First Knitting Post!

So here is my latest knitting project. It's for Ameetha's new baby; I've never knit clothes for a baby before, and I've never done a sweater pattern of any size before. I've learned a lot from this, and I've been working on it for a looong time. I'm using the "baby wrap top" pattern from from the book Special Knits by Debbie Bliss. She has some really lovely stuff. I substituted a baby alpaca yarn (shed by baby alpacas, not necessarily intended for babies) and it is VERY soft. I did the trim in an eggplant purple - which is hard to tell from the pictures, sorry, and the bulk from a cream color. I've gotten tired of traditional pastels for babies. The other first from this project was embroidered embellishments. Anyone can tell that my little lazy daisies are lopsided, turned in funny directions, different sized, etc. I think it gives it character. Plus, I don't think I could get them any better.

Why isn't the top on the baby, you ask? Well, despite the misleading pictures I've posted, it's not finished. Like almost every other knitter I've met or read about, I'm not a big fan of finishing. By which I mean weaving in ends, joining pattern pieces, picking up to make collars, sewing on ribbon and fastenings, etc. This is the real picture of this piece, and the reason it's been almost 6 months since I've started:

Lookit all them ends! It's awful! I've actually considered cutting out all of the embroidery and gifting the top plain just to avoid it. Plus I don't actually know the best way to secure these ends so that they don't pull free or get pulled by tiny hands.

Wish me luck.