A little more than 2 years ago, my life changed irrevocably with the arrival of a squalling, demanding, endearing, intoxicating, impossible, wonderful creature — my daughter, Olivia. On some level, I knew that I would have to shift my life around to accommodate this new presence, but at the time, I didn’t appreciate just how seismic a movement would be required.  I thought, somewhat naively, that I’d still be able to work at my full time job, maintain my relationships with my friends and (!) husband, and continue to knit and design at the pace I’ve established in the the years prior. For those of you who didn’t laugh in my face, thank you for humoring me. I discovered soon enough how sorely deluded I was.

Still, I managed to publish a few designs here and there — mainly collaborations with yarn shops, indie hand dyers, and book contributions as well as a few independently published baby knits.

The latter is obviously inspired by my new status as a parent. Baby knits are the perfect antidote to long, involved adult garments. They’re quick, don’t require a lot of yarn (I often find just the perfect match in my existing stash of oddballs and leftover skeins from bigger projects; or in my considerable collection of sock yarn), and the results are often quite satisfying. There is nothing like welcoming a new life into this world with a lovingly made handknit.

I asked my brother, a graphic design artist, to help me brand the kiddie branch of my design line. I had a few ideas about what I wanted the logo to include — a bunny (Olivia was born in the Chinese year of the rabbit), wee sweaters hanging on a clothesline, and a color theme that echoes the lovely color palette of Quince and Co. yarns, which made frequent appearances in my inaugural designs for Olivia. There were a couple of back and forth edits until he came up with a concept and design I loved. The line is called Piccoli Chinchio — which means Small Chinchios, referring both to my designs (small versions of sweaters I’d wear myself) and to my babies.

Yes, *babies*. Three months ago, my husband and I added another Chinchio to our brood. Meet Kyle! He’s wearing a forthcoming design (in Quince Chickadee).