Tummy Warmer Vest

The Petite Purls Fall 2011 issue went live on Friday. It's another fabulous issue full of great projects (knitting, sewing, crochet) and articles. The 2 articles on photography was very educational and written by 2 awesome photographers, Brandy Fortune and Caro Sheridan. And how cute is this tutorial on making friendship bracelets?

I am really excited to have a 2nd pattern published by Petite Purls. My Tummy Warmer Vest would be a perfect Fall garment for a new baby. It is knit in the round, seamlessly from the top down. This vest uses a honeycomb pattern that is made with twisted stitches. By twisting the stitches, the thickness of the fabric is doubled and the air trapped by the stitches makes it very insulating.

I learned a lot from this project. Photographing babies are hard, especially when they are not your own. Baby Arden was such a trooper. She let me dress her in 100% alpaca in the middle of August! And not only once, but twice. The first set of pictures were not satisfactory, so I had to ask Arden's mom for another photo session. One of the things I learned is that there is only a small window of opportunity to photograph a baby. And once it has passed, it's over. The baby will let you know it's over. Don't push it. :-)

Thank you to Blue Sky Alpacas for the yarn support. Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight is lovely to knit with. It is a well plied yarn which gives great stitch definition to your projects. This is not the first time I knit with it. I have made a few scarves in the past as presents and everyone always comments on how soft it is. Alpaca is similar to sheep’s wool, but it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic. It is also naturally water-repellent and difficult to ignite.

You can get the Tummy Warmer pattern here or Ravel It for your Ravelry queue. Enjoy!