Knitting fixation.

For the past few years, I've always developed the irresistible urge to knit in the summer-time.  I don't know what it is - maybe it's a denial thing and my body thinks it can fool itself into thinking it's colder than 40C degrees by doing yarn crafts.  Or perhaps its all the lovely inspirational images of beautifully-made, scrumfy sweaters and cute, cosy headwear that are fed through on Pinterest and Instagram by knitters living through the Northern winter.   Whatever it is, the urge usually tends to peter out by the end of May, when the need for winter woollies is becoming greater.  I honestly believe I'm inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere in spirit, but my body is stuck way down south where it's hot and uncomfortably sticky.

This year, though, I've become obsessed with vintage baby knitwear, and I'm fixated on cute little rompers and bonnets.  I could knit these all year long.  I've been trying out some patterns that I found at a local second-hand store, combined with a bit of improvisation, a moderate amount of finger-crossing and a whole lot of unravelling and starting over. 

This particular one is my favourite, and combines a knicker pattern from the 1950s with a bib that I made up all by myself.  I know!  I, too, was suitably impressed by my ingenuity until I realised that I forgot to write down how I actually did it, and now have no idea how to do it again.  I could scream.

Autumn colours, a pom-pom (I'm still deciding whether it's a permanent fixture or not - it looks cute, but would probably not be practical when washing), and criss-cross straps that button in the back  - it vaguely reminds me of Humpty Dumpty.  How cute would this look with a stripey tee and cotton stockings? 

But, however adorable it all looks, I'm not sure it's good enough.  Not yet, anyway.  My knitting techniques are pretty slapdash, and I'm as slow as Joe Crow.  So, although she doesn't know it yet, I'm going to consult a friend who is a super-star when it comes to knitting, in the hope she can help me with my sloppiness and give me some tips on how to speed things up.  I'm planning on taking her out for coffee and cake, and then hitting her up for tips!  She is so awesome, she might even be able to help me work out how I actually made this romper (please?).

Unfortunately, it's five years too late for mine, so I'm making them at the moment for no-one in particular.  It's a shame the need to knit didn't strike when Sophie was a baby, she would have lived in these.  Oh, take me back.