nautie

After finishing Kiri, I had a little PPD: post-project depression. I didn’t want to knit anything else. But, of course, I had a baby to knit for–our friend BK’s baby shower was Saturday, so I whipped up (if by “whipped up” I mean took an inordinately long time, compared with my speed on other projects) a Nautie for the upcoming baby girl.

nautie

BK and his wife live in Virginia, and the boy and I were already planning a brief trip to Columbia, so we went to the baby shower first. It was pouring rain the whole way down, but I happily finished up Nautie’s face in the car. I also went a little crazy with the photos. I got a bit bored being in the car for so long . . . [new glasses!]

nautie + minty nautie and his reflection nautie

Pattern: Nautie, from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks’ Crayon in Project Spectrum yellow and orange
Needles: Addi Turbo circs size 5
Started: Sunday, April 15
Finished: Saturday, April 22 (in the car, just about an hour before arriving at the party)
Recipient: Baby girl of high school friend BK, due May 20
Notes: I flubbed the pattern at first–it’s a 4-row pattern, but in my brain I made it 5, so the distance between increases on the inside of the shell are longer than they’re supposed to be. This made Nautie bigger, but that’s fine with me. He tucked into my lap/arm very nicely for the drive after he was finished. I only did 7 hanging beardlike things, because I got sick of making them (the pattern suggests 8). Oh, and I didn’t have black felt so I just embroidered on eyes using black yarn. I found the knitalong just a few days ago, but I was almost done and it seemed not worth it to join.

I find this the most delightfully creepy gift for a baby. I thing it’s impossibly cute, but in all honesty, it’s a little scary. I picked orange and yellow because I am vehemently opposed to giving girls pink things just because they’re girls, and I much prefer gender-neutral colors. The dad-to-be (a perpetually good-natured guy) good-naturedly laughed at it, the mom-to-be (who I don’t know very well) made one of those faces that are like “uh, ok, not sure what I think of that,” and that’s ok with me. The best part about it? After BK held it up for all to see, he set Nautie down on the arm of his wife’s chair, and there Nautie sat for the rest of the present-opening. So about half of their “here’s what we got!” photos have Nautie sitting in the center. Hee!

nautie

10 Responses to nautie

  1. Rachel says:

    You know, I think baby girls NEED orange and pink slightly creepy stuffed sea organisms to counteract the mountains of pink frills and lace that people feel compelled to buy them. And I bet it’s super soft in the Crayon.

  2. Me says:

    I think it’s a pretty if odd baby gift. And the colors are bright and cheerful: wonderful!

    I know I sometimes made a face at just another stuffed toy instead of something useful… but I think I would have liked this one!

  3. BK says:

    I think it was a nice gift, and it’s in the baby’s room waiting to be played with. It’s true, the wife wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she did appreciate that it was a personalized, one-of-a-kind gift. I think it was better than the standard boring clothes that everyone gives (not that we don’t appreciate them or that the baby doesn’t need them, but it gets old after a while. I can’t wait until she’s old enough to get toys finally.).

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