Retrospective - Vertical Garter Jacket

I'm going back in time a bit with this project.  I knit this little sweater in 2010. 

Finished knitting just waiting for a wearer...

I was a brand new mom at the time.  Our girl arrived on the scene early - not just a little early - and we spent a considerable amount of time as a fledgling family in the NICU.  While she slept and grew and learned to breathe, I watched and hoped and worried and knit. It turns out there is isn't a lot to "do" when you are in that spot, so I kept my hands and mind a little preoccupied to keep my imagination from running to it's darkest corners.

And in the end this sweater and few others were turned out.  The small fry turned out too; more importantly.  She's worn and outgrown most of them... but this one just fits this fall.

Busy rearranging the doll house

It's a very nice little jacket.  It is knit out of fingering weight yarn (Louet Gems) and the resulting fabric is relatively fine.  The garter stitch creates a little more weight and give than stockinette would have which makes it warmer and free moving.  And although at the time I thought that the sleeves were going to be too long, it turned out that they are perfect.  It did take what seemed like forever to finish, and I remember wishing that I was a faster knitter, but it was worth it in the end.

The only modification I made was post-knitting.  I added two rows of tiny elastic around the neck.  The neckline kept growing and growing and the small fry is a little too young to pull off the exposed shoulder look.  It's worn fairly well.  The only thing that I have noticed is a little damage on the hems.  The ends of the knitted rows seem to be a bit more fragile than the edge of a cast-on or bound-off hem. So I see that there might be a little mending in my future.  It could also be that my girl is a little harder on her hand-mades than she used to be.  But that's all as it should be when you're enjoying year two.

Cozy trifecta - fireplace, furry friend, and hand knits.

It feels strangely therapeutic to write now about where this sweater began.  I might just post about the others here too someday.