Surprise!

It's a baby surprise jacket!



(Shown here with ducky buttons that will eventually go on it. I tried a closeup of the button, but it came out blurry and I gave up. Trust me, though, it's cute.)
It's not intended for anyone, but I've been on a real Elizabeth Zimmerman kick lately. I wanted to do something of hers that was quick and clever, and this certainly applies.
It's made in one piece, first by decreasing, then by increasing, then a little voodoo. You're left with a bizarre planar lamina, the magically folds into a jacket and is joined by two seams.
If you don't know who Elizabeth Zimmerman is yet, go find out. I think of her as the previous generation's Yarn Harlot, only with better patterns (sorry, Stephanie, but you know it's true). The woman was a freaking genius. She's also fun to read, even the patterns. For the most part, they are more like recipes, and want you to actually think about what you're doing.

This jacket used up scraps of CottonTots I had lying around in a basket. I'm not sure how much yarn it actually took, but it wasn't too much. I regret the purple, but once I put in one strip, I had to do more, and I certainly wasn't ripping back. There's probably too much purple and pink to make this one truly unisex, but you could do it in some very manly colors too, if you're hung up on that kind of thing. (It's a strange double standard for me; I wouldn't hesitate to put a girl in blue, but a boy in pink is a bit iffy.)

In Summary:
Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket (can be found in Kniting Workshop and The Opinionated Knitter, or contact Schoolhouse Press)
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots, (100% cotton), odds and ends
Needles: Size US 7 (4.5 mm) (this is my go -to size for worsted)
Time: A few days
Cost: Nothing! (That's a good feeling! I should stash dive more often.)