Baby Einstein for a Five Year Old

Well this Baby Einstein will probably fit a five year old.   I was thinking that with all the cute small sweaters, I should start focusing on some larger sizes.  Hey there are plenty of needy kids that are older than 1 or 2.  We have a few larger sweaters and so now I have a new goal to fill that need.  Were getting close and it continues to be a great project.

I filled out a description on government web site that features service projects.  So far i haven't heard from anyone in regard to the listing, but you never can tell.  www.serve.gov/index.asp  here's where you can list service project and maybe even find one that might interest you. 

So finally I have something new to add.  This is a cute little cardigan for a boy.  The pattern comes from Louisa Harding's book, "Natural Knits for Babies and Moms."  Like the coral cable vest, it is made with a finer yarn and took a bit more time to complete.  Usually I have been using a little heavier gauge yarn.  I noticed so many cute baby sweaters require finer yarn and are designed with more details.   
I have added "techno" buttons with what look like little screw heads to give it a more masculine touch.  

I had a little problem with the collar.  The instructions are to knit the collar separately and to then sew it on.  This is a bit tricky as there are live stitches along the back neck edge and the collar must be stretched to fit and to roll nicely.  I'm glad I have experience in sewing to know how to make the collar fit properly.  Also I questioned just how to sew the collar on to make a nice seam edge on the inside.  I probably should have done a little research on technique, but I was in a big hurry to finish the sweater.  Yeah!!!!! It is done. 

44 Sweaters in Honor of our 44th President Barack Obama

So.... in honor of our 44th President, Barack Obama, and his call to public and community service I decided to make 44 hand knit sweaters for babies and children and donating them to a local charity. This is the commitment I made to honor him and the amazing hope he has inspired in the American people.

Of course I started to panic a bit when I later documented my commitment at Starbucks. They ran a promotion here in San Diego to offer a free coffee to anyone committing to do 5 hours of community service. 44 sweaters will definitely take more than five hours. Now I am on the hook or should I say on the needles.

I am totally prepared to knit every one of the sweaters myself, but I decided I might like to engage others to participate in my project. I have mentioned the project to friends and other knitters and have had some enthusiastic support. One of my friends from college queried why I was only making 44 why not 44,000 she asked. It's a good question. I would have to have some help for that. Perhaps as the project gets going I will inspire others to do a like project in their area and the number of children wrapped in loving warmth will actually grow as she mused.

One friend asked me when the deadline would be for collection of the sweaters. Well, I hadn't thought of that. My first response was Mother's Day. Then when I thought a little more about it I realized it might be unrealistic. So, I decided on Labor Day 2009.

In my blog I hope to document the progress and include pictures of the sweaters as I progress. I imagine that it will be a little bit of three steps forward and one step back. Why you may ask. Well, what am I to do when a family member or friend is expecting a new grandchild or a young friend is having a baby?

I would love to have help and give each and every one of you that may read this the opportunity to do this service with me. I have some plans to create a tag for each sweater with the name of the knitter, a title for the piece, a greeting and that it is one of 44 Sweaters made in the honor of our 44th President, Barack Obama.