attack of the hundred dollar baby knit

Have you ever picked something up in a shop, or rather had a friend thrust something at you, that was so wrong that you just had to buy it and prove that you could do something with it? But to do something with it, you had to actually buy more yarn, not to mention needles upon which to knit it. Thus was born the hundred dollar baby knit.

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Shrug Bug by Gina Bonomo, available to download on Ravelry for US$5 (start your calculators).
Size: Just the one size provided for - 6 to 12 months - but I don't think that I got gauge so mine is a bit larger.
Yarn: Gedifra Easy Wear in colourway 7405, a variegated super bulky yarn that my friend Olivia (yes, I'm naming names) found in the sale drawer at the back of a certain yarn store that I often criticise but regularly frequent, one skein (variegated super bulky - what was I thinking?). And Rowan Big Wool in colourway 57 Commodore, purchased the next day from the same store (fortunately also from the sale drawer), one skein but I misjudged and bought two. Adding up.
Needles: 12.75mm Addi Turbos and 15mm Crystal Palace bamboo circulars, needle sizes that of course I would never normally have use for and so had to purchase. From the aforementioned yarn store. And at that size, they're expensive. Still counting?
Start to finish: 17 April to 25 April 2010.
Recycle/stash content: None whatsoever; I'm disappointed with myself. And I have actually ended up with a skein of Big Wool and some utterly redundant circular needles.
Comments: Where to begin? This was a project that just spiralled out of control and ended up costing a small fortune. Ok, some of it was for needles which are resuable, just unlikely to be reused by me. Oh, and there was the button from Bad Woman Yarns, another $6. And the final product in the two yarns, while kind of cute, isn't even fit for purpose. Modifications - obviously, I used two different yarns. I also knit front and back twice to make the raglan increases instead of working yarn-overs.

Verdict: I wish that I hadn't. This was such a misguided project - for one thing, the yarns are both handwash only and my baby is a champion spewer. It will get worn once for a little while before being completely soaked in regurgitated breastmilk and will then wallow in the handwash pile for goodness knows how long. And then it will stink and then ... just not a good idea.

The pattern though is really very cute and I think would have been way more successful had it been executed in the one yarn throughout. It would actually have looked great had I just used the Big Wool. And I do have that extra skein; now if I could just get hold of some more ...

corriedale

It has been very lax of me (as a knitter) to not declare until now that we have champion Corriedale sheep breeders in the family. Yes, Tim's cousin and wife are the proprietors of Liberton Corriedales and will be at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on the 1st and 2nd of May.

Jim and Brenda stopped by in Seattle for a few nights on their way across to the east coast and I was the lucky recipient of two enormous hanks of their wool. The hanks weigh about a pound each; I'm not sure of yardage but apparently enough for an adult sweater. I'm not sure whether to experiment with dying the yarn or using it in its beautiful natural state. I could never wear cream so I guess that I'll have to decide whom I'm going to knit for before I decide on the colour!

Actually, what I have to do first is catch up with myself; I still don't feel like I am back on top of things since we left for Orcas Island which is almost a fortnight ago. Since then I've had a cold and allergies simultaneously (that's two grades of snot at the same time - sorry) and house guests for four days. I feel as though I am behind on everything - email, housework, knitting. And when I feel stretched like this what do I do? I retreat into my knitting and sewing and general crafting but in a hectic, frantic kind of way, which just leaves me with more unfinished stuff and feeling more stressed. It also leads to one discount skein of wool turning into a hundred dollar baby jacket ... but more about that later (sneak peek at right).