Cpl. Benjamin Brosh comes home

Cpl. Benjamin Brosh comes home
As we wait for Desire' to get out of Iraq, we received this news.
Kendall worked with his father and has known him since he was a little kid.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
He was definitely a local hero.

My Handpainted Baby Surprise Jacket

I wanted my first BSJ to be really special. I recently had started hand-dyeing my own yarn and knew this was the right choice for a BSJ.

I used vegetable dyes for the colors. Red, Blue, and Green dye applied by a syringe as the 435 yds of natural Cascade Ecological Wool yarn was layed out in a long coil. I heat set it in the HOT San Joaquin Valley sun for 4 hrs. The yarn took the dye well and rinsed clear the first time. It airdried wound it into center pull cakes.

The jacket was made on size 8 Suzanne's needles, it knitted up to fit a 1 to 2 year old. I added ribbed cuffs and the collar since I had enough yarn to do so and I had extra for any repairs.
I enjoyed this knitting so much that I'm dyeing more yarn this summer just to knit Baby Surprise Jackets in the fall.
These two pictures were taken outdoors and the colors appear brighter. The truer colors are represented in the second photo from the top.

I just coudln't find buttons that I felt went well. I finally settled on pansy flower buttons, but foudn them after the jacket was photographed. This was a shower gift to a precious friend's first Granddaughter, Kendall. Mohairmama :)

mystery blanket

I'd like to interrupt the postings of baby sweaters to show you a Mystery Blanket. This is a (somewhat modified) version of the April project from Knitter's Almanac.



I've been fascinated with this pattern for a long time, and I finally had a chance to make it when I needed to make a baby blanket for my new cousin. For a long time now I've been thinking about the best way to join squares to make a blanket. When I read about this blanket, I knew I needed to try weaving the squares together. There are still some other ideas I have that I will hopefully try out on future projects, but this time I was looking for something that would work the first time. And it did work. I knit the squares out as the directions suggest, but I used different increases (I didn't want holes for the baby's fingers to get caught in), and added stripes to the squares. I also knit the blanket with worsted weight superwash wool instead of the bulky wool used in the pattern and made it smaller. And I used a regular cast-off because I wasn't trying to fool any knitters- this went to a non-knitting family. But otherwise, I followed the pattern.



I'm not thrilled with the way the colors came together- it's a little too much blue for me, even though it is a baby boy. But overall I'm pleased with it and I would certainly knit it again. The joins look neat and professional on both sides, which is more than I can say for any other blankets I have knit from multiple squares. And I think the garter stitch border works really well. And to top it all off, it was a quick knit!

Surprise Baby Outfit

This month I knit my fourth Baby Surprise Jacket. This time I knit for one of the Coast Guard wives who is expecting a boy in late July.

I never cease to be enthralled with the cleverness of this pattern! This time I used four solid-colored yarns and took advantage of the design to showcase some striping.

I used Dale of Norway's "Falk" yarn (the brown and cream) and Jaeger's "Matchmaker Merino DK" (the blue and green). I used size 5 needles (though I do knit very loose) and I'm estimating it will be about a 6-month size.

I also knit some of the baby-sized "Longies" from The Opinionated Knitter, though I left the legs with a rolled cuff rather than finishing out with an attached foot. They are one of the most adorable things I've ever knit. I used the same size needles with the same yarn, and the resulting pants look about the same size as the jacket.

Here is the whole outfit. I've decided that now no BSJ is complete without some matching longies! Too cute!
All for now; knit on!

Pink and Blue BSJ

I never tire of the BSJ. I think I have made about 15 of them now. This little one is made from Rauma Babygarn a machine washable 100%wool yarn from Norway. It comes in such a wonderful variety of colors.

I chose a bright pink and blue for a friend's baby and did some random stripes. The sleeves always look unfinished to me so I have added ribbed cuffs that are long enough to fold back on themselves. Then they can be unfolded as the baby grows. The neckline is finished with single crochet to hide the changes in color. I need to get it sent off soon.

The Brooks Pullover - Finished


I'm infatuated with The Opinionated Knitter. I look at it all of the time, and want to make everything out of it.


From Brown Sheep Worsted Weight in Ocean Waves colorway.


The whole time I was knitting I could not decide if it was to be a cardigan or a pullover. When I added the sleeves, I popped it off the needles and knew then it just looked like it was meant to be a pullover.


Here's a semi close up of the shoulders. I do love the way they look. Can't wait for next Fall and Winter (well actually I can), but I 'll have a new sweater to wear when it comes around.

February Sweater Completed

I finished this cute little February Sweater in March and I am just now getting around to posting.
I love how the Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome worked up. The colors went wonderfully with the open pattern.

Store display BSJ finished

I am teaching a Baby Surprise Jacket class at a local shop next month and we wanted a fun store display so here it is just finished.

We decided to only sew one shoulder seam so that the other side will flop while displayed. I think it's a brilliant way to show the folding and design technique EZ came up with. As soon as it's in the store I will get some great wood buttons sewn on and take more pictures!
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi in the colourway Edgewater
1.25 hanks

BABY SURPRISE SWEATER

I finished this for my newest grandchild in September. It was too big for her then, but may fit her now. I used acrylic baby yarn from my stash, probably Jamie (I keep losing the labels).

February Sweater in Cotton

I was wondering if anyone has ever done the February sweater in cotton. If it has been done, what yarn did you use.
I live in deep south Alabama, wool sweaters don't make much sense, even for 'winter' babies. We get maybe a good month of cold enough weather for wool, and that is not consecutive days. So I was thinking cotton would be a much better alternative.
Leah ;0)

A celebration

Friends, we're about to hit our 2,000th post on Zimmermania! In honor of that, and of the jolliness of having more than six hundred participants on our little blog, I'm going to send a little present to the 2,000th poster. I'll be in touch if it's you!

Spring is in sight. Knit on!
Sarah

April 1 Poetry Blogging

Today marks the beginning of National Poetry Month, and that means poets and people who like poems are pasting poems they like in unexpected places all over the world for others to run into, by accident, by good luck.

So of course Bloggers are posting favorite poems today.

I don't know if Elizabeth Zimmerman wrote poetry. I know many of us find poetry in what she wrote.

Here's a good quote:


"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises."
Elizabeth Zimmermann

That's a poem, don't you think?