Giving knitting another go

I am an admittedly bad knitter. I can purl, knit and follow a pattern, but getting the project to turn out the right size is always a challenge.

A few months ago I bought yarn to knit a sweater to go with Angela’s Easter dress that I made, and now I’m under the gun to get it done. The good news is baby sweaters knit up quick because there just isn’t much to them. The bad news is it actually has to fit her now instead of next year so it can be worn with the dress.

I stopped by my local yarn shop, Knit & Knot – A Yarn Boutique in Bettendorf, Iowa, to get some pointers, not pun intended. I’m making the Daisy Stitch Cardigan from the book 60 More Quick Baby Knits: Adorable Projects for Newborns to Tots in 220 Superwash® Sport from Cascade Yarns (60 Quick Knits Collection).

The yarn I’ve chosen is fingering weight, which the crew at Knit & Knot said is a little larger than the 220 Superwash Sport from Cascade Yards, which is used in the patterns in the book.

To compensate, I’m going to make my first swatch in one needle size smaller than recommended to check the gauge. If I’m still off, then I’ll go down two needle sizes for the second swatch. And if I’m still of there, I’m officially a terrible knitter and will just follow the instructions for the six month sweater size instead of one year.

I’m headed out of town for a few days to visit family and packing up my sewing machine and all my projects is a little much, but this project will be a great take-a-long piece that will keep my hands busy while we’re away.

The yarn is Gems 100 percent merino wool in pure white and Madelinetosh hand dyed sock yarn in lepidoptra. The I’m using the white for the light pink yard in the pattern photo and the dark pink for all the other colors. The color is somewhat mottled, so it will work with the pink in the dress without matching exactly.

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