Fresh Fruit

The colors are a wee bit off in this picture, but the main thing is that I now a strawberry and pumpkin for the peanuts to give to LA & Rex at their baby shower next weekend. Yay! They really are beanies, and not derby hats, by the way- they look a little bulbous thanks to the XL sized oranges I propped inside them for the photo shoot.

The pattern: Ann Norling's Kid's Fruit Cap in Shine Sport, a very soft cotton blend yarn from KnitPicks. Aside from switching up (or down, as it were) the gauge and needle size (as usual), I knit up the strawberry according to the pattern, but I decided to tweak the pattern a little for the pumpkin, by adding purl stitches to create little vertical ridges. I knit evenly for several rows, taking into consideration the rolling at the bottom, and then spaced a purl stitch evenly throughout, and continued in that pattern until I reached the leaf section. I wanted to give the pumpkin a little more character and distinction, and I'm happy with the result. The ridges are subtle, but add that little something extra that I wanted.

After a bit of a rocky start with these, I loved knitting them up overall, and would suggest them to anyone needing a quick baby gift. They knit up very quickly, and the result's just way too cute. I can't wait to see them on the twin peanuts!