Nutmeg Cardi

PATTERN: Sweet Baby Cardigan by Nancy Pietraczek
SIZE: 0-3 months?
YARN: Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca

I'd like to just knit all day. And all night. I have knitting fever bad these days. I've had it all this year, of course, but now that it's winter, and wintry, and woolish, all I want to do is knit. Knit knit knit. Knit and then knit some more. And when I'm not knitting, all I want to do is surf Ravelry, looking for new things to knit. Like, say, this and this and this and this and this.

The little Nutmeg Cardigan kept me happily knitting (and by knitting I mean hardly any purling, as this is almost entirely made of garter stitch and bee stitch, the cutest little sponge-y, plump-y little stitch you ever did see — love love love bee stitch) for the past couple o' weeks. You just knit, knit knit. Perfect for watching Christmas movies (this one is still our favorite), stoking the fire, giggling at squirrel antics out the window (I now know they can literally dangle upside down — and I mean, completely upside down — from one paw, which is attached to an almost-vertical surface, one paw which does not seem to be particularly sticky, or grippy, and which, in fact, looks not even in the least bit strained, and stuff their little faces until they have eaten an entire birdfeeder's worth of black-oil sunflower seed in one sitting [or one dangling, as it were] ). It's perfect for being sat on by a displaced puppers who wants her dog bed back (it's become a whole thing now: Kitters gets on the dog bed around 6 p.m., Puppers skittles around anxiously, staring at/imploring me to do something already to restore order to the universe, I pretend I have no idea what is going on [this works in all sorts of situations, actually] and continue to k1, k1b across row to last 6 st, oblivious to all animal drama. [I mostly stop caring at 5 p.m.; at 6 p.m. I declare myself oficially off the animal-drama clock, turn on Judge Judy, and make everyone wait until their father gets home for anything else they might need] ).

Yes, it's a great little cardigan for all of those wintry things. I made a bunch of mistakes on this, and still am wishing that I had used a size smaller needles for the button band (came out too long, in my opinion). But generally, if you have four adorable little painted wooden buttons and you are wondering what to do with them, I would strongly suggest making this sweater. I wish that it came in sizes bigger than three months, but it seems a bit bigger than that, actually. If I have any motivation toward doing math in the coming weeks (can't really think of anything more unlikely than having any motivation toward doing math in the next few weeks), I'll try and upsize this cute little warm little squishable little sweater. Or else I'll just sit here and think about it instead. Or else I'll just sit here.

Comments

[Kim M.]

All I want for Christmas is a picture of this sweet baby's wardrobe in the closet. I can only imagine how sweet it all looks together. :)

[Laura]

Adorable sweater! I must say I would love to wear it myself!

[Kim]

I really need to come hang out with you for a week or so. I struggle with knitting and I know I'd just love it if I could get past the struggle part. So your house for a week with nothing but knitting and you there to help me over the hump would be just divine.

Oh well. A girl can dream!

[Holly]

One way you could size it up would be to go to a thicker yarn, and larger needles. Keep the pattern the same, and you've got a bigger sweater, no math!

[Allison S]

I'm with Kim M. - you really need to take a pic of all the sweaters/dresses you've been making, hanging in a nice row. I'd love to see the overall color scheme...seems like you paint all of your house gray, so I wonder if the majority of neutral pertaining to 'baby' is gray? :) Love the sweater!

[Elaine]

It is adorable. I'm kind of like you. I just want to sit and knit, knit, knit. And I love making baby sweaters also.
The pattern and the color are very nice on this one. Well, here I go to Ravelry to find this one.

[The Italian Dish]

I just have to laugh, Alicia! I'm the same way. My favorite thing to do is surf Ravelry. I just LOVE it! And I could just spend the whole day knitting. I can just so relate to what you wrote! I laughed out loud.

Love the cardigan. So sweet. As usual.

[Hannah Hoover]

Oh why oh why oh why did you have to post such cute things? I added several of them to my que on ravelry. I just finished a hooded poncho for my 1 1/2 yr old daughter. I'm working on a lace scarf for myself and I have an entire BOX full of yarn and other projects. I'm an addict. This one is particularly adorable and well, I think it may get done next :-) Thanks for sharing!

[Builder Mama]

Adorable! Although I have to admit, when I saw "Nutmeg Cardi" I was imagining you got another puppers for Christmas. Oops!

[Emmmylizzzy]

You never know with those sweaters - they vary in size soooo much. My daughter is 1 1/2 and can still fit into one of her 3-6 month sweaters!

[Abbey]

Two thumbs up for the buttons.

[Jenny Hillman]

All I want to watch is Little Women. And cuddle up and smile and cry; because life is so precious. As is your darling sweater.
Hugs - Jenny

[Mary Ann]

I have a small pile of knitting, and I do mean knitting since i don't purl but my real fixation is quilting. Oh to have the rest of the month off to enjoy...oh lucky me I do!

[Teresa Kasner]

Dear Alicia, I love your sweater! You amaze me with how much you accomplish! Any news on a wee one? I will make a pair of my booties for you when it's time -- I have a special pattern of my own that I use, crochet and I usually use "CottonTots" by Bernat. Wish I could post a photo with my comment! :-)

Your friend in the gorge - Teresa

[Judith Norman]

So precious. Where did you get the buttons?

[Kelly in Canada]

I love all your knitting. I am very much a beginner but I just bought (for my husband to give me for Christmas, you understand) the loveliest yarn to make a big, loopy, lovely throw blanket that I found on the purlsoho website. I cannot wait for days spent knitting and knitting. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly

[cece]

Hi Alicia, That cardi is adorable as are all of your creations. :) I have been a follower of your blog for years now and adore you, your blog, and your creations of which I have acquired a treasured little collection. As someone who has had my own business; it has always struck me that you are incredibly prolific and generally productive. I am wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing how you organize your time and stay on track? If I don't hear from you; please know I won't take offense, I understand you of course can not respond to all the inquiries you must receive.
Your blog is a ray of sunshine and inspiration on my sometimes cloudy days. :)

[Linnie Joy]

Oh this is so sweet!
Your going to have the best dressed little girl in the world!
Already such a good Mumma!

[Whosyergurl]

Alicia,
Lovely, lovely sweater. Love the buttons.
I will be a first-time Grandma in March. Maybe it is time to learn to knit?
XO, Cheryl

[Candice]

So cute! I know what you mean about wanting to knit all the time. This time if year does that to me, too.

[Michele]

This little cardi is so sweet and precious. The button details are the perfect touch. I don't knit so I'm pretty lost when I see terms like "purl", but I still enjoy reading your blog. I checked out the movie you mentioned. I'm the only one in my house full of boys who loves the Hallmark movies. It's my channel of choice during the holidays. I usually end up crying at some point in a movie. So hokey, but I don't care!

[sheila]

Yes to what Cece said!

You have the knitting bug most definitely. I had it. I could look at yarn and patterns all the way through the night. I was like a crack fiend- I could not get enough yarn or projects. Thankfully for my wallet and my sanity it has eased up a lot. I think it's because of the way I hold my work and that it hurt my shoulder a lot. For once, thank you pain. Not even going to look at your links, it will just make me want to do more. That said, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear you talking about knitting and being excited about it. It is so nice to find that in someone other than myself. That yarn looks so amazing I forgot what my point was in writing this comment. Yay knitting! Love the animal drama updates.

[Mary Beth at Yarn U iPhone app]

Alicia, It is most adorable and could tempt me into the dark side of knitting for infants or at least stuffed animals.

[Jodi Anderson]

Hey, I saw that movie, too. Is there any other channel besides Hallmark? Especially now that they're running holiday episodes of Martha's Home and from Martha's Kitchen?!

The sweater is cute as can be.

[Eliz. K]

i love love those buttons! adorable cardigan too!