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"Let's be cheerful"! We have no more right to steal the brightness out of the day for our own family than we have to steal the purse of a stranger. Let us be as careful that our homes are furnished with pleasant & happy thoughts as we are that the rugs are the right color and texture & the furniture comfortable and beautiful"! Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

the one pound baby jacket



My Blue-faced Leicester roving spun up as a fabulously soft, squishy bulky.  I couldn't keep from gently squeezing the ball each time I walked by it.  Now I caress and press this baby jacket as I work it.  I think that when it's finished I will dub it the One Pound Baby Jacket.  The yarn is so bulky that I can just barely fit 70 yards plied on the bobbin.  The first skein was in the basket for several days before I decided on this pattern.  It didn't take me long before I was out of yarn and I hadn't finished spinning more!  That evening I finished another and hung it to dry (it takes a couple of days because it's so thick).  Yesterday morning I wound the ball and finished the back and the right sleeve.  There's enough yarn to get a few inches on the left sleeve and I started spinning again last night hoping to get a third hank drying.  It was late so I had to stop with just the first bobbin finished.  Today I will do another and ply it.  Of course that means 2 more days of drying.  This is a fun (albeit scattered) process for me.

I've been re-reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's, The Opinionated Knitter.  She was the inspiration behind leaving this yarn natural instead of dying it.  I'm eager to try the Baby Surprise Jacket and the Tomten but this was a good starting point for getting an understanding of how much bulky hand-spun I'll need to tackle them.  

I up-sized the called for needle to a 10 1/2.  The bulky yarn and the bigger needle are giving me a jacket that I believe when finished will be a 12-18 month (luckily I have little bodies that will let me know).  It's wonderfully stretchy giving much leeway and the sleeve has Elizabeth's sewn bind off making them, too, nice and elastic so you can comfortably roll them back.

Well, I'm off to finish spinning the rest of the pound of roving waiting at the wheel.  Yup, the One Pound Baby Jacket!

Blessings, Debbie  

23 comments:

  1. That must be one of the best feelings, knitting something from the yarn you have made! One day we must get together so you can teach me!
    xx

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  2. It's going to be gorgeous!! I can tell. The natural colour will allow it to go with anything yet too. Lovely!!

    Blessings!
    Deborah

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  3. I can't wait to see the finished product and I am tickled that you are leaving it natural. I love "natural" tones in fiber arts.

    BTW I absolutely love the book stand.

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  4. How sweet! I also see you are using some DPN's :)
    This is the link I used to figure out how to knit gussets on socks...
    http://www.knittinghelp.com/

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  5. How fun is that?! Spinning your own yarn and then knitting it into a sweater. Hope you show the finished sweater.

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  6. I can't wait to see it finished! How fun that you are spinning the yarn as you go. I saw that pattern when I was knitting up baby stuff and it's just adorable.

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  7. I am so impressed that you make the yarn and then knit the sweater....I don't think I could give it away when I was that connected to it...Good for you and for some lucky baby!

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  8. Your spinning is so even and lovely :) I bet it is exciting and sad to knit it up :)

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  9. How exciting! Enjoy knitting your BSJ. What an ingenious pattern, no? I finished my first recently, too (http://onemamasjournal.blogspot.com/2012/03/babys-surprise-and-last-minute-longies.html) though I've never spun my own yarn. Now THAT would be something! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  10. This is such a beautiful knit. So much love and thought put into it. It is going to be one lucky baby to wear this one. I must pick up a copy of one EZ's books. How long have I been saying that!

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  11. So cool that you spin it, and then knit it.

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  12. I love THE OPINIONATED KNITTER, although I have yet to get up the nerve to try a pattern. (I'm only about 9 months into knitting.) Love the yarn.

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  13. i love ez. love her. have you ever watched any of her videos? they are so much fun and her personality is amazing. would've totally wanted her for a neighbor ;-)

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  14. i LOVE YOUR HEADER !!
    and i love your picture.
    and i love your colour.
    and i love that book.
    x

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  15. Absolutely lovely - am so impressed with the ability to spin and knit~

    Blessings
    Karen

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  16. Beautiful! I love the natural color. That will make a wonderful gift.

    I noticed from your last post you have had crazy weather too. We had warm weather, then the wind blew in making it very cold. I heard we are suppose to reach almost 80 on Friday. Very strange extremes.

    Blessings to you,
    xoxo...Gloria

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  17. whoa...that's amazing yarn. I have been wanting to try both the tomten and the baby surprise jacket...I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts on them. Beautiful job!

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  18. I love it when you talk spinning...because I understand what you're saying! This yarn sounds wonderful! I can't wait to see the finish!
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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  19. As always, your project looks (and the process sounds) so inviting! Any baby (as well as his or her mama) will be blessed to receive this "one-pound jacket"! Gorgeous!

    And it is Bekah who is sick. Better today, but not well. Thank you for your prayers, dear friend!

    {{{Hugs}}}

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  20. I love beautiful dyes, especially organic ones, but I also love the look of natural fiber. In fact, I think this is my "neutral and natural" phase of life because I seem to like it everywhere.

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  21. I'm looking forward to see this jacket modeled by the little recipient. It sounds like you are having fun in the process. JB

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  22. Hi Debbie,
    This project is so RICH! I just love it. Being the touchy-feely that I am, it just makes me WISH I could feel that yarn!

    I am nurturing a knit/crochet(do you crochet?) idea and thought of your expertise and love of the Lord... would you mind emailing me so I can ask you something?
    mom24ds(at)gmail(dot)com

    Thank you!
    ~april

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