Girly Girl Tunic

I am working on a baby sweater for an upcoming baby. I am not sure what baby yet, but as there are 5 expectant parents in my office right now, I am sure that one of them will be a girl -- hopefully a girly girl! The name of the pattern is Frills by Yarn Madness. I found the pattern when searching on Ravelry for a  lace baby dress. This can be a sweater or a dress with minor modifications. The pattern has been quick and easy to do so far.

I am excited about this sweater because I have never done a raglan top before. I am not sure why -- it has just never happened. But I really enjoyed the process of the increases -- it is very similar to increases in a couple of things that I have knitted recently. So maybe I will have to put a raglan sweater on my "to knit" list for me!

The yarn is Yarn Bee's Rainbow Wool. It is machine washable, which I think would be important to your average new mom. It is a bit scratchy, but I think that it is soft enough to wear in cold weather. I only bought one skein of this the other day just to try it out -- but I had no idea what I might knit with it. Now, I may have to run out tomorrow and see if there is any left. The pattern calls for 200 yards for the 3 month sized sweater and the skein has 204 yards. If I get a second skein, I will have plenty to finish it safely and I could even modify it to be the dress. That is what I get when flying by the seat of my pants.

Happy knitting!

What's up with me? Knitting without internet.

I am trying another option with Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket. Through Ravelry, I found an old blog written by Panda Man's where he has converted the infamous BSJ to a Stocking Stitch pattern. The pattern has taken into account the additional length in the stocking stitch in opposition to garter stitch. For the most part, the pattern is only 66% of the original pattern of the BSJ.

I have not blogged in two weeks due to an internet outage. I started and completed another dog sweater for my sister's dog, Lindy Lu. She is an Italian Greyhound mix which is really skinny and spends even warm summers shivering from the cold.


This was done with the left over yarn from s pair of gauntlets that I made to wear at work last winter. It is made with Debbie Bliss's
Washable Ewe which is a 100% washable worsted weight wool. The color is 'icing'. Yum!


I finally got the internet back up today, so I am trying to catch up with a lot.

Happy Knitting!

That's a Wrap! Composer Knits Scarves That Power a Piano | Wired Design | Wired.com

That's a Wrap! Composer Knits Scarves That Power a Piano | Wired Design | Wired.com:

'via Blog this'

I just had to pass this one on. . . knitting to create music! Would be fun, but I am guessing limited in wearable fashion!

Coat of Many Colors -- BSJ

My Coat of Many Colors is all but finished. I have only to finish seaming the shoulders. I had sewed up one of the shoulders, but ripped it out as I thought that the neck line was too small -- I don't want to strangle a baby with my gift. I am not sure if it only looks small because it has been so long since I have seen a really tiny one.

Boy did I learn a lot with this pattern. I also had a lot of fun with the colors and just the amazing artistry that Elizabeth Zimmermann has in this design. This was the first pattern that required button holes for me. I did the simple yarn over button hole that is written into the pattern and it was just big enough for the button. This was also my first try at doing an i-cord bind off. I love the look -- it is time consuming but so worth it!

I have seen many pictures of Baby Surprise Jackets and I am so taken with the techniques that can be used to make each one look so different. Differences in yarn, differences in trim, in solids or stripes done with yarn changes (as I have done) or with self striping yarn. I saw one with yarn over eyelets. I have seen them with as few as one button to as many as six buttons. I have seen them made with hoods or collars.

I can't wait to get started on the next one -- but let me get this one done first!