I just want to say that it was an epic confrontation, a battle of wills that went on and on during the Days of Moving. The Hoodie vs the knitter. Well, it seems that it ended like many great conflicts of the past – with diplomatic negotiations and some compromises 
See, I can’t even post pictures from the first try
ETA: and I just realized that it should say ‘hooded vest’ or something since there are no sleeves
How adorable! Both model and sweater look terrific. You do beautiful work.
That’s very cute and so is your daughter!! Those giant ribs look so cute on her!
Thank you! The idea of giant ribs was to keep it snug because it’s kind of windy here. It’s not blocked for this reason so that it only stretches where needed
The whole idea was to make ‘a vest with a hat attached’ to be worn under a raincoat on windy days
You tamed the hoodie monster! Yeah for you! It turned out so cute. Your daughter looks like she just adores it. Good job!
Very cute, well done!
Love it no matter what you call it. Sure wish you did use patterns because I would love to do one for my granddaughter.
That is a really sweet hoodie! Nice job.
Olha,
I have to ask, how long have you been knitting? Cause, girl, every time I look at your work the green-eyed monster takes over my brain for a minute and I get so jealous of your work I want to cry. Another awesome piece!
Thank you everyone! You made me feel much better on a gloomy day.
To ewalker: I once tried writing down a pattern for someone but found out that responsibility of giving directions is just too much for me.
To TreshaRuthe: thank you! believe me, when I just started, I would cast on (numerous times) and knit two rows and rip it and begin again until that piece of yarn was unusable 4 years ago I tried making baby sweaters but it was a nerve wrecking experience, trying to follow the simplest pattern and questioning everything
I still envy people whose brain doesn’t automatically turn off when they see a 2 page pattern. So I have my monsters too
But my sweatermania started last fall when I saw a certain yarn in the store. Actually, I think it’s still about the yarn and what it is suitable for. And many ideas don’t work from the first try, so the ones you see are those that evolved enough to be made into something wearable and demonstrated to public
Also, I learn [I]a ton[/I] on this forum every day.
Wow, another amazing piece! All of your work is so beautiful, and professional looking. I love that hood! Your daughter is a little beauty too, and it looks so good on her.
Do you ever make anything for yourself? Or just your kids?
You always make up your own patterns, don’t you? You could make some killer money being a designer and selling your own patterns on Etsy.
Thank you! So far, only for kids. Well, I made two scarves and two hats for my husband and myself but that’s about it. Stuff for kids provides that instant gratification as someone mentioned. Plus, it’s cost effective because it doesn’t require a lot of yarn like an adult garment. They will grow out of those sweaters in a year anyway and they can slide on their tummies and roll on the grass and eat out (all parents know that you can see the menu on their clothes later) and everyone is happy
Thank you for encouragement but the numbers are discouraging Etsy gives statistics of sales and no matter how talented designers are, they sell about 5 patterns a month on average. And for knitted items (not that I want to do it) but still, the sales are even lower, 2-3 a month.
Plus, won’t people be weirded out by different techniques? I think I would have more luck explaining garment design than actually selling patterns. Because I strongly believe that anyone who can make a simple square in garter stitch can make a stylish ‘squarish’ sweater in garter stitch
The only question I have – is there demand? Sometimes I think it’s like trying to promote star navigation when people want printed directions from Google maps
Well done. 
Looks like it will be very warm.
Well, you’re probably not going to make much money selling actual knitted garments. I’m told that the money is in selling the patterns. If you want inspiration, check out knittingpureandsimple.com. The lady who started the company was a stay at home mom who now has her own business selling patterns. E patterns are the way to go now. Buy it with a credit card, get instant access. Saves shipping and handling charges, plus you don’t have to wait for it.
True.
There are always talented and dedicated people who can make it… I just don’t think I am in that category. It’s almost like you need a niche, something different to offer. Because, honestly, except a few interesting things, all sweaters on that website are quite basic. Maybe a good combination of yarn and colour makes them stand out but that’s about it. And, you know, it’s [I]a lot[/I] of work turning something spontaneous into a pattern.
Right now I am working on a sweater with the beaver on the front. I found a real non-copyrighted photo of a beaver online and turned it into a pattern. It turned out OK from the first try (given the fact that I changed the posture and a tail position) but it could be improved more… Anyway, that gave me an idea about offering a few basic designs of children sweaters in different sizes that can be customized with ‘real animals turned patterns’ (insects, flowers?)? It seems that such customization shows attention to interests and preferences of someone who would wear the item…
So basically it can be like a database where a person can choose the age or size, gender of a child and the pattern will be produced with a certain number of stitches… and when they choose the ‘picture’, it will be inserted in the pattern as well.
ETA: oh, and it will be easy to make because I would suggest variegated yarn that resembles animal’s habitat and plain animal pattern in one colour. It would be a bit more interesting than just two colours or complicated schemes. That’s what inspired my beaver
ETA 2: and it will be a good platform for those ‘how to’ videos that I would like to make with explanations on picking up stitches or anything else that I might do differently.
I haven’t looked into software issues at all, just playing with ideas.
You are such a fantastic knitter, both technically and artistically!
[COLOR=Red][B]I love [/B][/COLOR]this little hooded vest! Adorable little girl, too!