A Very Special Sweater

Caleb is learning about rocks in science right now.  His homework project this week involved a pet rock.  He had to find a rock and write about it, what kind of rock it is, do some tests on it, that kind of thing.  He also had to bring the rock into school and share his pet rock.  He needed to decorate the rock somewhat because pet rocks have decorations (regular rocks don't - it's an easy way to tell the difference if you are ever faced with the common rock vs. pet rock conundrum).  Caleb decided that his rock needed a sweater and asked me to knit him a sweater.  So yesterday, I whipped up a tiny, handknit sweater for a rock.  I had a blast.

I measured the rock's girth in several places, and figured out how many stitches to cast on using some fingering weight superwash wool (rocks appreciate easy care garments).  Then I decided to make the sweater ribbed since that would easily fit the rock and it's rocky curves and shapes.  Also, ribs are slimming - I didn't want the rock to look bloated in an oversized sweater.  I was originally going to decrease and go all the way over the rock's end (do rocks have tushies?), but then I realized it would be a rock sock, not a rock sweater, so cast off when I reached a place that felt like a sweater should end on a rock.  And if you're wondering about the color?  The rock's favorite color is red.  So is Caleb's but I'm sure that's just coincidence.

He'll probably have the only pet rock with a handknit sweater in Sixth Grade, but this is the kid who had a handknit hat for a potato a few years back.  I don't think I'll get to knit sweaters and hats for his school projects too much longer so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

If you're interested in more of the latest rock fashions, check these out.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I think these would be wonderful for a pet rock in the Summer, nice and breezy!