Hudson's Bay-by Surprise Jacket

As I was sitting there working on the HBC shawl a few weeks ago, one of my knitty girlfriends was working on a Baby Surprise Jacket.  I was thinking about all the leftover coloured yarn I would have from the shawl and then I had an epiphany: an HBC BSJ!

I was intending to wait until after the summer to start it, since I have a few time sensitive projects these days, but then I realized I have a bit of time before the August Camp Loopy project starts, and I couldn't bear to think of finishing the sweater I'm working on in this oppressive heat, and a BSJ only takes a few days...  So I cast it on and knit it up, squeeing all the way.

I thought about a few ways to incorporate the stripes, either right at the beginning (i.e. just after the sleeve cuffs) or through the main part of the body, but because the jacket itself is so wee, the stripes would have to be thin single ridges of colour to fit in most positions.  In the end, I decided to put them in the "work the middle 90 stitches for 10 ridges" part of the pattern so they would just be in the hem area around the bottom, but had to upsize that section to 14 ridges to accomodate all of the colours in a 2-ridge width.  The jacket ended up looking a bit long, but when I blocked it, I tugged it a bit wider and shorter and it turned out fine.

I was planning to get some little blonde wood buttons, but then I found these darker dyed wooden ones with little leaves on them, and they were so enchanting and perfect for a little outdoorsy baby that I bought them on the spot.

I still have tons of yarn left over, so I might just make this my new go-to baby gift.

Lil' Punkin

When I recently saw a friend of mine, who is about to have a baby, my mind went where a knitter's mind invariably would: wee little baby knits!

Since she is due in a week or two, I didn't have time for something big like a blanket, so I settled for something adorable.  EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket is one of my standards, because it is so quick and simple to knit and ends up so darn cute.

I chose a semisolid black (technically Victorian Gothic) for this one because of the mom's style, and also her colouring (which one can assume will have an effect on the baby's colouring.)  I went with Madelinetosh Sport, rather than a fingering weight, because I wanted the jacket to be a bit bigger - unlikely a sweater will get a ton of wear over Edmonton's hot summers, so hopefully it will still fit the baby in the fall.  Unfortunately I ran out of the yarn with only two rows and the bindoff row left to go.  Sigh.  Thank goodness I had some Sweet Georgia DK in Charcoal left over, which was a very close match.  Finished and seamed it and topped it off with five very cute pumpkin buttons, to commemorate the parent's wedding, which took place in a pumpkin patch.

Maybe it looks a bit Hallowe'eney, but that's ok, too.

Another Adorable Baby Blanket

As I mentioned a week and a half ago, I recently committed myself to making a couple of baby blankets. Initially I was going to make two of the same blanket (the shale lace blanket I showed off last week) but my mom and sister were so enamored of Jared Flood's Tweed Baby Blanket (ravelry) that I decided to make one of each, instead. In retrospect, I'm glad I did. While I love the first one, I was a bit tired of doing the same thing over and over by the end of it, and making a second blanket the same might have put me over the edge.

The classic Shetland construction of this one is perfect for cleansing the palate: first you knit a big garter stitch square (from one corner to the opposite corner) which is so easy and meditative that it's heavenly. Then you pick up stitches along the four sides and do some lace. It just so happens that this lace changes colours every four rows, which definitely inspired me to keep going and do a full repeat (or two or three) every day.


Once again, the acrylic means that I can't block it quite the way I'd like to (sorry Jared) but it still looks great. The only thing I might change is the attached i-cord edging. I upsized one needle size to do it, but it still seems a little bit tight. Perhaps going up another size would have helped, or doing some more unattached rows of i-cord at the right places to follow the curves of the lace.

Once it was off the needles, I wasted no time in getting back to the springy fingerless mittens I've been hankering for. They are nearly done, so I'll show you those, soon.

Shale Baby Blanket

My name is Rhonda and I am a yarn snob.

I might as well come clean about it, now, because I've recently taken on knitting two baby blankets, and bumped up against the place where luxurious knits meet family-friendly knits. If it were my choice, I would knit Jared Flood's baby blanket patterns in a yarn that's cloudy and wooly and tweedy, and then handwash and block the heck out of them to create a work of art.


Instead, I have to actually consider the moms who will be using and washing these blankets. They will want to just throw them in the washing machine every time the baby gets it messy (whether with food or barf or something worse) so a luxurious heirloom in hand-wash-only wool isn't really reasonable. One option would be to find a superwash wool to make it with, but aside from being a bit more expensive, the options I found for superwash worsted-weight didn't appeal.

The obvious choice is simple and inexpensive and easy to find: 100% acrylic.


When I started knitting, I used acrylic almost exclusively. It was a while before I discovered the wonder and perfection of wool and other natural fibers. Over the years, I've obviously become a yarn snob, since I don't even want to admit I made this blanket from acrylic. Sadly, I can't really block it, so the lace, while lovely, will never quite be as beautiful as it could be, were it washed and stretched out flat and opened up. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with this blanket, and I think the recipient will like it, too. I am hoping that it will be barfed on and snuggled up to and carried around until even workhorse acrylic can't hold up to the abuse.

Catching Up

I did manage to set aside the scarf long enough to make some progress on the sweater last night, and will likely finish it today (or tomorrow if I take my time.) But first I wanted to show off some little projects that I've made along the way but didn't show off until I could give them to the recipient.

One of my fabulous coworkers and her man are having their first baby very soon. We all got together and gifted her a bunch of handmade things and some other useful items, last night.

Firstly, a little Elizabeth Zimmermann bonnet that I made with some leftover Koigu KPPPM. It is very wee but so cute.


Then I made one of my requisite EZ Baby Surprise Jackets. This one used Socks that Rock Heavyweight in the colour Fire on the Mountain. My HLM refers to it as the technicolour dreamcoat and I can't say I disagree. I love this little jacket so much. Since my camera can't even handle the colours and pattern of this fabric at a distance, I am only giving you a close-up shot. (After all, you know what EZ's BSJ looks like, right?)



I found this little pattern for a Toadstool Baby Rattle on the Purl Bee, and once I stopped squealing, I grabbed some leftover yarn and whipped one up. Love.



Lastly, remember this little berry quilt? Well I didn't say so at the time, but that one was for her, too. I went for something with high contrast (for baby's developing eyesight) and wanted to incorporate food in the design, since daddy is a chef.

I honestly had a really hard time stopping. Once you start finding cute ideas for little baby things, it's hard to put the brakes on. Fortunately I got selfish and started making more things for myself. And on that note, it's back to the sweater...

February Baby Sweater

Well, I am finally giving away one of the baby projects I was working on, so y'all finally get to see it. It's Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Sweater on Two Needles (ravelry), better known as the February Baby Sweater, from her Knitter's Almanac. This is the first one I've ever made, and very quick, easy, satisfying. I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Socks that Rock in Heavyweight for it, and I really like how it turned out. The variegated colour pools a bit and stripes a bit and is random for a bit, but I think it looks cool. And the shiny little taupe buttons that I dug out of the bottom of my sewing kit are just about perfect. It's a bit bigger than I had anticipated, at this gauge... If I make another, it will more likely be in the light or medium weight instead. But then, babies do come in all sizes.

As for the quilt, I have spent a couple of days just Being With It. Once I arranged the diamonds and partially sewed them together with some sashing, I started to get concerned that it was not just bright and cheery, but perhaps... dare I say... garish? Like on the verge of clowny? Oh dear. So rather than panicking about whether it will turn out beautiful (since I can somewhat recognize that this is just the moment in my relationship with a project where I start to think it might be regrettably horrible and unwanted by the recipient) I have instead decided to just live with it and look at it for a few days without judgement and worry. (Particularly since the recipient is me.) Likely tomorrow I will grab the rest of the sashing and take the next step toward sewing the top together. I will take some photos when I can, and let y'all be the judge.