“From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?” -Psalm 118:5-6

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Sigh of relief

I've had my embroidery thread stored various (inefficient) ways over the years. I've been wanting to put it on the little card thread holders for a few months now, but put it off since I'm not terribly good at embroidery and don't do it that often. I felt that my time and budget were better served elsewhere. However, while working on a Christmas gift which involved embroidery thread, I realized I should at least find out how much getting organized would cost, because, as tidy as I could make the container holding the thread, it still wasn't anywhere near even acceptably messy. A trip to Ben Franklin on 20% off day, and $2.79 (for box and cards!) later (but not counting the twelve NEW threads I picked out, pictured on the right...), I was on my way to the above blissful rainbow of perfectly tidy organization. Ahh!

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Merry Christmas

Source: 3krazychics.blogspot.com via Claudia on Pinterest

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My only problem with this is that it's not at least seven times as long.

I did not enjoy the book Wuthering Heights, but I've been curious to see a film version. It looks like it will have to be this one. And not just because Mumford & Sons wrote an itty bitty song for it. But partly.

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Pea Soup Cardigan

I started this in March, but didn't knit on it consistently until September. It's not a difficult knit, and the instructions are clear. I made the 6-7 year size, because I really wasn't sure how long it would take me, and I figured that gave me plenty of time to finish--at least 3 years, if it went to Anya, instead of Fiona. ;) The yarn is discontinued, so I'll spare you an in-depth review, but I like it very much (it's very soft, plus it's washable), and the color, which was hard to capture on camera (remember when we used to say "on film"?), reminds me of split pea soup. The buttons add a bit of contrast and utter girly-ness. I'm quite pleased with how this cardigan turned out, even if bits of it aren't exactly perfect.

Details Raveled here.

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RFO (Recently Finished Objects)

For a baby shower, booties sewn from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings and a red hat knitted (mostly) from an Apple Hat pattern. The parents are waiting until the baby is born to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so I tried to make something neutral.

I would have liked the buttons on the booties to be red, but I couldn't find the right shade.

*

When I saw the Southmoor Hat pop up in the Recently Added Patterns on Ravelry and noticed that it took one skein of Cotton Comfort, which I just happened to have (my mom picked it out for me on her trip up the East Coast last Fall), I knew I had to get the Fall issue of Knitscene, which was most fortunately at our local craft shop (and which I waited oh-so patiently to purchase until 20%-off day). The pattern was made for the yarn I had. I simply couldn't have not bought the magazine! All of the details are Raveled here. (Many, many details. Note that there is errata for the pattern on its page on Ravelry, in case someone who is reading this plans to knit it.)

This hat is great because my (not overly thick, but nevertheless) hair is piled up on the top of my head underneath it. I admit, I put on tinted lip gloss before having my husband take this picture. Oh, vanity!

I have several other projects that I've finished and never gotten around to sharing. I even typed up half-posts to remind myself to show them off, and that seemed to be enough to get them completely off my mind! Now it seems like so much work to go back through my 1.2 million photos (more or less) in Picasa to find the ones of what I wanted to share. We'll see if it happens. There's nothing particularly spectacular, after all, just little things. ;)

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BSJ

I realized today that I never posted about the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket I made for my cousin's baby boy. He's her first baby, so it's made in a neutral color so that it can be used for any future siblings, girl or boy. (All of the technical details are Ravelled here.)



It wasn't until today, when I was looking at the pictures I took of it in June, that I realized how pleased I am with how this turned out. It's certainly not perfect, but the pattern is so great, it's hard to not like the finished product, flaws and all.


I didn't do a very good job of sewing up the shoulder seams. They're kind of a 'decorative' finish, a-hem. 

In case you've never heard of the Baby Surprise Jacket, it's called that because it looks like a somewhat flattish lumpy nothing as you're knitting it, but when you're done and you fold up two corners--surprise!--it's a jacket. It's really quite amazing. I kept pausing every few rows to fold it up and check the progress (not the wisest choice for someone who knits as slowly as I do, since that didn't exactly speed me up).



The knitting itself is quite easy, just simple increases and decreases in garter stitch; it's the directions that can be a bit...shall we say interesting? Elizabeth Zimmerman was a knitting genius, no doubt about it, but it can sometimes be hard for those of us who are decidedly not genius-inclined, knitting or otherwise, to perfectly understand her chatty directions. Or maybe it's just that I prefer a cut-and-dry approach to instructions. In any case, I made sure to thoroughly peruse the Baby Surprise Jacket Wiki on Ravelry before beginning so that I could wrap my brain around the gist of the construction and decide on my approach to the increases. I also made notes on the pattern so that when I make this again (and I most certainly will), I don't have to think as much. ;)


I hand-wrote a label with a fabric pen on pinked muslin and tacked it on the inside, because I figured a new mother didn't really need to try and figure out what size an item is or how to wash it. It gets the job done.

I used an organic cotton yarn that I bought when a local yarn shop closed their storefront. It's somewhat splitty, but so soft. I probably could have used bigger needles, but the finished knit is pleasantly squooshy, so it's fine.



I found the perfectly-coordinating vintage buttons at the thrift store. I was so pleased with them. I like the detailing that the shaping gives in this solid color. I wasn't able to go to the baby shower, but I heard that the BSJ seemed to go over well. I hope it gets plenty of use. :)

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