In Praise of Gull Lace

As much as I enjoyed the last iteration of this sweater, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to knit the original. I've knit this sweater so many times, but in my handspun, and for my own daughter, it was that much more special.

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (aka February Sweater) from Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: my handspun (superwash merino from the Dyeing Arts, colorway Tabula Rosa)
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 27/July 31
Mods: widened the neck (see below), worked ony three button holes, and worked sweater entirely in the round, as usual

I am always a tad concerned about the size of a neck opening in baby clothes, so I regularly make this modification to this sweater -- after all, I'd rather err on the side of caution. Here are the directions I found somewhere online:

• Cast on 62 stitches.
• Work 8 rows in garter stitch.
• Work the first increase round as follows: K7, (M1, K6) 8 times, M1, K7 (71 sts)

As usual, I opted to work the sleeves in the round rather than back and forth with a seam. I picked up a couple of extra stitches under the arms on the first round and decreased them away on the second to avoid holes, although holes are much easier to hide when there's lace involved!

I'm still rather surprised that I managed to get to striping to more or less line up on the sleeves. There was some splicing involved, but I think it's a pretty good match.

Speaking of the lace, it was nice to get back to this stitch pattern, kind of like seeing an old friend again. I always need to check the instructions just the first time and then I'm off. This sweater still needs a good blocking, but I love the nubby texture of it this way, too. Now that I know I've still got the stitch pattern memorized, I think perhaps another February Lady Sweater might be in store for me.