Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a sweet day! ;o)  After my last post, one of my readers asked for a pattern for soakers, so I thought this would be a good time to share one of my favorite patterns.  I will confess that I don't always follow a specific pattern.  I knit a good number of soakers when little Marty was using them, so over time, I just kind of developed my own design.  It isn't different enough to claim as an original pattern, so I won't try to.  Instead, here is a link to a pattern that is almost identical to what I use.  It's called the Snapdragon Soaker and it's a free download on Ravelry.  It's a well written basic pattern that is easy to use as a template for doing your own thing!  Here's my variation on the pattern:



This particular soaker was knit with Rowan's Colourscape Chunky yarn.  My eldest son, who lives in Rhode Island, had given me a gift certificate a year ago to this charming little yarn shop called Fresh Purls in Providence.  I just happened to meet the owner and we had a nice visit.  She only had one skein of this particular colorway left and I wasn't sure if I could make it work or not, but since it was for a tiny little bum, I managed to eek it out.  What was even better was she sold it to me for half price!  Without me even asking!  LOL!  But I digress. . .

Don't you love those ruffles?  There are long color repeats so I was able to manage each ruffle in a different color.  I can't take credit for the idea of adding ruffles.  I found this project on Ravelry by berrymama using the same Snapdragon pattern.  That was so thoughtful of her to share her instructions.  Because my yarn was chunky, I just added three ruffles.  I think it would have been too much to add four.  I did add the little garter stitch heart though.  I thought it needed just a little something extra on the front.

If you are new to knitting (or using) soakers, remember that they should be knit out of 100% wool.  Some people have good luck with superwash wool, but more than likely it will have the same effect as if you had used acrylic yarn.  You really need the wool to absorb the moisture.  Also, remember that they have to be lanolized before you use them.  Here is one of the best explanations of how to lanolize that I've come across by Sheepy Time Knits.  I also highly recommend her pattern for longies.  I've used it several times and it was worth every penny!  Another excellent source for great patterns is The Knitting Siren.  I've lost count of how many Turtle Butts I've knit!