Knit Zilla: The "NOLA" Sweater

Believe it or not . . . we now have chickens! Steve is determined to live on a farm, even if it is our small 1/3 acre in the heart of West Jordan.

I wasn't too excited about it, but we are now the proud owners of three hens. They are pretty good at laying the daily egg, so we have plenty to go around. Most of the eggs we get are usually too big to allow the egg carton to close properly.

Oreo is growing by leaps and bounds, and the others all received their yearly shearing (pictures to come). This was Steve's first time to shear them, so they look really funny. He wasn't able to shear their legs, so they all look like they are wearing fuzzy legwarmers. Regardless of how they look, I am sure they are all feeling a lot cooler. Especially Waffles, he was so puffy that he now seems to be 1/3 the size.

Alivia is growing too. She is finally up 6 oz. above her birth weight. She is such a sweet little baby, and so healthy. We are all so grateful.

The test knitting of the "Nola" sweater is finally complete, and the pattern is ready for publishing. You can find it at: Ravelry.

"Nola" is knit from the top-down, with a rounded yoke and a pointed hood. I test knit the above version from Knit Picks - Swish. The varied color of "Kindling" was a perfect match to Zeek's pretty brown eyes. He is growing so quickly, that I'm going to have to quickly add to the length and arms, or he won'te be able to wear it very long.

This is Nola herself. She is the namesake of the pattern. Her version was test knit by her Mother, Carissa. So cute in Knit Picks - Shine. Shine has a lot of cotton in it, thus adding to the loose nature of knit fiber. Peapod was the perfect spring color.

Nola has stayed so small, that I'm sure she will get several seasons of wear out of her sweater. She is the only one in our family who could get away with wearing these lifesaver-striped leggings. The rest of us, with the exception of Emery and Easton, have "thunder thighs". You'll note the pattern offers two variations on the yoke pattern, with fly-away styling and toggle buttons.

We had such a good time at the park, taking these photos. My niece, Annie is the photographer. She does such a great job!

I took some photos of my own, to keep the other kids occupied, so the posted photos are some mine and some Annie's. I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference.

It was so fun to have all of my grandchildren in the same place, even though it was a challenge to keep them away from the water, where Nola was enthralled with the baby ducks.