Bye baby bunting

It's odd how cycles present themselves.  After months of knitting adult socks, mittens, scarves and winter toques as Christmas gifts, I now find myself, once again, taking up yarn and knitting pins. But this time it's to knit clothes for three imminent babies.  In all three cases I'm using a soft single ply yarn and Hunca Munca sized needles. (Read: extremely small)

For one baby I'm using a pattern from a well-worn Orlon pattern book. It's a white sacque with open chevron work on the body and arms.  My mother made one for my daughter, and I made one each for my grandchildren.  Of course the intricate cutwork means that every one of the 8-rows in the pattern is different.  And when I say different I mean they are unlike one another in nearly every possible way and nearly impossible to memorize!  So between the yarn-overs, the knit two togethers, the knit three (no wait, knit five.... no wait, knit seven), the slipped stitches, and the subsequent passing of those slipped stiches over other stitches, I was actually talking aloud to myself by the end of the day—not only trying to keep track of the pattern but also counting off the stitches to make sure I hadn't dropped any.  (Ed. Note:  I did drop several at various points and had to tear out rows at least three times, including an entire sleeve.)

Here is a photo of the sacque from the pattern book.

The other baby will be getting a hat, the pattern for which matches the saque.  (Alas, more chevrons, but only on the rim, thank the gods.)  The third baby may be getting a blanket... I haven't decided yet.

It's nice to sit by the fire on a mid-winter day, knitting quietly.  Thank you, babies, for this lovely opportunity.