Yay!

I just learned that I'm going to be an auntie again....hooray!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I'm trying plan out the types of things I can knit for the baby-t0-be. Ideally, I'd like to knit a whole layette, with booties, a hat, and Sally Melville's "Einstein Coat" (which I perceive to be more like a sweater of sorts than a coat with regards to the shortened style). I'd like to make a blanket too, but it's so much knitting....I get started all enthusiastic with full steam, then kind of run out of steam mid-way through (anybody else get that way, too?). Well, we'll see about the blanket--I'll certainly have enough to keep me busy with knitting all of the other items!

The "Einstein Coat" is so fun to knit. It was my very first garment, and truly, as Sally Melville promises, "I felt like a genius when it was done!". The finished product was very professional looking because instead of seaming everything, you're picking up stitches and adding on to previously built foundation pieces. When you look at the inside of the coat, it looks very neat. You only make two small seams to close up the arms, and you're done--very little finishing after the actual knitting portion is done, which means instant wearability! I've made this coat five times--three in infant sizes, and two in toddler sizes--and since the garment is small in those sizes, it worked up relatively quickly. I'd really like to do one for myself at some point, but I'm fearful of the cost of yarn, and the length of time it would take me to make one....I'd definitely have to have the long coat version because it would have to cover my butt for warmth! ;-) To anybody out there that is wanting to try knitting their first garment, I truly believe it's a great first pattern. The entire garment is knitted in garter stitch, and as I mentioned above, only two small areas are required to be seamed. The only other techniques I would say you need to know is picking up stitches, yarn over, and k2tog (knit 2 together). Aside from that, you're good to go. I trimmed out a couple of the coats with a crocheted slip stitch edging which looked very nice. For my daughter's little coat, I found some pretty sportweight yarn with metallic in it which I used to trim out the entire coat, and on the sleeves, she picked out some eyelash yarn with metallic in it which added a fun, cute look to the sleeve edges.