Just off the needles and straight onto the girl, the Marple Dress. I had so much fun knitting this little tunic for Annabel (I went a little bit shorter than suggested so as to make it more suitable for all the yoga/dancing/jumping she does, as you can see). The pattern was just right - the perfect blend of something interesting, but not so complicated that I couldn't knit it in all the moments of my days. Do you know what I mean? An easy to remember pattern that was a delight to knit. And the yarn. Oh, that yarn! It's from Fern Fiber (whose yarn we featured in our Taproot Pop-Up shop, but which quickly sold out, no wonder!), and was a birthday gift from my dear Ashley English who knows me so well as to pick out just the right color - my favorite, really. Dyed with onion skins (I think, but I've misplaced the yarn band that tells me exactly), it's reminiscent of so many of my favorite summer things - tansy, marigold and so much more. When the yarn arrived, I knew I wanted to do something special with it. And I've been thinking about the fleeting 'baby' knits in my life, at least for my own little ones. I can't quite imagine there are many more knit dresses that I can squeeze onto my children - this one feels like it might just be the last. And so, it seemed a perfect place for the yarn to land - on that littlest girl of mine (if you call her a 'baby' she will bark at you. Literally. She is NOT a baby anymore, she is a BIG KID thank you very much). And well, of all of my children she just might be the one for whom this color fits perfectly. She is not afraid to be the center of attention and actually prefers that spot most of all. And if you ask her to stand still so you can just snap one quick photo in the not-so-great light without it being too blurry? Well you get a whole lot of this:
And that up there is not "I'm A Little Teapot" being acted out as you might think, but rather the motions to YMCA, which is where she is requesting to go today (and everyday) to go swimming. After all the dancing and yoga she must do first. Oh, she's a busy one this little girl of mine. And I'm always amazed at how quickly she can go from all of that (above) to this (below). The (very loud) center of everyone's attention one minute, and as quiet as a little church mouse (as she says) in a corner reading a book to herself the very next minute. Oh, I do so love four year olds!
