Take Me to the River

Annabelle's Pinafore, based on Denim Pinafore by Erika Knight
knitted in Cascade Cotton Rich, 150 grams emerald, 150 grams sage, 100 grams cream
knitted on US 6 Crystal Palace circulars and US 6 HiyaHiya DPN's
Ravelers see it here.

I knew before we headed to the river that I really wanted to knit Erika Knight's Denim Pinafore for Annabelle.  But there was a problem; no denim yarn, instead several twists of Cotton Rich.  Having never used this yarn before I really didn't know anything about it.  But I did know that in using it for this pattern I would end up having to modify the pattern to work.  The original calls for dk weight yarn and Cotton Rich is no dk weight, with instructions to be knit on size 7's.  So after a couple of hours of revisions and a few "prototype" rows, I had a pattern that, on paper, had very little to do with Erika Knight's pinafore.  But in the end, I hope looks somewhat similar.

Annabelle's is a more fitted pinafore, and is a bit shorter, being only twenty inches long rather than twenty-four.  And of course the obvious difference:  I opted for stripes instead of a solid color.  Mainly because I would be bored out of my mind if I had chosen a solid.  I also decided to knit it on circular needles to the armholes, and then knit back and forth thereon.  This was a brilliant (!) decision for me.  I doubt I would have finished it if I had knitted two separate pieces as denoted in the pattern.  My disdain for knitting something more than once runs deep... (notice the lack of socks in my FO's)  and I really think it knitted up much quicker because of the circulars.   And of course, the noticeable lack of seaming  goes without saying.

Overall, I thought this pattern was a good jumping off point to design my own pinafore.  The basics were there, and because it is so simply written I was able to easily modify it to suit my own knitting style.   But I must say, I am in love with the new Crystal Palace bamboo circulars.  The new design is great, and bamboo fits my tendency to knit tightly better than anything else (yeah, even including Addis, which I still love too!).  I think when I become stressed my knitting tends to tighten up.  And I can better tell when my gauge may be changing because of the bamboo.  I even practiced my Continental-style knitting on this project, which is great for making a tight knitter loosen up a bit as well.

As for the yarn, well, what can you say?  It's cotton.  Period.  Like it or lump it, it just is what it is.  No memory and splices like crazy.  I don't think I've met a cotton project that didn't have a mind of it's own.  Ballband Dishcloths not withstanding.  But it certainly is workable, and of all the thicker cotton yarns out there, I do like it a lot.  Much more than that mess I used for Baby Tart.  Blah.
And as for our trip to the river?  We had to evacuate!  Can you believe that?  We were in that section of the country that was experiencing record level flooding!  Not so good when your front door is fifty yards from a raging current! 

Thankfully we were uphill, but the road leading out of the resort was not, so Tuesday night, after helping the owners carry mattresses and mini-fridges to higher ground, we got the heck out of Dodge ourselves.  And by 1 a.m. my three were all piled in the only king-sized bed in the only hotel room left in town, snoozing loudly.   They always say it's darkest before the dawn, so I'm thinking Annabelle's little pinafore is the dawn of a very dark trip.  But only for the purpose of this post.  Rain makes for great conversation, and we hung out on the porch swing laughing at my dad's old stories for hours!

After returning home I discovered I have been tagged by Molly.  Thanks Miss Molly!  I'm going to have to read up on the rules of being tagged and do a little research to have some facts about myself to post.  So Molly, I promise I'll have something soon... be looking for it! 
This morning we took pictures of Annabelle's pinafore before blocking it.  So now I'm off to give it a gentle spin in the washer.  I'm always terrified I'm going to ruin a finished knit, so when there is a washing machine involved, there will always be pictures first.


----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Alice / DATE: 03/20/2008 01:00:03 PM Oh I am so in love with this! I hear you on cotton yarn, but I think this pinafore has to be the best use for it I've seen... Annabelle is darling in it too. Oh, I must know where you got the green wellies. They're so awesome. Wow, I realize my gushing is out of control and I've also favorited about every thing you've made lately. You just might have a knit stalker!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 03/20/2008 01:30:34 PM Thanks Alice! It has been officially washed and is now blocking. So far so good. As for Annabelle's muck boots... TARGET! You can't see it from this picture, but they have green frog faces on them. She wears them everywhere!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Denise DATE: 03/20/2008 01:46:49 PM That is really pretty, and looks so nice on your daughter. I like that you did stripes, I think knit in one color just wouldn't be the same. Great job. :)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: DeniseDATE: 03/20/2008 03:08:13 PM The webkinz are just cute little plush toys, that once you buy them you get a code to go online at webkinz.com and can play online games. You get to see your pet online and they have their own room and you have to feed it and keep it happy etc. If you play the games online you can win webkinz cash to buy your online pet more stuff. The kids can go to the 'clubhouse' and see other webkinz users online (you actually see the little pets, hover over them and their names pop up) and they can chat to each other. It's safe chat where they are only allowed to click a question (not type their own) like 'how are you', or nice to see you. And you can click on an answer in response. It's all very safe online play for this age (my dd is 7) :-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Myriam  DATE: 03/21/2008 07:29:52 PM Turned out great!! Its cute outfits like this that make me wish i had a girl, sometimes. :)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 03/22/2008 09:17:46 AM Thanks for the info. Denise--I'm off today to get a couple for Easter. You'll have to publish your pattern so I can knit them sweaters! ;-) Thanks Myriam--having had a boy first, I gotta say, it's still easier for me to buy clothes for him than for Annabelle!