Tada!

Finally, the rows upon rows of garter stitch are complete! It felt like a very long haul...but it was worth it. I managed to get the button tabs figured out, knit and sewn on late last night so that Mary could wear her new jacket to school today, and I even took pictures at midnight (and again this morning - don't worry! I didn't make Mary model in the middle of the night!) knowing that there's a pretty good likelihood that it will never look quite as, um, clean as it does right now!



So this is the Tomten in all its cheery goodness. The body is Malabrigo merino worsted, which, if you haven't used before, is a cloud of soft beauty to knit with. The color is Bergamota. The contrasting bits are Zitron Unikat merino in Peach & Purple. And even Mary's new glasses fit right in with the color scheme.



The buttons are so perfect - they manage to incorporate many of the colors in the Unikat.



If you decide to make a tomten of your own, you will see that there are several versions floating around out there, depending on which Elizabeth Zimmerman book you consult. This one used the techniques from the Opinionated Knitter (i.e. picking up stitches from the underarm when you knit the sleeves; short rows added) and I also sized it up for Mary by going to 128 sts at the cast-on and then sizing everything else proportionately (32 rows instead of 24, etc.).



And now, despite the long haul of garter, I would definitely make another one. In fact, I have yarn in my stash calling me...a gold tomten with a collar, this time, and applied i-cord. Just as soon as I get through the Anais!