FOs :: BSJ and Patchwork Duvet

Finally, it is complete. The BSJ III.

In this, my third knitting of the BSJ, I got a little cocky. I loved knitting the first two but I was not quite sure that I liked the way the back increases made the body of the sweater balloon out a bit. Per EZ’s instructions, it was to accommodate those sweetly swollen little tummies babies so often sport, but I wanted a more svelte look. I decided to eliminate the back increases that she calls for in the pattern and go from there. I really should have known better than to mess with brilliance. That EZ knows what she is doing and I am not sure that I do.

Somewhere along the way the stitch count was skewed and I ended up at the last stage folding up a slightly skewed BSJ. Those of you that have done this pattern know that the magic of it comes when you fold the awkward looking handkerchief a certain clever way and TA DA! You discover a lovely little baby sweater in the folds. When I folded mine, I found a sweater with a little too much overlap and quite lacking in proper alignment. So much for the svelte look I thought a child should sport. Again, do not mess with brilliance.

It does look okay now after some finagling and the addition of a few coconut buttons.


I started this way back in January and the knitting of it came along so quickly but then the awkward hanky sat around for a long time. When it finally came time to finish it, I sat down with yarn darner and instructions from the Yarn Harlot for joining the seams at the shoulders. She only posted two photos, but those were enough to help me figure out a nice clean seam, better than my previous two. To redeem myself and my knitted alterations, I knit up another pair of the Ysolda booties.

The yarn gods are not feeling terrible benevolent towards me right now, so of course, the booties did not come together easily. I must have miscounted a few rows in one of them, when I finished the second I found two different sized booties, one noticeably smaller and unable to be gifted. And the baby shower was only an hour or so away.

I wrapped up the gift with a note and a promise to send the second bootie in the mail ASAP.



This is a shot of the wrapping paper. I love to use the big pieces of paper the boys and I paint and draw on. Reduce, reuse, recycle, right?

I highly recommend both of these patterns. Please do not be intimidated by the BSJ. The instructions look cryptic, but are easily followed and you can do it is you know how to do a knit stitch, increase and decrease and, um, count. And follow directions as written. This is not a pattern to mess with. And the booties.

Those are precious and simple and easy. My biggest challenge was counting the rows. I sense a theme developing here. I might have to invest in a row counter if I do not show immediate improvement.

Both projects used less than a skein of the Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. BSJ was on 5 or 6s and looks like it will fit better toward the 6-12 month range. And the booties were on 2s.

Next up in the queue is this little cutie. This doll has been calling my name since I opened her pattern booklet. I also happen to have the called for yarn weight in the stash. And it looks like Friday night is going to be a sit and knit night with my ladies. Cannot wait for that. Let’s hope the dolly goes a bit smoother than the booties. And I might have to cast on for her little mouse friend next. I highly recommend the pattern booklet by Ysolda. Every pattern is knitable and she is selling it for a reasonable price and you get a instant download copy and a printed booklet with adorable pictures that inspire you to knit every project.

One thing did go right, but it is in the sewing category. I posted about the patchwork duvets for the boys here. They continued to come together in the background, piece by piece, as patchwork does.


I had some grand plan to quilt the fronts or something then realized I would never ever finish them if I did that. Instead, I added some sashing and a strip of color to the backing and sewed the front and back together and had something to put on the duvet that night.

They absolutely love it. The minute it hit the bed, Owen was on it and under it and wrapped up in it. He was found reading his book on it, and later asked for it at bedtime.


There is nothing better than knowing that they know that this was made for them. And I got it done just in time to welcome the triple temps, a perfect time to be using a duvet. For now they will likely sleep on it, or more than likely we will find them on the floor or kicked to the end of the bed. But the reception they gave was more than enough to make up for my pretty pronounced dislike of patchwork. Maybe I just need to do it more often.

We will see. I have to finish the second backing and sew it up stat before Mace notices. But until then, here are a few more photos of my boy loving his covers. Heart melting.