This is a picture of my beautiful... um...relative.  Nico is the second son of my nephew....what do you call that kind of relative?  In any case he is beautiful and he is winsomely modeling the sweater I made for him before he was born.  This is a version of the Hooded Sweater for Everybody made with hand dyed sock yarn so it is warm and entirely washable.  Based on his parents I assumed a dark haired, dark eyed baby and as you can see I assumed correctly, which doesn't always happen for me.  There was, of course, no way of anticipating the awesome adorableness of Nico himself.  He is a darling baby boy and is, in this picture, approximately 6 months old.  If you would like to make a version of this jacket for your own charming relatives it is listed on the pattern page here and on Ravelry here.  If you do decide to work one up please send me photographs.  You really just can't have too many of these cute baby pictures.

I made this sweater for Blythe about six years ago.  Last Friday, when she showed up for her weekly knitting/spinning/making of scones class (Just another day with Great Auntie Martha) she was wearing it.  When I made it for her the sleeves went all the way past her wrists and had to be rolled up, which is why I put a color work design on both the inside and outside of the cuff.  Also the length was generous and hung all the way to the top of her legs.  I designed this pattern to work for 2-3 years, what with the rolling sleeves and the lovely tendency of children to get longer and longer without getting wider and wider.

But Blythe is not one to let a favorite sweater go.  The sleeves are now about halfway between elbow and wrist and, as you can see here, the length is now high hip.  I believe, with determination and a resolute intention to ignore reality, Blythe can keep this sweater going for another 2 years which will make it an 8 year sweater!  At that point the sleeves will be elbow length and the sweater waist length and Blythe herself will be about 10 years old.  If you are interested in knitting up this sweater for a loved child the pattern is available and actually a fairly easy knit.  There's lots of garter stitch and just enough color work to stimulate your mind.  Go to Patterns and look for the Hooded Jacket for Everybody.