Little Red Riding Hood Knitting Pattern

A few years ago my mother started knitting. She's been a quilter all my life (and is incredibly talented) so none of us were surprised when she picked up knitting. Lucky me, she likes to knit for her daughter just as much as she likes to knit for her grandbabies.

I have a thing for hoods and really wanted a "little red riding hood" sweater. Since she is such a young knitter, Mom likes to make sure she continues to grow with each new pattern. This one particularly caught her eye since she had never done the decorative stitching along the body of the sweater.

The pattern came from www.patterfish.com and was designed by the artist, Elizabeth Smith. The sweater is called Common Ground and can be downloaded online.  You can probably tell, Mom lengthened it a little bit, which I really like.

Perhaps the truly wonderful story behind this pattern is the incredible support Mom got via e-mail over Christmas. She was a stuck in the Raglan shaping part so she wrote patternfish. They responded that normally they don't do pattern support, as that's something you should get at your local yarn shop where you buy your yarn, but they would make an exception for the holiday season (because she was so nice). I thought that was especially helpful of them. Mom's local yarn shop was closed and she really wanted to boogie. Patternfish got her unstuck and she finished my sweater in no time at all (as a side note, I'm still working on a headband I began way before Mom started my sweater, no judgment please).

But then here's the really nice part! Elizabeth also responded (patternfish had cc'd her on their response to Mom) and here's what she said,

Linnea--if you have any other questions along the way please feel free to get in touch with me. I always offer pattern support for all of my designs. You can reach me atelizabeth(at)thebrownstitch.com.

I think that is top knotch! Not only was the pattern well written to begin with, and very easy to follow, but she completely stands behind her designs. In case you're wondering, Elizabeth Smith has a whole website called The Brown Stitch. You can visit it at www.thebrownstitch.com. She has incredible designs and even some free downloads. Check her out, you will be glad you did!

And in the meantime, if you see me in public I will most likely be wearing this sweater. Now that I know what a real, handmade wool sweater feels like, the rest of my clothing pales in comparison...truly, a wonderful, wonderful gift. Thank you Mom! I love you!