The first of many

(Well, what I hope is the first of many.)

(drumroll)

I'd like to introduce the first Finished Object of 2007!

Elly Cardigan

Tah dah! As never seen before, the Elly Cardigan from Rowan Classic Baby Book Four! This amazingly beautiful cardigan is knit in luscious Rowan Cashsoft DK in Lavender. This lovely baby sweater is designed to fit a newborn. It's lovingly handknit raglan sleeves gently sweep up the shoulders, allowing plenty of space for all the activities a newborn could dream of! (Ooooh! Aaaaaah!) A stunning crocheted border edges the cardigan, adding to the elegance!

Hey, who gave the infomercial copywriter my password??? Get out! Go get your own blog.

Sorry about that. That pesky copywriter has been lurking around Clover Field for a while, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Have I mentioned how much I love my LYS? Last knit, while finishing up the Elly Cardy, I looked at the pattern and began hunting for a size E crochet hook. I had a C, an H, two Fs, a J, a K, a mucho long afghan hook, but no E. It was 8:45 at night. It paniced and called the Shop. The Spin Meister was there and confirmed that she had a hook. I spend to the shop and was thankful that it was knit-in night and the store would definitely be open late.

Not only did she have a size E hook, but she had a wooden Bryson hook made from palm wood. This hook is beautiful in it's simplicity. It feels extremely perfect in the hand and it works wonderfully. I've tried the Brittany hooks in the past since I prefer wood to metal or plastic, but I've had a problem with the hook dropping the stitch halfway through. I didn't have any problems with the Bryson at all. If you need a hook and like wood, then definitely go for the Bryson.

As for the cardy, it is super easy to knit! It's all stockinette. The raglan shaping is very easy and due to the small size, you can complete this project with just a few hours. One thing I found interesting about the project was the author's choice of decreases. For the right leaning decreases, the pattern says to use a K2tog. Pretty standard. For the left slanting decrease, the pattern says to use a K2tbl, which according to EZ is not the reverse of a K2tog. I did notice that the K2tbl makes a much more pronounced pattern. I actually like the way it looks. It puffs out the stitches a bit more. I just need to find out how I can puff out the stitches on the right.