rainbow girl

I try very hard not to be extravagant, you know. But sometimes it has to be done and most certainly in the case of Little Miss Rainbow. When I saw these adorable little French girls in their Demoiselle Arc-en-Ciel cardigans on Ravelry, I just had to join in. But, you know, on reflection perhaps it wasn't so very out of order. The kit comes with all the yarns you need, as well as the pattern of course. Had I bought a skein for each strand of rainbow colour, plus the yarn needed for the larger part, the price would doubtless have been higher still, no? Justified!

I made this cardi up on the quiet, as I wanted to surprise my girl. I knew there was a risk attached to it though. Firstly it isn't pink or purple but I figured the rainbow would see me through that issue. And secondly because a while back the girl shattered my dreams of churning out pretty knits for her when she announced she didn't want me to do so. She said the same about my sewing for her too, come to think of it, until her friends began admiring her clothing and her best buddy asked her mother to make pretty dresses for her. Suddenly it was acceptable!

The drawback of making a surprise is that it isn't made to measure and since giving her the cardi I've had to go back and take some rows out of the sleeves. Aside from that it is a great fit, a little bit of room is no bad thing, particularly since it won't really come into its own till Autumn. But it's good for the cooler days we have from time to time now and Vancouver evenings, I've been told, can be a little chilly.

The sweet little buttons, from Maiwa in Vancouver, have been hand carved by Nepalese craftsmen out of buffalo horn which died of natural causes. An ethical cardigan through and through .. I like that!

By the way, my daughter LOVES it .. and of course, so do I. More details and photos are over here on Ravelry.

Can you see that sad looking bean in the photos? Poor, long suffering thing has been repotted twice and moved from one place to another during its short life. It was part of the Model's environmental club project at school and didn't take kindly to all the fuss it's had to endure. I think it's starting to pick up now happily, there are teeny tiny little beans and new fresh, healthy looking leaves thank goodness. Long may it reign!

Happy weekend everyone. What are you up to, I wonder?