Not a drop more in the pitcher

Yes, this might look familiar. It's the third time I've used this pattern, 'What big eyes you have' by Georgie Nicolson/Tikkiknits. It was done in the space of a week; that could have been as little as two or three days if I hadn't run out of wool. I originally bought two balls of the orange, mildly variegated Zara Print Melange (a very light 8 ply) way over a year ago, around the time that I knit these two vests for two different babies.

Unfortunately by the time I got to making this one I was looking at an 18 months - 2 years-ish size - it was only his first birthday but he's tall and of course needs some growing room. And though the yardage (on paper) was almost enough, it actually fell far short and it became clear I would either have to find another ball or use a contrasting colour for the ribbing.

The shop didn't have any more of that colour and there was no time to go further afield. At first I thought I might continue the bottom ribbing with the orange and use something contrasting for the neckline and armholes - and if that looked funny I would change the bottom ribbing to the contrast as well. But it turned out that the neckline actually look a bit odd with those cables so close, moving into a different colour.



Also, because I couldn't find any other colourway of the Zara Melange line that would work (other than an olive green I just didn't want for this project), instead I picked a ball of Zara Colour. It looked pretty nice in the ball but turned out to look a bit "clown vomit" knitted up. OK I don't actually hate it and I'm sure I can use if for something, but it is really too different to the style of the orange yarn to work here.

My lunchtime knitting friends were excellent consultants and helped me to decide that the clown vomit wasn't right, discussed colour options including opposites on the colour wheel, and also came up with the idea of using the orange for the v-neck, with contrasting bottom band and armholes.

 

Having already made one special yarn shopping trip during the week, at the start of this weekend I was running out of time and did some stash tossing for other options. There were a few more false starts, including a mystery tan yarn that seemed nice in the ball but knitted up feeling very much like acrylic - out the door with that stuff! The blue wool (Cleckheaton Country) that I ended up using for the contrasting bits is not quite as soft as the Zara. So in the end I was very glad I could use the last bit of the orange for the v-neck ribbing, where it might come into contact with soft skin.



I am pretty sure I've actually used the "wrong side" of these buttons - and the other side is lovely, blue with white flecks - but I liked how the metallic inserts helped to tie the orange and blue together. I still think the two yarns are not a perfect marriage, but I am quite happy with how it all turned out.