Imp according to Rowan is correct - my bad

I heard back from Rowan's Customer Service. Here's their response, "We have no amendments to this design. You are right in saying that it seems wide but it is meant to be a very loose fitting garment which hangs like a smock rather than a conventional sweater."

I am glad that I read through the pattern/schematics. At least this means I can probably use a smaller size for myself :-) I know Pumpkin Girl will be happy with the changes I made. Even I don't wear a 40" sweater.

Imp is a major letdown

I was diligently swatching last week for Pumpkin Girl's Sweet Heart (aka Imp) sweater. When I finally started knitting the sleeves, it turned out too big as in 9" wide for a 8 yo old kid. Something is seriously wrong here.

According to the pattern, size 8-9 fits 28" chest. Gauge is 23 x 32 over 10 cm. Cast on for back piece = 117 stitches. Whoa! That comes out to almost 20" for the back. It will look like a tent on my 7 yo daughter. So it looks like I will need to rethink this pattern. Out came the calculator, Ann Budd's book pictured below and a favorite shirt for comparison.


Since I'm making changes to the pattern, might as well knit it in the round.

BTW, the pattern called for 10 balls of the MC and 4 of the CC. I'm about 5" into the body and on my second ball. I bet I'll have so much leftover yarn.

Hubby's Stash Scarf

A few weeks ago Hubby asked me to knit him a scarf. He wanted something from the stash. I wanted to make him an Irish Hiking scarf but did not have enough yarn for it. All I had was red, white and fuschia which were set aside for a felted bag. Red was too bright; fuschia was out of the question; so by default he got the winter white. I showed him a sampler scarf I made when I taught myself how to knit. He knows I'm a slow knitter and he wants to wear this scarf this winter. So we decided on a garter stitch scarf. I found some leftover grey and hunter green yarn that I can add to it to make it a bit more interesting.


This will be a perfect first project for Kim's Stashalong KAL.

Sweet Heart

Pumpkin Girl feels left out. I have my Hourglass sweater and Little Man has his placket pullover. All she has are tank tops from last spring. So I pulled out my copy of Pipsqueaks and showed her Imp. She chose Sweet Heart over Little Star. I let her pick out the colors (pink and red) which she already said would be perfect for Valentine's Day.


I received the yarn (ordered 12/30) today. Perfect! All I need now is to finish Hubby's Scarf.

First FO of 2006

Happy New Year!!!
First order of the new year is to finish off some WIPs from 2005.

I picked up the needles to finish the second Pumpkin Girl's mitten yesterday. It was the easiest of my WIPs to complete. So here it is.


Pumpkin Girl Mittens
Pattern: Ann Budd
Yarn: LB Wool-Ease in Forest Green Heather
Needles: DPNS in Size 5
(November 21 - January 1, 2006)

Pumpkin Girl gives her seal of approval.