Finished Tofutsies, Started Sachiko Kimono

I finished another Pair of Socks For Me! This is my first pair of Tofutsies socks, and I'll need to see how they wash and wear. My first impression is I loved the way the yarn felt as it ran through my fingers, and the finished socks feel soft and squishy.
I love the subtle colors, and I must admit I've been window shopping here. Some of the colors are too bright for me, but their range is wide enough to please my oddball color sense. Even the bright ones look good to me today. Can't you just see #799 in a baby kimono? #802 would be even better! With 100 gram balls, I might eke out a matching hat and sockies! Honestly, I'm planning a trip to my LYS when the roads clear. I'd love to see those colors and squish that yarn in person!
The Socks for Me Project is on the back burner while I make a last minute push for a few sweaters for Bean. He's due in about 4 weeks, and that means his window of opportunity is approaching quickly!
This is the Sachiko Kimono by Erika Flory. I found it here while surfing for baby patterns before Christmas. I was searching on Ravelry, and many knitters are making the Baby Yoda Sweater, but I like the look of this one, plus it is sized for 6, 12 and 18 months.
I haven't used Mission Falls 1824 cotton before, and I'm not happy with the way my eyelets are so big on the diagonal fronts. I may knit extra I-cord and thread it through those holes just to cover them up. Next time I will remember to snug up the stitch after the eyelet.
I bought this yarn on sale, intending to make a Baby Surprise Jacket, and changed my mind. I had 2 balls of Lentil, and trimmed it with the Olive Green. I have only 20 grams of Lentil left, and I know that's not enough for the sleeves. I plan to divide the leftover yarn, pick up the stitches and knit till I have just enough left to sew the seam. I'll finish in green, and if I'm lucky, it will look like it was a Plan! There will be enough green to make I-cords and then I'm done!
In my opinion, this kimono rivals the 5 hour baby sweater for knitting simplicity, and I like the way it looks! I have three more balls of 1824 cotton, and will probably make another kimono just so I don't have the yarn hanging around. I'm not fond of knitting worsted weight sweaters for babies, but I'm reserving judgement till I actually see the sweater on Bean. I also don't know how this stuff washes and dries. Diametrag is going to be busy enough, she shouldn't have to worry about special washing instructions.

Knit Mandala - Mindful Knit

I've been on Ravelry since November and have been reading lots of posts, but not contributing at all. I found an interesting group, Into The Labyrknit, and have started to knit-along with their first Mindful Knit, a knit mandala.

I've just finished Round 25, and should have 182 sts. I am knitting with #30 Cebelia on #1 needles, and just managed to switch over to my 16" circular needle. It's a bit tight, and I hope it will ease up enough to let me slide my stitches without interruption.

This is my third start, and I think I will keep this one. I started with #2s and it was too sloppy, plus the color wasn't right. My next attempt was on 1s, and went much better, but I had trouble with the yo, ssk combination and kept losing stitches. This attempt I used yo, sl1, k1, psso, and my stitch counts are good.

I'm not sure if there is a visual difference between skpsso and ssk, I can't see it on this project. I can see a size difference in my yos, and I'm not sure that will block out. This last increase round I gave a little tug to my knit stitch before I psso, and perhaps that will even things up a bit.

Oh, and by the way, the little blue belly-button is how I start my knitting in the round. I cast on 4 stitches, knit about an inch of I-cord. After I double my stitches to 8, I change thread and start knitting the pattern. I'll cut it off and unravel it later, and use the long tail I left at the beginning to secure the first 8 stitches.