Perfectly Pink

I have been looking at what is on my needles the last few days.  There are a whole lot of needles I cannot find.  The number of needles missing and the number of projects on my Ravelry project page do not match.  There must be a few on going things that I have forgotten about.  I'm not ready to short row the lace sleeves on the red sweater.  I will need a little less stress before I can do that and do it right the first time.  It is a good time to be looking for things.

I pulled out some very pretty, soft pink PimaTencel from Cascade several moves ago.  I used the yarn for an attempt at a little dress when my granddaughter, Cassie, was younger and these two skeins are the remains.  It is a lovely, soft yet strong yarn that is a lot like her.  Strong, yet a dainty flower, who loves to dress up like a fairy.  Or Bat Girl.  Or Bat Man.  It depends on the day.   

I found it at the very bottom of one of my WIP bins, with a set of short circulars in it.  I had cast on, and knit one row, and no more. I know what I was doing.  That plan is a long time plan and this is the perfect summer for it before she gets too grown.

I want to make her a dress a la the Jane Austen Dress from Mason Dixon Knitting.  It isn't going to be a Jane Austen Dress but an inspired by dress.  I am not so fond of the lace the original has, and I want to make it a raglan for ease of knitting, but I love the way the ruffle at the bottom hides the skirt gathers where it was attached.  I adore the idea of combining a fabric and yarn this way.  

For years I didn't know what fabric I would use for it. I always assumed I would go looking once I had the top knit and finished so I could match the fabric.  But when I moved from my wee house, I was taking down a curtain from my closet.  I don't know why but it struck me that it was the perfect material for a little girl.  And it is. A perfectly matching pink, and delicate and yet not so overwhelmingly delicate that it makes you think hothouse roses.  These are country roses and she is exactly that sort of little girl.  

Perfect, right?  You can see how lightweight the fabric is.  Gauzey, almost sheer cotton, and yet once it is washed and gathered as it will be for this dress, it should be a wonderful skirt fabric.  If not, grandma will find a very light lining fabric.  

The curtains are in the wash with sheets right now.  Post hot water wash and dry, they will change from curtains to fabric and then to skirt.  If I use the fabric wisely, I might not even have to hem!  

I don't think the knitted bodice of the dress will take much longer than today to knit.  It will probably take longer to find the buttons I want to use in the button box.  I expect a perfectly pink flowery sort of day.  Light and airy and exactly right for our perfectly summer spring day.