garter stitch

I'm back, just in time for fall. And I have a stack of knitting that I need to blog about, too.







I'll let you imagine what the top three projects are; right now all I have to talk about is the bottom project, which is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, or BSJ.

(Please excuse my 1950s tablecloth.)

I was steaming mad about this sweater for a week, but I've managed to get over most of it now. The pattern itself is fine, although the amount of garter stitch nearly drove me insane. I found it very helpful to crochet around the neckline. The effect was very tidy, and simple enough to do. The whole thing would have taken me about two days, except for the horror that I found after I washed it.

Per the yarn store salesperson's advice, I used Lorna's Laces in "pond blue" for the BSJ. I was told that this was "the" yarn to use, and was even shown samples of BSJs knitted with it, which honestly did look really lovely. It's very soft, and also super wash, which I thought would be important for my friend - this is her first baby.

Super wash, right? So you can imagine I was pretty surprised when I pulled the sweater out of the (delicate cycle) wash, and discovered that in at least three spots the yarn had broken. As in, tufts of broken yarn were sticking out of the sweater. !!!

It was pretty scary, I'm not going to lie. I let it dry, gathered my wits, and worked on repairing the damage. It took a few hours to get it perfect, but I think it's okay, now. However, I am never buying this yarn again, especially since it set me back a fair amount of money. The BSJ may be made again, but I'll be finding a different super wash yarn.

There was another mistake, this one of my own making, that I was able to repair, too. I had made my buttonholes too big for the small ladybug buttons I bought. I found that by sewing a "U" around the buttonhole on the wrong side, tugging the ends of the "U" and then weaving in the ends, I was able to satisfactorily and quickly make the buttonholes the perfect size.

(Also, really quick nit picky complaint: I'm all for hand-dyed yarns and their variations in color, but I think the variations here look more like a mistake than a feature.)

Anyway, the sweater is done, it's still really soft, and I imagine it will come to good use. Fall is starting with a vengeance, here.

Next week - my adventures with Victorian lace, both knitted and bobbin-ed. Exciting!