Bobbins and butterflies

This Saturday we are going to a birthday party for 3-year-old Madeleine. She's the daughter of our good friends, Kerry and Lee, and quickly becoming a good friend of Donovan's. Here they are looking oh-so-sweet before eating dinner together. And... eating dessert later... mmmm, pudding. "Look at my nose!" That night they greeted Jim at the door wearing no pants and playing a recorder and a toy saxophone as they played marching band. (Unfortunately, the camera was not handy for that.)

Since I have a son and only nephews, I don't often have a reason to knit all the fun girlie-girl things out there. So, I have to take opportunities like this to get girl knitting out of my system. Until I get a female relative, the bounty goes to my friends' babies!

I needed something fairly quick to knit, so I chose the Butterfly Bag from Lucinda Guy's Handknits for Kids. I decided to keep it more reasonably priced than what 5 balls of Rowan would cost, instead I used a combination of Lion Brand Cotton and Sugar 'n' Cream. It will wear just fine with many years of dress-up ahead. The gauge was bigger than the pattern suggested, so I left out some of the embroidery details - I thought it would be too thick, not to mention I'm not so skilled in embroidery. It's filled with a few girlie items - dress-up bracelet, hair clips and "make-up" bag. Three-year-old girl essentials, I'd say.

This is my third foray into intarsia. My first doesn't really count, but my second taught me, that you really do have to go with the small bits of yarn and bobbins, bobbins, bobbins. Or else, if you try to carry the yarn, the stitches are pulled side to side. See the pirate flag washcloth below... with details I hope you can see. It's squiggly.

Thanks to Martha, my knit-advisor, I read this handy little book she picked up at a knitting workshop and learned

• You really can't carry your yarn more than 2-4 stitches. You just gotta add another bobbin.
• Knitters either love intarsia or hate it. I think I love it...

Coming soon, a digger sweater for the boy who loves trucks.