Monday, July 25, 2011

FO: Budgie II



A good friend of mine is going to have her third boy any day now. She is positively glowing and excited for his arrival. When we were both pregnant there was speculation on whether I was going to have a boy and she was going to have a girl (she has two boys, I had three girls). She said to me, "I have as much of a chance of getting a girl as you do getting a boy!" And she was right. I had another girl, and she has another boy on the way.

A bit after that comment was shared I sat down and started this sweater. It was going to be for either me or her, but I picked the colors with her brood in mind. Overall I am thrilled with the sweater, but that damn zipper. You can never find them in the length you need them (see the waviness from it being a tad too long?), and then sewing it in so the stripes line up?! Well, that required some work...and re-work and re-work. But in the end it turned out and hopefully will be durable enough to outlast, or at least keep pace with, this special little boy. I can't wait to meet him!

The pattern is the Budgie sweater and I loved making it a second time. The sweater goes really fast and the shaping is easy to manage. The zipper makes for a durable, versatile, and CUTE garment, but it is tricky to sew them in with the stripes. I highly recommend ordering a custom length zipper if the sweater measurements don't match up to pre-made ones you find in a store. You'll be happier with the result in the end, trust me. If I make another of these I will definitely go that route.

The yarn is a Lion Brand Wool-ease from the stash. A great super wash yarn that is easy to knit with!

I'm also think it is time to get some tags to sew into my gift knits. Any ideas on where to get some? And what I should put on mine? I think that "at the end of this row..." is too long. Maybe just "row..."? Or my name? What do you think?



3 comments:

s* said...

I'm a big fan if the tags that say ' Handmade by (your name)'.

Beautiful sweater, by the way. Excellent colors.

Little C and Little J said...

Love the sweater! And, baby boy three is sure to love it, too. I've put a few tags in things by printing on iron-on transfer paper and then ironing it onto twill tape, keep things pretty simple. But, I'd love to hear of any other creative ideas you come across!

mary frances said...

oh, the colors on this one are just perfect. I think I have that woolease color, and I bet I have some grey in the stash too. hmmm...