First FO of 2007

I picked up some Araucania Nature Cotton while at my LYS a few weeks ago and couldn't put it down. I love everything about this yarn, from the softness of it that made me want to rub my face against it to the chunky thick and thin texture. After walking around the store for 30 minutes while still holding a skein I decided that I'd really need to buy it and play around with it. (Okay, so I really purchased 2 skeins of it, but I don't think anyone reading this is going to hold it against me!)

I knew that I wanted to make something for the baby out of this yarn, but what? Not nearly enough for a blanket (but oh, could you imagine a blanket out of this stuff?!) but too much for just a hat. A sweater! But not a long sleeve one since the due date is in early June.

So I played around with the yarn and came up with this little number! This only took one skein of yarn, plus about 3 yards of the second to do the single crochet around the edges.

Wee One's Sweater:

Yarn: Araucania Nature Cotton, color V11
Needles: Size 10US Circs
Pattern: My own

Here's the basic pattern that I used. I sized this for a small infant between the ages of 0-3 months. We'll see how it actually fits!

Back:
CO 31 sts
K in stockinette st for 7"
On RS BO 4 sts, k to end
On WS BO 4 sts, k to end
Row 1 decrease: (On RS) K2, k2tog, k to last 4 sts, ssk, k2
Row 2 decrease: (On WS) p
Repeat the 2 decrease rows two more times (17 sts remain)
Continue in Stockinette st until piece measures 9"
BO all sts

Left Front:
CO 15 sts
K in stockinette st for 7" end on RS row
On WS: BO 4 sts, p to end
Row 1 decrease: (On RS) k2, k2tog, k to last 4 sts, ssk, k2
Row 2 decrease: (On WS) p
Repeat these 2 decrease rows two more times
K in stockinette st until piece measures 9"
BO all sts

Right Front:
CO 15 sts
K in stockinette st for 7" end on WS row
On RS: BO 4 sts, k to end
On WS: p to end
Row 1 decrease: (On RS) k2, k2tog, k to last 4 sts, ssk, k3
Row 2 decrease: (On WS) p to end
Repeat these 2 decrease rows two more times
K in stockinette st until piece measures 9"
BO all sts

Sleeves (make 2):
CO 18 sts
K in stockinette st for 2"
Row 1 decrease: k2, k2tog, k to last 4 sts, ssk, k2
Row 2 decrease: p2, p2tog, p to last 4 sts, p2tog, p2
Reapeat decrease rows until 2 sts remain
BO all sts

Finishing:
Seam all pieces together. Optional: single crochet around edges.

Enjoy!

P.S. We find out the gender of the baby on Tuesday! I'm so excited that I can hardly wait!