A little postscript...

How lucky am I?  No really?  Many people pour their heart and soul into their passion and have no one to share it with, no one to shower them with ooh's and ahh's, and no one to do a happy dance with when it's all done.  

And here I am with a great supportive and helpful husband who doesn't mind that I spend his hard-earned money on yarn, who doesn't mind helping me solve tech issues when he comes home after a long day at the office, who can always be counted on to help me figure out knitting math, and who will stay up until 3 in the morning with me many nights in a row because it's the only time the house is still enough to get our website organised for the launch of a new pattern.

And then, as if that weren't enough love and support and kindness, when it's all done, when all the photos have been taken, when the pattern has been written and proofed a million times (or so it seems), when the website is done and the e-mail updates have been sent out, when it's all done, done...I have you ;0)

I really am one truly lucky knitter!  Thank you all for your kind words, your encouragement and your support.  You are making a dream come true for this knitter and for the two sweet-as-pie little guys who's education funds grow with every pattern sold {because that's where all the money goes...the best way I could think of to contribute to the family while I'm at home with the boys}.

I was relly sad to hear that the yarn I used for my Duck Soup was discontinued and have spent a lot of time this week trying to find a good sub and haven't found anything just so.  But here are some suggestions for you anyway.  If anyone has any other suggestions, please do share in the comments ;0)  

• Valley Yarns Berkshire (cooshy and lofty wool/alpaca blend, inexpensive and lots of colours including great baby pastels...I've actually used this one for this pattern and like it a lot but it does pill so you'll need to 'comb' your sweater every once in a while to keep it looking like new)
  
• The new Swish Bulky from KnitPicks (it is washable and comes in lots of colours)
  
• Cascade Greenland (machine wash and dry, soft merino, great cheery shades for babies and tots)
• Cascade Bollicine Baby Night (shrink resistant merino, classic baby pastels)
• Karabella Merino Superwash (super soft and washable and lots of great gender-neutral shades)
• Berrocco Peruvia (great heathered shades to mimic the look of the Countess but not many 'baby' colours)
• Karabella Aurora Bulky Melange (has the same multi construction as the Countess but the colour range is very limited)

Note that I haven't tried most of these and suggest them simply because they should give you the correct gauge of 16 sts to 4 inches, are suitable for a baby or child (not too scratchy), and come in colours I might use for a baby or tot myself.  All have also received at least 4 out of 5 stars from Ravelers.  A note on yardage, the Countess offered 100 yards per 50g and was used to determine the estimates for yarn requirements so keep this in mind when shopping for a substitute yarn.

Before I go, I should mention that I updated the Duck Soup pattern on September 8th and sent this revision to all those who had already purchased the pattern, either from my site or from Ravelry.  If you didn't get it or if it was caught by your spam filter, just send me an email at anny{at}jujubeandlolo{dot}com and I'll set you up.

Happy knitting!