pants (also from LTK). I made you three pairs of these (two shown). This left me feeling fairly confident, so I decided to try something a little more challenging. Next up was the Flirty Skirt from LTK. It may not look so complicated in the photo, but under that skirt is a built-in soaker. Plus, I had to kitchner for the first time.

At this point, I realized that I had about a ton of wool soakers. Plus, I wasn't really confident that I would actually be able to pull off the whole cloth diapering thing. So, I decided sweaters would be the next logical thing to knit. The Easy Peasy Cardigan was the obvious choice since I was a little hooked on the Little Turtle Knits. All three that I made for you are pictured here. I also made a couple pairs of Oh'Alls, but they are currently missing.

So, all of these items were completed well before you were born. It turned out that I didn't actually use the wool soakers. I did cloth diaper you, but Proraps plastic covers were much more convenient. The pants and skirt got a fair amount of use (particularly the pants). The cardigans were definitely used the most.

Okay, I'm not going to finish this before naptime is over, so very quickly, the following are the last things that I made before you were born. After I finished up the cardigans, I decided it was time to branch away from LTK. I went to a local bookstore and found a Debbie Bliss Book. I ended up ordering a few of her baby books online that night. The sweater, shoes, and dress were done in my last month of pregnancy when I was on bedrest. You never wore the sweater because I was too scared of you when you were a newborn.

Knits actually made during your first year of life next time.

Love,
Mama