A Surprise for the Queen and some Good Tea

The Baby Surprise Jacket is complete! The ends are woven in, it's lightly blocked (I ran out of time) and I went to my FAVORITE fabric store today and picked out some buttons. The way this pattern is written is awe-inspiring. Elizabeth Zimmerman is my hero. Here's a detail of some of the cool shaping:


And this is the back:


What makes this project so much fun is the recipient, the Queen. She is the now 1-year-old daughter of my best friend, a.k.a. my "niece", and I couldn't love her more. She is the best disco dancer I know (next to her mom) and has a great appreciation for rock hits of the 80's. She's also going to be the best cowgirl since Dale Evans. Tomorrow night is the party of the century, where half of Tennessee will celebrate her first birthday. Because babies don't necessarily appreciate the goodness and love that is hand-knits, I also bought her a toy cowgirl and horse.

The best part about knitting gifts is the meditation on the recipient. As I was knitting this jacket, I was thinking about the Queen and how much I love her, how much she has grown, how she looks so much like her dad but has her mom's spirit, and how I can't wait to be her biggest fan as she grows up. That's why I don't knit for myself so much. I also LOVE being an aunt, if you couldn't tell already.

My contribution to the party of the century is 5 gallons of Good Tea (it's a big party). Because of a small fridge and no time this week, I talked my mom into making 2 gallons for me, so I have one in the fridge, one steeping, and one to go. If you were raised in the south, you know that we have a slightly obsessive love of iced tea, and we only drink it sweet. You can get it anywhere, but it's appalling how many restaurants can butcher it - either too sickly sweet, too minty, too weak, or just plain funky tasting. Southerners also love fruit tea, and everyone has a different recipe for it - some add apple juice, others add lemonade, but the best has a little citrus blend. People always ask me why it's called Good Tea, but it's simple. You take a sip and immediately say "That's Good Tea!" I'm sippin' on it right now. If you come to my house between May and September, there's always a gallon in the fridge. I've tried it with several types of alcohol, but it's best with a shot of spiced rum. Yum. And I'm not sharing the recipe.