What to name the sunny dress?
This morning before I rolled out of bed it was just a little chilly, which is a bit weird considering we’ve been in shorts since maybe late January. Well it has turned into a gorgeous sunshine-y day and I’m thinking that my spring cleaning needs to extend out to the porch and backyard so I can do some outdoor knitting. It just sounds nice. On the other hand, I only have about couple of months before the heat starts coming on strong in which case I won’t even think about leaving my cool house. I will sit on the chaise in my office taking in the view, watching the hummingbirds at the feeders and sipping ice tea while the air conditioning keeps me at a nice 70 degrees.
Aside from swimming I’m not much of a fan of summer. I don’t crave sunbathing, the thought of being swarmed by mosquitoes the size of birds makes me ill, and living in the country means that snakes are known to hang out around the house. It isn’t quite summer and I’m sad to say that we’ve already seen several of the slithering fiends around the property including water moccasins and coral snakes, oh and a chicken snake that fell from the top of a screen door EEP! It didn’t happen to me- I think we all know that would have been the end of my little bloggy adventure. Can you imagine the article in the paper if that were to happen to me? Knit blogger/designer shites herself to death when creepy non-poisonous snake falls at her feet! Jeebus, just thinking about it gives me chills.
So aside from being on snake watch I’ve started a new project that I am quite happy to be able to blog about. I’m sure by now that you have noticed that I quite like yak fiber for knitting and have done a few designs with Shokay in their pure yak yarn Shambala. Well, now they have added a spring summer yarn to their line called Orient. It is a 75% yak 25% bamboo blend that is available in sport weight. The gauge on the yarn calls for 7.5 sts/inch on US5 needles, but after swatching I got 5.75-6 sts/inch on US5’s and US4’s respectively. It has 245 yards per skein and comes in I think 10 colors though I have only seen 3 in person. It is just as lovely and soft as the shambala though much lighter. Oh and it too is machine washable. I’m not sure when it is going to be available but I understand it will be a bit more affordable than the Shambala line.
Some time back I sketched a sundress (Sunny for lack something creative) that I wanted to do in a nice cheery yellow yarn so when I saw the Sunburst color on the color cards for Orient I was happy. The yellow isn’t that annoyingly bright crayon yellow either–it’s mellow and kind of reminds me of squash. I knew the bamboo and the weight would make for a nice spring time dress while the yak would keep things soft, and can I just say Hoo-rah for machine washability. Mind you I’ll probably still handwash this just because that is how I roll with my handknits, but at least I won’t be freaked that I’m going to ruin it the whole time.
The dress will be sized for 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months so machine washability is key for some of you out there. So I wound a few skeins into cakes and was all jazeed about getting started but I cannot find my size 4 needles in the 16″ length. Now since I have already cleaned out and arranged for the year it is a pretty good bet that they have disappeared for good. Considering the fact that I know neither my mom and daughter have them and I haven’t seen my only knitting friend in so long I’m just ashamed (plus I know I’ve seen them since we last got together) so they have to be lost. So I drudged up my trusty bamboo size 4’s and started on the bodice. Only a bit more to go and I can switch to larger circs and begin the skirt. I’m not normally against DPNs but for some reason they are driving me crazy on this project. If I manage not to bail on my knitting time as I have the past two nights I may be able to progress to circs tonight and get this little dress going.
Oh and if you guys can come up with a more creative name than Sunny for this little dress I might be willing to share some yummy stash and prizes. So let’s go ahead and officially call this a contest. You know the rules: post a comment with your name suggestion then post on your blog (if you have one) about the contest. For every post you were mentioned in you get entered again. Winners to be picked on Tuesday the 6th. Good luck.
To clarify, you can win just for commenting or of course if you pick a doozy of a name you get a special prize! :Let’ say the number of prizes will depend on comments so the more the merrier!
BTW, one of my fave knit bloggers and friends Cass is having a contest!
Posted in Baby Knits, Color, Designing, Kid Knits, Skirts, Yarn
April 29th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
That sundress looks precious. I can’t wait for the finished product.
I am seldom drawn to yellow with the exception of daffodils. I love them. Not only are they the first to welcome spring in my area, but there are such wonderful varieties. Miniature daffodils are adorable and I think that the miniature variety called Golden Bells would be a lovely new name for Sunny. Golden bells actually look like little petticoats.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Sunny is a cute name. When I saw it initially “buttercup” came to mind due to the color and whimsy. Whatever you choose,though, the pattern is adorable regardless.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
What a sweet little sundress!
How about Oriental Poppy, to bring together the name of the yarn and the fluttery, flower-like skirt of the dress?
Can’t wait to see pics of the finished project.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Saffron Sundress
Soft Sunlight Sundress
I have 3 neices…I’ll be super interested to see pics of the finished project.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
sorry, but I’m voting for Sunny
April 29th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Clotted Cream. Seriously. It’s yummy!
April 30th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Oh, how lovely it will be! It will be perfect for a little Midsummer Maid, and it is my suggestion as a namne for it! Can’t wait till you release the pattern, so I can make it for our little friend Linnea. And by the way, wouldn’t this lovely little flower be nice as a name, too? Of course it isn’t yellow, but I think the dress would be lovely in pink as well for a young little princess.
Wish you a lovely week-end!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:31 am
How about Daffodils & Daisies?
Very cute dress!
April 30th, 2008 at 9:46 am
For some reason, Spring Fling came to mind as soon as I saw the drawing…thought maybe I’m just high on the Atlanta pollen fumes
Though Daffodil was my second though. One of the first signs of spring, and in yellow, it makes sense 
I love the pattern. Makes me wish our little one was going to be a girl so I could knit it. But instead, I hunt for knits for little boys
April 30th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Golden Sunshine
Lucky lemon
Jumping for joy
chirpy Chick
Blithe Sun
Beachy Baby
April 30th, 2008 at 11:21 am
It’s beautiful! I hope my little girl doesn’t grow too fast!
The sketch made me think of lillies. Maybe Tiger Lily or Meadow Lily or just Lily? But I also like Daffodil. Something flowery. Summer Rose? It’s a gorgeous design, whatever you name it. Can’t wait for the pattern! 
April 30th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
It’s beautiful! All parents of a small girl would love this.. its the colour of a precious metal …gold. Just as there child is precious. We all know all little girls are beautiful princess’s. So my suggestion is … “golden princess”.
Whatever you call it I’m sure it’ll be as perfect as the dress is!!!
April 30th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
It reminds me of the books/movies “The Secret Garden” and “A Little Princess”. Those are my suggestions. I always love a pattern with a literary reference.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Also, (I have my medical terminology book beside me)… How about “Xanthia” or “Xanthy”? Which pretty much means yellow, or the condition of being yellow.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Very sweet design, can’t wait to see it all knit up! And despite your dislike of summer, my name suggestion is Jacquelyn Landry’s “Sunny Summer Day Dress.”
April 30th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Jacque it’s a darling dress! I would call it Sunshine if it were mine to name. The colour looks like summer sun, and it would be worn in the sunshine.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
The first time I saw it I liked Sunny as well, LOL
I suggest Jessamine, which is the what we call Carolina Yellow Jasmine. Very sweet fragrance blooms wild every where throughout the south in the spring. The light yellow drifts of flowers scramble along fences and roadways everywhere without care and are a gift of nature
April 30th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I think you should call it the “Base Camp” Dress, the yellow reminds me of the tents at Everest base camp.
I can’t wait to see it knit up.
XOXOXO
(thanks for the shout out! smooch!)
May 1st, 2008 at 5:56 am
I am linking your contest to my blog. I love the looks of your sketch and can’t wait to see it all finished. I sure wish I had a little granddaughter, don’t think my grandson would appreciate it’s beauty, LOL
My name suggestion
Summer Hugs
May 1st, 2008 at 6:28 am
How adorable! Unfortunatley, I don’t know any little girls, but I wonder if I could make my cat wear one? *grins viciously*
When I saw it, I immediately had to think of the south of Spain, so my idead is to call it Almería, which is a province in Andalucía with a heavy oriental influence… Hmm, now I wanna go on vacation
May 1st, 2008 at 11:54 am
My friend Claire is expecting her first baby and its a girl and her comment was “what sweetness!” So how about that…”sweetness”
May 1st, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Girl, YOU are so kind! Can I tell you how much I just LOVE the pattern you sent me!!! I am going to talk about it on one of the episodes really soon! TOTALLY LOVE IT!!! THank you so much!!!
xoxox
Marly
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:31 am
That soft shade of yellow makes me think of the very early morning (I was getting up ridiculously early for work last summer), so I’m going to suggest calling it Dawn or a name that means dawn like Aurora or Roxanne.
(I got here from Aunt Kathy’s blog.)
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
How about “Marisela”. I wanted to name my little girl that after a bright and happy acquaintence. I ended up naming her Joy Michelle, which I love just as well.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Very cute and pretty dress design! How about “Sunshine Summer”?
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
How about Sunny Delight? Can you think about one for toddler sizes?
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Well,the first thing I thought of was Squash Blossom, but, seeing how squash is not the prettiest of words, how about ‘Blossom’?
It’s darling!
May 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
What about Aurelia which means golden?
May 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I like Blythe like the actress Blythe Danner (Gwyneth’s mom)and I think it means joyful.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Little Miss Sunshine…..dd2 is now 13, used to LOVE yellow and smiling….used to call her that when she got up in the morning….so there ya go, a memory lane name from me!
Looks great!
May 8th, 2008 at 2:56 am
I love Sun Blossom:)
May 12th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Very cute! How about Buttercup Fairy Blossom
May 27th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I love daisies sooooo
yellow daisies for you