F.O. Old & F.O. New

Okay, I have two F.O.'s to share today! One is over a month old, the other I finally finished this week. First, a pair of socks:


These are socks for my BKFF Arctic Knitter. They are her birthday gift I got them to her only a month late! The yarn is Blue Moon STR lightweight in the colorway Lucky. It was one of the colorways from RSC of 2008. Arctic Knitter's favorite color is green, so this seemed perfect.
The pattern is Biological Clock from The Eclectic Sole. I liked the pattern, but I ended up knitting these socks three times. I seem to have some kind of issue that I don't understand with knitting toe-up socks with a gusset and heel flap style heel. I don't get it. I've made four or five pairs of toe-up socks where I used a short-row heels and those were fine, so, as I said, I don't get it. It is hard to correct it when you don't know what you are doing wrong. Anyway, the way I finally solved the problem (or how the third time became the charm) is that when I started the gusset I went up a needle size. Then I went back down again at the leg. That seemed to work.
Why this pattern for my BKFF? Well, that is easy. She's a Science teacher, more specifically, an Anatomy and Physiology teacher, so a pattern that features a DNA double helix seemed so perfect for her that I couldn't pass it up. I delivered them to her when we met up at the Sock Summit. It is hard to see the double helix from this photo right now, but if you click on it and make it bigger you'll be able to see it. Arctic Knitter seemed to be really pleased with them, I hope they keep her toes happy and warm this winter and for many winters to come! I'm very blessed to have her as my friend and I wanted to show her some of my appreciation for all the wonderful things she has brought to my life.

Now, the new F.O. - a Baby Surprise Jacket!
This is for Killian, my good friend Julie's new baby boy! This is actually the second BSJ I've made for Killian. I made his first one before he was born and before I knew he was a boy. That one was made with a kit I had bought from Blue Mood and used their Sock Candy yarn and a US2 needle. Killian was born weighing 9 lbs., 7 oz. - too big for the sweater I had made him! At birth! So, I bought new yarn to make a new sweater at Sock Summit. This is worsted weight yarn, it is Spuds & Chloe yarn. It is 55% Superwash Merino and 45% Organic Cotton, I've never used it before and it was really a pleasure to knit with. I chose these colors to represent the University of Notre Dame. Both of Killian's parents attended Notre Dame and continue to be big fans of Notre Dame football. Look at the buttons:
They are little footballs! I looked for shamrock buttons, for the Fighting Irish, but couldn't find any. I thought the little footballs would be perfect though. I actually got this knitted in record time - the knitting was done in two weeks - including the i-cord bind off, and this was my first time using this type of finishing. You can tell because I didn't space out the buttons very well, but it is good practice and I don't think that Killian will care. It then took me a week to get the buttons on...it's been a really rough week...but it is now done! I have washed it and it is blocking right now, I hope it will be ready to go on Sunday when I'm going to get to meet Killian for the first time!