Baby Ditka

Hello! I hope you are all faring well post election day. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty pooped. I stayed up way past my bedtime waiting for finalization from the candidates. As you might imagine, Chicago was pleased with the outcome of the race. After all,  the president is a hometown hero. This post isn't about politics; however, it does have a bit to do with a Chicago golden boy. Coach Ditka. You might have heard of him. He's kind of a big deal.  

Any of you who have visited this blog for a period of time know that, while I reside in Chicago, I am not a Bears fan. I bleed green and gold. Yet, there's no denying Coach Ditka and his '85  Bears were something special. The sweater vest the coach sported is almost as iconic as the man behind the team. Which brings me to the knitting related content of this post... You see, my neighbor Henri, he's a pretty big Bears fan. And, when came to me with his request for a sweater vest of his own, I couldn't deny him. Just look at those eyes! He's a charmer, that one. He drove a hard bargain to bend my team loyalty, and he more than lived up to his end of the deal by getting me a photo of him wearing my handiwork. (Guess who qualifies to be the beneficiary of future handknits?!?)  

I wasn't able to find a pattern for this project, so I charted out the logo myself  and used an existing vest pattern as a template. I hesitate to put the chart on Ravelry, because I'm unsure whether it falls within the rules and regulations. (If you know, please, do tell!) However, I would gladly share the chart with any person interested. This particular sweater is knit using sock weight yarn on U.S. size 2 needles at a gauge of ( 7.5 stitch="1 inch ). The logo extends across 72 stitches, which makes this sweater sized somewhere between 12mos. and 18mos- Henri's not quite a year old yet, so he might squeeze two season from it, if we're lucky. 

*A HUGE thanks to Henri's parents for helping him get me this picture and    allowing me to share it.*