My 2010 Olympics are finally over!

Here are some shots of my Knitting Olympics FO. I sewed on the buttons and wove in the final ends in the wee hours of Friday morning.

The pattern: Smock with Sheep and Shoes, from Nursery Knits by Debbie Bliss.

Wanna see the bodice detail and buttons better? How ’bout this:

And here’s the back:

And up close:

Wanna see the shoes?

Did you notice the buttons are different on the shoes? Look at this side view of the shoes:

Isn’t that adorable?

In truth, I chose them ’cause the buttonholes on the shoe straps are smaller than those on the smock and the heart-shaped buttons won’t fit through ‘em. And they match in color and “feel”. And they’re adorable!

Yes, there is a sheep, as you may remember from much-earlier posts. Here is is again, in a new photo:

Sweet!

And a final shot of the entire ensemble:

Things about knitting this pattern:

1. It’s actually a pretty easy knit, although the smocking sections require attention, as you do patterning on both the knit and purl sides.

2. Debbie Bliss assumes you know how to make a sweater. Her instructions for assembly are not overly burdened with detail. For example, here’s how she says to assemble the sweater pieces: “Join shoulder seams. Sew on sleeves, placing centre of sleeves to shoulder seams. Join side and sleeve seams. Sew on pockets and buttons. Sew collar in place.” That’s it, folks. Now, on the one hand, that’s liberating, letting you choose your favorite sewing/joining methods to do the finishing work. On the other hand, anyone who has never made a sweater in pieces before will be completely a little lost when they get to those bare-bones directions.

3. You may have noticed those directions mention sewing on pockets. Um, no. The pattern includes li’l tiny patch pockets that you are supposed to sew on neatly. I did knit said pockets. And I even tried to sew one of them on. And verily it did look like crap. So I tried a different method. And verily it did look even crappier. So the pockets went to the frog pond and I did rationalize that a one-year-old baby does not need li’l pockets in which to catch crumbs and stuff anyway. So there. (Sorry, Ms. Bliss.)

4. It makes you look like a genius. Love that!

5. If you don’t get hung up on the “how” of sewing it together (as I did… for about a bajillion weeks… sigh), you can knit this sweater set within the KO timeframe. Really.

Aside from the pocket problem, the only thing I don’t like about the smock is how the collar edges lay. The slipped stitch on each edge looks a little too big and wants to curl a bit, which is no doubt due to my knitting deficiencies and not the pattern. I’m hoping that will be less of a problem after it has been washed/dried, but I can’t count on the miracles of blocking with this project. Why not? Say it with me: ‘Cause acrylic doesn’t block.

Still, I love it. And I can’t wait to see Arianna in it.

[Some of the details you might want: The yarn is Peter Pan by Wendy, DK weight. It's 55% nylon/45% acrylic, machine wash-and-dry-able. The color goes by the imaginative and evocative title of "997." Each 50g skein has about 170 meters and I used about 4 skeins, I think. (I lost track.) I'll put measurements, etc., in the FO sidebar later, as it's about sleepy time now and my brain is turning to mush.]