The romper, finished at last

As if the romper was the most important thing that happened this weekend.

As you can see, even more important was the party we had for Alex, for his first birthday! It is pretty amazing, look at him, he is so big and healthy. And he has such a great smile.

The party was wonderful. So many people who've been watching Alex's growth and supporting his parents were in attendence. (for an exhaustive description of Alex's birth and illnesses and surguries, etc., see www.thenortonzoo.com and then click on "weblog for baby boy Norton".) The food was awesome. The cake was great. And the babies were cuddly. What else could I want at a party?

So. Back to the romper. I started it back in May with some random yarn I had in my stash--Classic Elite Provence, 100% Mercerized Cotton. Don't ask me how it washes up--I skipped that crucial part of the process. I am ashamed to say I didn't wash my gauge swatch. The pattern was a free one off the "Lion Brand" website, and my gauge was a bit small--I think I got 6 stitches to the inch when the pattern called for 5.5--but I didn't like the drape of the fabric on the larger needles, too holey, so I knit the largest size on the pattern, but in measuring the length I went with the medium-sized measurements. I think that guesstimation worked out all right this time. I also adjusted the pattern a bit, because after I spent some time with the baby I realized that he really needed snaps in the crotch, with the diaper-changing and feeding through the g-tube and changing clothes and all. So rather than sew up the seams the way the pattern said to do, I picked up lots of stitches in the crotch and essentially added two button bands there. Oh, and another adaptation I made was to put snaps on the button bands rather than put in buttons and buttonholes. But I'm a bit worried the snaps won't stay sewed on.

I've got lots of other worries about this romper. For example, I was afraid that by the time I finished it, he would be too big to wear it. But you can see by the picture that its taller than he is. So even though we didn't put it on him, it seems pretty safe to say that he should be able to wear it, at least for a few months. That's if his parents can bring themselves to put it on him. It may be too wild to wear. A couple of people have suggested that I knit a clown hat to match the suit, so that at the very least Alex can wear it as a Halloween costume.

Other worries: I don't know how its going to wash up. (I didn't have time to wash and block it myself--I was literally finishing it at the birthday party.) I don't know, it might fall apart, or all those lovely colors might run together. I guess we'll see. Kari probably won't ever tell me if something disastrous happens--she can guess how much time went into the knitting. So I'll never know, one way or the other, what happens. But it doesn't really matter, does it? Its the process of knitting, the love for Alex I poured into the romper, that is what really matters. The thing itself is secondary. Though I do hope Dan and Kari get some use out of it.

Alex seemed to like the romper. I handed it to him and he started playing peek-a-boo with it. That's my boy! Its always good to play with your clothes.