St. Onge Sweaters : Blog a la Cart

The snow days preceding my trip to Seattle and then my cross country travels gave me ample time to finish these two sweaters for one of my oldest and dearest friend’s daughters. I find knitting to be a (relatively) relaxing and (definitely) rewarding activity during these cold winter months. I tend to retire my needles once the days lengthen and I can spend my time playing outdoors, but I love to hunker down and knit for those I love during these dark days of winter. It’s a time consuming activity, but I get so much joy from gifting handmade items that I’ve been able to carefully construct and personalize.

I’ve been meaning to make something for these sweet sisters for some time, and Clara’s 1st birthday was the perfect occasion. I love this little cardigan pattern so much – not only because it is a breeze to make, but because it fits for years and can be used during all the seasons. I worked with Spud and Chloe’s Sweater Yarn (holy amazing! I don’t think I’ll ever knit another baby/kid’s sweater in any other yarn) in Splash because the color reminded me of the color of Lydia’s little sailboat growing up. A huge part of our friendship is rooted in the sea, and we spent our childhoods sailing side by side. I loved finding a color that hinted at that history. I then couldn’t resist sourcing the buttons from Danforth Pewter, a Vermont company. Given that I now live in VT and Lydia went to College in VT, we both hold this state in high regard. And, I went with sea-themed buttons, opting for sand dollars that remind me of sunny summer days diving off the edge of boats into the sea to collect them from the sand bar and scallops that lined the shores of our beaches growing up.

I knit a size 18 months for the 1 year old and a size 5 for the 3 year old, and hope that they’ll enjoy them for years to come.

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.