Only 1 tie left to go...and then it's ready to wrap and ship (the tie will go where the little white marker is - right above the other ties). Thanks to everyone that helped me pick out this project for Allison's impending arrival - and thanks for voting and convincing me to knit this sweater instead of the poncho!!

I included both photos so you could get an idea of colors. The pic on the left was taken without a flash, but shows off the green i-cords and embroidered flowers a bit better. The photo on the right/below shows off the true colors of the yarn a bit better (the colors aren't quite as dull as they look on the left). Anyway, the embroidery part was fun.... i made 4 flowers on the front and 3 on the back - all spaced evenly (i even used a tape measure!). I took the lazy daisy flower idea from Louisa Harding's book Natural Knits (which i love, by the way - i just started a hat from the book using my leftovers last night), but did have a bit of trouble figuring out the technique. I'm assuming it's me, though... not her.

Anyway, the little hat i'm making has a picot edge and is just too cute! Thank goodness for Jeanne's Picot Cast On Video, though. I don't know if i could have figured it out otherwise. And then, if i'm not worn out, i'm going to put those same green flowers at the bottom of the hat - just like she shows in the book. I hope allison likes it!

Now i just have to finish her wedding gift... :

Hmm... I just realized that those ("i need advice") are 3 words that rarely come out of my mouth... . I wonder if that means I'm a know-it-all? Or maybe i simply DO know it all. Ha ha - i'm joking, of course. Well, the truth of the matter is, when it comes to knitting and picking out patterns, I'm constantly in need of feedback and advice... i typically run to Sandy and beg her to help me, but since I'm at home (and she's an hour away), I was wondering if you guys would help me with a critical decision: what to knit for Allison's soon-to-be-born baby girl.


Allison has fair skin and very red hair (as does her mom and sis), so i'm guessing the kid will be similarly complected (is that a word?). That said, I think i've already chosen a yarn (Artyarns Supermerino Yarn in color 105, with 119 greens for embroidered flowers).
What i'm having trouble with is the pattern. Part of me wants to knit the Knitting Pure and Simple poncho below (in the smallest size) so that Allison can throw it over the kid easily in the winter. (She lives in my home state of North Carolina, so even lightweight wool might be too much for the summer months.) But part of me wants to knit the cute little cardigan (it's a free pattern on the Knitting Pure and Simple website), with green flowers embroidered around the bottom (guess i could do that with the poncho also). Anyway, I'm dying to get started on this (but promised myself i'd get through at the least the 6th color on my kidsilk haze scarf first), so any advice you give would be greatly appreciated. The patterns are below, as well as cute little voting boxes for you to use... (at the very bottom of the post - under the photos and near the "share" button). Blogger now has these "reactions" things, so I guess we'll just test it out and see what happens.