Tag Archives: Baby surprise jacket

Apr24

You know you’re an addict when…

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…you finish a baby jacket (except for the buttons, but that has to wait) and you go out for a Sunday afternoon walk and cup of tea but in the back of your mind you are thinking, “What shall I make next?” It gives me the jitters to think that there’s nothing on the hooks or needles!

So this week’s WIP (99% done because it just needs buttons) is the second Baby Surprise Jacket. This is what it looked like after binding off.

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Sort of a rectangle with lots of increases and decreases that doesn’t look like it could be anything wearable.

But the magic happens when you fold it…

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And once again, so many ends to weave in! Note to self: use self-striping yarn next time.

The first go around at seaming the shoulders left me with a teeny neck opening that looked like it would strangle a baby, so I unpicked the seams and redid them, then picked up stitches and added a row of garter around the neck. Much better!

These are shades of Stylecraft Special DK and this time I used US6 needles. It turned out quite a bit smaller than the turquoise one that I made with US8s.

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I need to take this to work with me and choose buttons because as usual my stash of buttons is mostly mismatched sizes, shapes and colours from dollar store purchases and I really need a set of five.

My itchy fingers last night led to me starting a BB8 hat (inspired by the droid from Star Wars’ The Force Awakens).  That’s a Ravelry link as it’s a free Ravelry download. The baby (now overdue) has parents who are Star Wars fans and I think they’ll like it. It’s probably a bit big for a newborn at 16″ circumference but hopefully will fit next winter.

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These yarns are mostly Stylecraft Special Aran, but the grey is Red Heart With Love. I wouldn’t recommend using these yarns in the same project, as the RHWL is a true aran weight while the Stylecraft is a worsted weight.

Of course finishing this hat (which was a really fast and easy project) has left me, once again, WIPless. What’s a girl to do? Go and dig in the stash and find some more yarn to play with, of course!

Apr20

FO: tiered skirt

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Well, look at that! My rebounder is coming in useful for hanging clothes on. Maybe that is the fate of many pieces of exercise equipment that were bought with good intentions! Even though this mini trampoline has been plunked in a high traffic area of my living room for a while now, it’s not seeing much action. However it turns out it’s a good place to display the skirt that I just finished.

This is a Burda pattern #6666. It’s basically made from rectangles, so quite easy, but LOTS of sewing. That bottom layer? Miles of fabric, straight stitching and zigzagging!

It’s assembled from the hem up, but being somewhat of a shortass I had to hem it up another inch after the rest was put together. It might still brush the floor. But I do love maxi skirts! Cover a multitude of sins (or rather cellulite)!

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The fabric is a woven rayon with a tie-dyed look, with a pattern in white embossed on the surface. It’s a little slippery when cutting and sewing, but I felt that a 100% cotton would be too heavy. I would rather like to make another in a different fabric/colour.

I have one yarny WIP right now. Yup, only one! That’s surprising for me, I know, but with my crochet poncho being finished the other day, and this sewing project taking a chunk of time out of my week, a baby cardigan is all I have had time for.

It’s another Baby Surprise Jacket (Elizabeth Zimmermann design) like the turquoise one I showed you a few days ago, but a totally different look with denim blue, meadow green, pale rose and raspberry in the Stylecraft Special DK.

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Even though it means more ends to weave in, I am adding more stripes. The blue is being carried up the sides but the other three colours are being cut after every garter ridge.

Having a home day today, which isn’t all fun as I still have to do laundry and cook dinner! 😛

But I am making time for crafting, another German lesson and other relaxing pursuits.

Apr17

FO: Baby Surprise Jacket #1

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The photo of my latest FO looked a lot sharper on my iPad screen than it does on this laptop. Anyhoo, this Baby Surprise Jacket is all done, buttons ‘n all. I tested out a few options at the store today, from turquoise tortoises to red apples, and these shiny red shank-style buttons seemed to fit best. They echo the red stripe and pop nicely on the turquoise background.

I think these colours would actually work for a boy or a girl, so if for any reason the ultrasound turns out to be wrong, then I’m prepared!

I cast on for the BSJ#2 last night and will show you that when a bit more progress has been made.

TTFN!

 

Apr15

What’s new?

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Hi, crafty people! What’s new?

I have been knitting up a Baby Surprise Jacket this week. It’s an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern, and if you have been a knitter for a while you will surely know that she is (was) one of the geniuses of the knitting world. I have five of her books. I’ve been using the book, The Opinionated Knitter, to  make it, but I think it might be in Knitting without Tears too.

The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK and I had every intention of making it the smallest size possible by using 4mm/US6 needles. However I pulled out my supplies at a coffee shop while waiting for a friend last week, and for some reason my brain led my hands to screw the US8 tips on to the interchangeable cables. So instead of a potential gauge close to 6st/in, my gauge is more like 5st/in, so rather than fitting a teeny baby this year it will be more likely to fit next year. Which is a bit of a shame as the colours match the kitty fabric in the sewn outfit I showed you last time. Hopefully the dress and sweater will be wearable together.

So of course now that it’s almost done (you may have noticed there are no buttons yet) I just have to cast on for another. (The poor poncho is languishing yet again – ah, the thought of all those ends to weave in!) I will definitely remember to use the US6 tips this time and have picked out denim blue, along with meadow green, raspberry and one of the other pinks that has lost its ball band. It will be more girly at least.

One thing about a new baby in the family – lots of motivation to create!

I have bought fabric for a skirt for myself too. I have a Burda pattern (#6666) for a tiered skirt and found a lovely turquoise-y blue mottled rayon at work to make it with. I wanted to start sewing today but thought I’d better wash the fabric first, so it’s having a very short wash in the machine right now. It looks like an easy pattern, just a bunch of rectangles with lots of gathering along each top edge, and as my favourite maxi tiered skirt that I’ve been wearing for the last five years has started to disintegrate I’m hoping that this will be my new favourite. If it works out, I might want to make more!

Netflix watching, now that (sniff) Outlander has been suitably binge-watched, is Suits, recommended by a friend. Light entertainment while I get my knitting and crocheting done.

Piano practice has taken a back seat (less motivation to practice when there are no more lessons for a few months – ahem) and now I am excited about my Duolingo German lessons. It’s free (duolingo.com) and a friend is doing it too, plus I have three Facebook friends who are native German speakers (one is a co-worker). My hope is that one day Tai Chi Man and I will get to return to Switzerland to visit his cousins and I will not be hopelessly lost. We both learned German at school (and passed the exams to graduate) but heck, that was over 30 years ago.

Hopefully you are enjoying a wonderful Easter weekend where you are (and perhaps some chocolate). Tschüss!