Santa Cruz Birthday

Today is John’s birthday! Happy Birthday, John!

Over at the Handknit Heroes updates site, I’ve posted a bunch of shout-outs and sightings about the comic book. If you’re wondering why I got quiet about the comic over here, it’s cause I’m posting all the love and linkies over there.

We’re finally in Santa Cruz. We arrived on Friday and spent the weekend hanging out down here with a couple of friends. I finished knitting the Baby Surprise Jacket which, with gauge, has turned out to be more like a Toddler Surprise Jacket. Oh, well. I ran out of the bamboo yarn I was using, so I bought a ball of corn-based stiff cotton/rayon/linen yarn (on sale) which I used just for the button band/bottom edging:

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See the shaping? See how the sweater bells out at the bottom a bit? Like a pear? That’s deliberate– there’s a little extra room at the back bottom for the baby’s diaper.
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At A Mano Yarn Center, I found really cute buttons for the sweater, but they only had 4. The pattern calls for 5, but I was able to use just the 4 and it doesn’t look too weird:

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My only real concern is that I promised the recipient that it “wouldn’t be blinding amounts of pink.” I suspect I have fractured this promise. I had the best of intentions, but I didn’t really realize that this:

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Would end up looking like this:

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Nonetheless, I like it. The corn yarn band is stiffer than the bamboo, which is a super-soft, very drapy yarn. So the button band has a harder feel– not something you would normally want on a baby jacket, but I think it’s ok on the button band, because then the mom and dad can easily find and button up the baby, even if their in an awkward position (reaching back in a car, or just holding the kid at a weird angle).

I’m also working on a pair of socks. They are pretty and lacey, and I’m almost done with the first one.

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I also got the local yarn shop to carry Handknit Heroes and will be delivering their copies later today.

The RV park in Scotts Valley is inexpensive, but it only has 30 amp service. This means when we wake up in the morning, it can be rather brisk, as we don’t run the heaters, space heater, and hot water heater all night long. So my fingers barely work right now because they’re so cold!

And that’s what’s going on over here. How have you been?

{Edited to correct the yarn content for the button band. It’s not corn. The shop owner said it was, but she was mistaken. It’s cotton/rayon/linen. Still machine-washable.}