Intarsia! Whoo!

I've managed to get lots of work done on Anouk over the past few days. I finished the second side on Thursday (didn't take a picture of it 'cause it looks just like the first side, except for the top right corner, which doesn't have a buttonhole) and got started on the pockets on Friday evening.

This is my very first foray into the land of intarsia (also known as picture knitting). I was a little apprehensive about trying my hand at this technique--it's described everywhere as "difficult" and "nerve-wracking" or something like that. These pockets were the perfect introduction to intarsia, though, because they are small...which means that when the inevitable screw-up occurs, ripping out the mistake isn't too traumatic. I did have to redo the first pocket after I'd gotten about eight rows into it, but once I figured out how to twist the yarns so color changes didn't leave gaps, it really wasn't very hard. I don't think intarsia knitting projects are very portable (at least, not at my skill level), because I have to arrange the different yarns around my carefully, so they don't get all tangled up with each other.

Once the pockets (which are mirorr images of each other) were finished, I started on the four tabs that connect the front and back pieces of the dress. I opted to make the two-buttonhole versions, to give Sylvia lots of room for growth. Here they are, in their blurred glory.