don't wait for the last-minute...

I have had Last-Minute Knitted Gifts since it came out last fall. I originally got it so that I would have some ideas for last year's holiday season. My first impression was that the patterns mixed really nice yarn --read expensive-- and simple patterns to create great, quick knits. Although I didn't make any of the projects around Christmas, I was happy with the book and put it up on my shelf.

Once I was told about the baby shower, this book seemed like a logical place to turn. The patterns are grouped by the length of time. The placket neck pullover is the first project in the 4-6 hour section of the book. Not only does it look cute, the pattern has simple raglan shaping and is done in the round...NO SEAMING!

Since I already had the yarn that I was going to use, I was able to start pretty quickly. I even did a swatch...no spot on, but close. I decided to make the size for 6-12 month-olds, and cast on yesterday morning before heading out for the bus. I knit on the bus (~20 min), I knit at lunchtime (~45 min), I knit on the ride home (~20 min), and I knit after dinner (~2 hrs). That's about 3.5 hrs. In that time I have knit about 5" of the body.

I'm having a hard time seeing how the average knitter could finish this project in 6 hours. It's true that knitting in the round make the body fly by...But, since I haven't even cast on for the sleeves, I don't feel like I'm halfway through the pattern. All-in-all, this is a good pattern. It even looks good in simple yarns (like TLC Cotton Plus). BUt, I would give yourself a couple of days...just not several hours.