Twist

MayBelle Marie has been visiting us with religious regularity for the greater part of the year. But that was before we knew her name; before we’d even officially met her. Now that she’s finally been born we get to hold her and help with her diapers and bottles while her mom gets a little knitting done.

Note what MayBelle is sporting on her little tootsies. These booties are a pattern in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s The Opinionated Knitter, knit out of Trekking self-striping sock yarn held with kid mohair.

Speaking of Elizabeth Zimmerman, we’ve recently started carrying more of her books, and even we have been surprised at how popular they are. This Surprise Jacket is knit up in the newborn size, now on display at the shop. Three skeins of Katia “Magic” completed the project.

This pattern really is surprising because until the last stitches are bound off, it’s virtually impossible to fold it into a shape that looks like it might fit a child (even once it’s bound off, it’s quite the puzzle). EZ incorporates two sets of button holes into the pattern, so that you can decide at the end if it’s going to be for a boy or a girl. That’s assuming you know on which side buttons belong for boys and girls respectively. Either way, it’s a handy idea because then you know exactly where to sew the buttons to match up with the holes on the other side.