Finally Finished!

I should start a new series, "Finally Finished Fridays".  LOL.
These two Baby Surprise Jackets go back to last summer.  I'm not sure of the actual dates, but I made the pink/white/blue blanket in early October, and I know I was in the early stages of the brown BSJ when we went to Peter Smith's store in Toronto around Oct 9....I think I was working on the pink/white/blue one during the summer and that's why I made the blanket in early October.  Whatever, they took way too long to finish up.  It's a quick pattern that CAN be made in a week (I think that's what the group does for a KAL), and it's a great pattern for doing stripes because you're working the sleeves at the same time as the rest of the whole body, so you never get to the sleeves and run out of yarn and they don't "match".  However, when you're using up yarns, you do end up with a ton of ends to weave in.  And then buttons to BUY and sew on.  So, it all adds up.

This yarn is a very old Sear's yarn which was in the huge donation I received last year.  I still have 70gr left.  Booties?  The jacket is 154gr (with buttons, so lets round down to 150gr).  Garter stitch eats up yarn (the blanket weighed 234gr)!  There is a stockinette version of this pattern online, but you need the original pattern to understand it.  I tried sewing the buttons on using one long strand of yarn, but it appears that they loosened up after being washed, so I'm glad I washed it, but now I need to go fix that.  It will also get steamed.  I'll be putting it on my weebly site later this week (or today, we'll see how the day goes!).
Something weird happened when I made the button bands.  The pattern has you make the holes on both sides, so that you can decide after which side you want the buttons on (for those that still follow the girls on one side, boys on the other "rule"), and it helps to line the buttons up with the holes.  Well, I had just about all the buttons sewn on and then realized that they weren't lining up with the buttonholes! So I had to close up some, and judge where to put others.

 I found a bag of brown yarns, along with a small amount of camo and some odd balls of black, so I thought a boyish version would be nice--I don't do enough boy items.  This fellow weighs 188gr including buttons (so lets say 180gr).

 This sweater is a great example of why you should wash items before gifting/selling.  The yarns have been hanging around for a long time, before I even started.  Then the project was in various bags, taken many places (including beaches), etc.  When I washed it, a LOT of ends popped out!  This might freak out a new mom if she's a non-knitter!!  Also, there was some pilling and fuzziness, so I need to clean it up a bit.

Not sure if you can see how there's a variety of different brown yarns there, along with black and camo.  Fun.  It'd be nice paired with brown or black pants, or a cute, custom made pair of itty bitty camo pants!!

I also bought a ball of novelty yarn for a potential custom order, but she didn't like the price :(  I returned one ball that I bought for it (a plain, solid colour I know I can pick up alternatives if it ever goes ahead), but kept the novelty yarn cause it was on sale, and will come in handy at some point.  But can you believe I actually returned yarn?!

Yarn In:  4807gr + 85gr = 4892gr
Yarn Out:  881 + 150gr + 180gr = 1211gr
Balance:  3681 gr more brought IN than out
Costs:  $138.16+$3.38 = $141.54/63 days = $2.25/day

Got to get that "cost per day" back down!!  Of course, I am making some money now (not a lot!), so I guess it's okay for that to be a bit higher than last year.  Next post--a baby blanket!  Then a couple little infant hats!