Is that a challenge?

So my friend Liz is pregnant and is due mid-December. Being a knitter herself, I knew that she would appreciate something handknit for the little bundle of joy. (side note: I was going to say “little tyke” instead of “little bundle of joy” but when I checked to see if it was spelled “tyke” or “tike” (it can be both by the way) the definition said it meant “bitch, dog, an inferior or mongrel dog” Who knew? It also can mean small child. But I didn’t want Liz thinking I was calling her unborn child an inferior bitch dog)

Anyway, so I’m happily going along with my life and also taking note that Liz’s belly is growing but the fact that I haven’t started knitting anything for the little one didn’t seem to be an issue for me to worry about. That is until I got an invitation on the 5th for a shower on the 15th. I got the invitation just before heading out the door to Stitch ‘n Bitch. At Stitch ‘n Bitch I told Liz that I got the invitation to the shower and she mentioned that the invites had gone out a bit late and that it was ok if I didn’t bring a gift to the shower because she really wanted something knitted and she knew that a week was probably not enough time for me to get something ready. I just smiled and nodded and took it as a personal challenge. She would get a finished knit at that shower if I had to knit 24/7 for the next week!

So I raced home after Stitch ‘n Bitch and scoured my knitting books and the internet and finally decided on Crumpets from Chiagu.com. It seemed a perfect fit. I could knit the smallest size (6 months) which she should be able to wear next summer and it called for Lion Brand’s Cotton Ease which I just happened to have in my stash (I had hoarded several bags of it when Lion Brand discontinued it last year).

So anyway, I was able to present a finished Crumpets to Liz at the baby shower and am happy to report that there were no 24-hour marathon knitting sessions during the entire week. There was, of course, neglected house work and less home-cooked meals but I have a wonderfully understanding husband and he knew that this mayhem was only temporary.

Want pictures? OK!

Finished Crumpets!

Beading	Crochet Edging

Pattern: Crumpets from Chiagu.com
Started: October 6, 2006
Finished: October 14, 2006
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Needles: US 5
Size: 6 months
Ravelry link

Liz loved it and I can’t wait to see it on the little one!

As for the pattern, I was a bit disappointed. Thankfully before I start any project I always search blogs for knit-a-longs or others who’ve knit it and see what they thought and if there were any problems. One of the things people were saying over and over about this pattern was buy TWICE as many beads as the pattern calls for. I think that maybe the designer was envisioning beads only on the front. And that is fine but if you follow the directions as written, you will be beading front and back and if you pre-strung the number of beads the pattern called for you would run out of beads halfway through the bodice. So. Frustrating. Besides, the picture of the dress on Chiagu.com shows the bow side of the dress (which is supposed to be the back) and there are beads visible!

Another frustration I had with the pattern is that for the cast on it says “for a frillier edge, use the picot cast on” but does it tell you how to do the picot cast on? NO! If I’m going to pay $4.50 for a pattern, don’t make me go and look up how to do a specific cast on. (note: I used the picot cast on found here from NonaKnits)

And there were a lot of typos! Many places it said “to last K4 stitches” instead of “to last 4 stitches” and that really pisses me off. This pattern was released a year and a half ago! Those errors should have been fixed! The pattern is a PDF that is emailed to you when you place your order so it would not be difficult to make the changes.

Anyway, it’s a really cute dress and once you make note of all of the mistakes and omissions, it’s a pretty fun knit. But when I went from 120 stitches to 240 stitches for the body of the dress I thought I was going to die. 240 stitches each round! Talk about endless stockinette!

But it was all worth it! I love it! And most importantly, Liz loves it.