Twinkle

From the perspective of my unreliable and all too human memory, the summers of my childhood were filled with long hot sandy days, hour after hour spent roaming the rock pools and lazily drifting on a surfboard waiting for that perfect wave. But young as I keep trying to convince myself I am, I know that time has worked a little rough magic on those memories, an English summer isn't really that endless stretch of deep blue sky and deep blue sea, and enough photos exist of the family eating pasties while camped out under a hastily constructed shelter of driftwood and beach towels to reinforce the truth; 'sunshine and showers'.

It's been wet enough round here recently to make a bear growl and while I can (and do) get deeply annoyed at damp feet, damp hair, raincoats that no longer do up and that feeling of irrepressible gloom that descends with the dirty grey cloud blanket, there is a wonderful vitality all around after a good dousing as every leaf, every petal holds onto those final raindrops, and the garden smells fresh and clean with just a hint of cool water on hot tarmac from the road.  It's that moment when you realise that you just can't get any wetter and you stop worrying about being damp and clammy and just revel in puddle splashing.

I thought I wasn't going to get the chance to take any pictures this week what with the morning gloom and the evening gloom, but I arrived home yesterday just after one shower had passed through and with the next one still building a little way away on the horizon and had the chance to nip out to see what might be in bloom.



These wonderful, blousy roses come back year after year, scrabbling for a hold on the trellis over our little blue seat, and usually a fair way along the washing line as well, and in among the gently dripping branches, I found the perfect spot to show you a little knitwear.



This is a real stashbusting knit, courtesy of an unlabelled skein of sock yarn, a free Ravelry download and a grand total of 30p spent on buttons after I rejected the beautiful but impractical and substantially more expensive little wooden strawberries.

The pattern is Twinkle, and as written should knit up to size 0-3 months (or about 20cm) across between the armholes.  I upped the needle size to 3mm as I've got quite a few newborn baby jackets and the final result is about a 20 inch chest which I think is supposed to be 6 months ish although the last time I measured a baby he was 4 months and was a neat 20 inches so we'll see at what stage this jacket fits my little wriggle monster.

The only other alteration I made was to add three little buttonholes down the front.  The neckline has a row of buttonholes to thread icord or a pretty ribbon but I think that could be a touch too girly if this is a little boy so I'm holding off for the moment.

I've got the perfect ribbon already though - thanks to a trip to VV Rouleaux in London a way while back - gorgeous red, green and yellow butterflies (I've got a length of this ribbon in pale pinks and blues as well!)



If this baby is a girl then I'll probably thread a neckband but stop short of a potentially edible bow, but either way I know just the baby gro to match


I promise I bought the baby-gro before I'd even come across the pattern!  This is a sweet little cardie, a very easy knit and the perfect use for a skein of strawberry coloured sock yarn.