Foster, Bananas Foster

There's a very good reason for the blog silence these past few days -- I've been finishing Mr. Foster, and in the nick of time! He'll be shipped out tomorrow morning to make it in time for Aidan's birthday.

Pattern: Mr. Foster [Ravelry link] by the Knit Picks Design Team
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash merino/25% nylon) in Buckskin, Cocoa, Burgundy, and Ash, one skein each
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) dpns and 1.5 (2.5 mm) circs
Started/Completed: March 13/April 23
Mods: I used a three-stitch I-cord in place of a single crochet chain for the robe belt and made it a couple of inches longer than specified in order to have enough for the knots at the end

I have mixed feelings about this project. On the one hand, there's no denying that this is one extremely cute monkey.

On the other hand, he was kind of a pain in the you-know-what. The monkey wasn't too much of a pain until I got to the face and all those short rows. The robe really wasn't too bad. The pajamas, though, were a royal annoyance. I've realized that I feel the same way about moss stitch that I do about seed stitch -- I just don't care for it. In the case of the pjs, it made the project slow to the pace of cold molasses. I found this part of the pattern to be particularly -- and perhaps unnecessarily -- fiddly, to the point that I very nearly threw in the towel. I'm glad I didn't, though, because Mr. Foster really wouldn't feel complete without his clothes.

There is one feature of the pjs, though, that I absolutely adore: the rear flap, complete with a hole for his tail.

The one main failing of this kit, in my opinion, is that the yardage required for completing the pjs, at least, is vastly underestimated. I was fortunate in that I had some scraps of an earlier batch of the same yarn (from these socks) that were a close enough match in color that I could finish, but I can't imagine what I would have done if I hadn't. I certainly couldn't have waited to order another skein and still gotten the project done in time.

I had just enough to finish the robe, though it was a close one. Here's all the yarn I have left, just a few yards. (The robe obviously needs a good blocking, so kindly ignore the bottom edge's flipping up.)

Bottom line? While aggravating at times -- and it's certainly never fun knitting under a deadline -- I'm glad I made it through. I think Aidan will like him, and if he doesn't, he can always send Mr. Foster back to me!

That's all, folks!