Knitting, the thing I do when I can’t sew

Last week I had the flu. The go to the ER for some fluids because you can’t even keep water down kind of flu.

I went back to work Friday and when I got home I wasn’t really up for sewing, but after a couple days of sitting on the couch and watching TV, I just couldn’t spend another night doing nothing.

Enter the yarn stash.

Unlike my fabric stash, I’ve managed to keep my yarn buying under control, mostly sticking to purchasing yarn only for what I actually intend to make. I do have a weakness for sock yarn, even though I’ve never successfully made a pair of socks that fit.

But I did have several skeins of Louisa Harding Yarns in Millais I had intended to use for a dog sweater that I never started. The rich gray is gender neutral enough for a baby sweater, specifically the Baby Sophisticate pattern by Linden Down I found on Ravelry.

I’m by no means a great knitter. Button holes will be a first for me on this pattern. But the top-down construction was something I could wrap my head around. So I pulled out a pair of knitting needles and got started.

Then I kept on knitting during a car ride to the Chicago suburbs for the weekend and in the waiting room at the doctor. Before I knew it, I have an almost complete baby sweater less than a week after I started, only working during times when I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything else.

Granted, baby sweaters are small, especially in the zero to three months size I’m making mine. But aside from the GAP-tastic Cowl I made my mother-in-law with massive needles and yarn, I’ve never had a knitting project go this fast.

Now I just need to find some more down time so I can finish the second sleeve and collar. Then my little one will be ready for the cold nights we sometimes have in the Midwest in May and June. I’ll just need some pink or blue pants to go with it.