Poppet

"What?" you ask.

A dear friend, Rose, gave me a bag full of balls of wool and old patterns when she was tidying out her house because she had to move into something smaller with family.

One of the pattern books was a Fontana booklet of 11 Baby Cardigans (number 94) in black and white. It had cardigans in 3 and 4 ply wool.
I imagine it is a similar book that perhaps my mother and grandmother would have used to knit cardigans for me when I was small.

But really the designs don't date as its just the colours that dictate the fashion.

I really liked the style called Poppet and thought one of my grand-daughters would enjoy it.

I had some left over pink 4 ply wool from some baby jackets I had made and thought I had enough to make the cardigan. I started on it getting the fronts and back completed within a week, only to discover by the sleeves that I wasn't going to have enough wool. Never mind, I thought, I'll visit Spotlight again thinking as long as I used the new ball for the sleeves it shouldn't be too obvious that it wasn't wool in the same batch number.

However the colour is no longer made. I hunted three spotlight stores, on their website and the website who produce the yarn, Trade Me and even my bags of wool scraps to see if I could find anything the same, but alas no where to be found.

Reluctantly I purchased a ball in the closest colour of the same ply in the same brand. I started with the cuffs in the same colour as the rest of the cardigan and then finished the sleeves in the new colour.

I felt the difference was so obvious but my daughter thought it took a good look to notice.  Even if it just becomes a home or daycare cardigan it will still make her "look a real poppet in it"

I must admit knitting things for little ones give such satisfaction as they don't take a lot of time - as long as you just get on with it!