It seems that every time I go out in public, someone asks me when the baby is due (Answer: Thanksgiving), if we know whether it’s a boy or a girl (No), if we’re going to find out (No), and if we have a hunch (No). Then they usually tell me that I’m having a boy.
If so, he’s going to miss out on a lot of cute knitwear. When my mom came to visit, I asked her to bring some of the knitted things my grandmother made for me. These are the ones that ought to fit a little baby.
(By the way, my camera is back from Nikon. It had a mysterious, intermittent problem that may be fixed or may just be waiting to recur when I least expect it. Meanwhile, I am ever so happy to have it back.)
This green sweater and bonnet set has a beautiful stockinette petal motif on a garter-stitch yoke. I’m not sure what stitch the body uses. Any guesses?
This one was knit in a heavier yarn, perhaps a worsted. Lovely details.
This one is my favorite, I think, for its whimsical pompom placement and the very smart combination of stitch patterns with yarn choice and overall shape. Mom says Leona used to wear it a lot. It has a little hole that I will have to try to darn.
And if I do have a boy, perhaps he can wear this one — though I think that Grandma actually made it for one of my dolls, so we’ll see. (Sorry, the red is so bright that it’s sort of washed out. I suppose I should have corrected for that.)
There is also an absolutely gorgeous newborn-sized cardigan and bonnet that has several tiny holes in it. I think it’s too fragile to use for this baby, but if I were feeling ambitious I would recreate the pattern from scratch. It uses fingering-weight yarn and has beautiful trinity-stitch edgings (or daisy stitch?) against a stockinette background. Since my ambition is somewhat lacking of late, I have packed it away for now, to be reconsidered in a few years.
Anyone know how to get the smell of mothballs out of clothes? My mom already washed everything with Kookaburra wool wash, so that alone won’t do it, and I don’t want to cover up one smell with another by using a stronger-scented product. I suspect that at least a few of these sweaters are acrylic and may tolerate machine washing, so that’s a possibility. I could also try hanging them up outside in the crisp October air. Other ideas?
How lovely, and how wonderful that they are all in such great shape! I love the ones with the petals and the bobbles. You know, a lot of Indian knitting books have similar patterns – I guess they are still recycling stuff that was popular way back when our granmoms were knitting!
Hope the pregnancy is going well! And I love the new domain name – abrupt and ruthless!
That first one with the petal collar is darling. Any chance of back engineering a pattern for it?
Baby sweaters are notorious for not aging very well. You really have the motherlode here! I love how the colors are so vibrant — I suspect white is the most problematic color for the longevity of baby knits as it tends to turn yellowish.
The smell of mothballs tends to linger. Leaving the clothes out in the fresh air (and ideally sunshine) is the best solution. Be patient. It will take a while. I have heard that some people use cat litter for its deodorizing properties but I can’t vouch for that idea. Then again, if you happen to have a bag of cat-litter handy…