My Springtime in Paris

The Itty Bitty Knits group on Ravelry is always full of fun, surprises and, of course, our swaps! I mentioned this swap a few posts back, about my fun Frenchie! package that I found on my door, but I haven't posted yet about my package that I sent off, because I wanted to make sure that it stayed a surprise! Since Cindy has received her package, I wanted to share the French Fun with you all of course (and update my Anderson/Anderson Project!)
This swap was especially fun for me, because Cindy was my first swap buddy, all the way back at the Marley Hat swap, oh almost a year ago, when I was still living in Virginia. I hadn't had a chance to be her partner yet, so it was so much fun to get to knit for her.

I worked on two different patterns for this project- the Frenchie, from Itty Bitty Nursery, and the Jelly Bean socks from the Spud says (the Spud and Chloe blog with Free!!! Patterns of Susan's, isn't she so sweet!) The socks were my first (and possibly Last!) time knitting socks. They were actually easier than I thought that they would be, but I found that I had what sock knitters refer to as, second sock syndrome, once I got the first one knitted, I was unmotivated to make the second, and of course, socks come in pairs! I just am not drawn to socks, like sock lovers are, however, Susan's new Spud and Chloe sock pattern might just change my mind- the colors and length just look amazing....so, we shall see!

I knit the combo in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton that I ordered on sale from Dizzy Sheep. I was interested in trying their cotton as their Superwash Wool is very soft and a delight to work with. I also loved the colors- a chose a more "girly" pallette since I rarely get to knit tiny girly things these days. The colors were very rich and vibrant, and the yarn was very soft, but was not as wonderful to work with as I had hoped. I have definitely been spoiled by the Blue Sky Alpaca yarns! I think that if I order any more Mission Falls, I'll stick with the wool.
The pattern for Frenchie was a quick, easy knit. The stitch changes kept it intersting, though, and definitely made it a project that you wanted to just keep knitting, making it a quick project to get off the needles. The end result is just stunning, and the wave stitch across the front, achieved by some simple crocheting and then wrap sitches, is just the icing on the cake! Stunning hat and so cute!



And definitley, if you haven't attempted knitting socks, check out the Jelly Bean socks from Spud Says, they were a great starting point for me- and I just might be able to be converted to a sock person, especially now that I have discovered 5" DPN! Those smaller needles are making all the difference to me.

Just for fun, here's a couple of shots of the hat and socks I got from my Swap Partner, such great BOY colors! And I love the way she knit the socks- great job Janelle!!!!