Froggie happiness

I received a refreshing comment on the last post that told me to stop complaining. In this new spirit of trying to be more self-congratulatory, I present my first FO of the season. Now, most mothers coo over their newborns, extolling their perfection. I do not have a new baby, but I do have a new baby sweater, and I am pleased as punch to show it off and talk about its loveliness.

Little Frog Baby Sweater

Pattern: Child's Placket Sweater, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Knitpicks Crayon, color "green" (2 balls, I think)
Needles: 5, bamboo circulars and dps
Modifcations: Plenty, for such a tiny piece. My gauge, even on size 5s, was so wide that I used the stitch counts from the smallest size and the sleeve and body lengths from the next size up. I did garter stitch on the borders instead of seed stitch. I cast on a much smaller number of stitches for the sleeve border, to avoid belling. And I made mini buttonholes (k1,p1,yo,p2tog,k1) on the placket, so that I could use these darling frog buttons.

Incredibly, this is the first sweater that I have managed to complete; four half-finished ones, some as old as a decade (!), languish in my yarn box, casting me reproachful looks everytime I start something new. This sweater isn't perfect, but the fact that it's a genuine finished article makes it FEEL perfect. And that may be the real lesson for me. Now if only I could apply that same logic to my graduate work!