Grace

Grace has always been the most grateful recipient of my knitted wares. The first thing I knit for her was her First Birthday Sweater, coincidentally my very first project. It was a hot pink sweater out of Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool on size 6 needles. She wore it and wore it until it was so tight that her circulation was suffering.
Next I knit her a fun winter pullover in a fuzzy chunky green yarn from Red Heart. She was equally obsessed with this sweater, and referred to it as "boojoo". She would wander around the house saying this until someone (anyone) would give her the sweater, at which point she would put it on and refuse to take it off. She grew taller, and the sweater seemed to get shorter. It has taken up residence in Auntie Courtney's knitting basket to be lengthened this year so that she can wear it again. You must know how much I love this child based on the amount of mulch I pulled out of this yarn.
For Easter I knit her a lovely striped raglan in orange and yellow with a big pink flower, again out of Red Heart (left over from my husband's Grandmothers afghan stash.) She was not a fan of this sweater, which was surprising to me, as it was, in my opinion, much cuter than the green one. I soon determined the cause of her concern, it was "itchy". Really itchy. It just plain drove her nuts, so I resolved at that moment to always knit for Grace with softness in mind.
Since I had just learned my lesson, I was well prepared for her next birthday when I knit her the Second Birthday Sweater out of Manos Cotton Stria in grape and raspberry. She loves this sweater, and it feels so good to have hit a home run with it! I just recently got a few photos of her in it (yes, it has been several months - blame her Mother!) and wanted to share....

As you can see, it is a little large on her. This is for a few reasons. 1 - Auntie Courtney wasn't careful with her gauge. 2 - Grace won't let Kelly wash it, so it has had several months to stretch. 3 - I used a button that was WAY too heavy, and should have put ties on it. At any rate, she enjoys it and I know that she will enjoy Monica as much!