Surprise!

I'll be darned. Oh me of little faith. How could I not have believed that this:


could turn into this:


Yes, the photos are not great, and the sweater is only folded into place, but I had to show you that EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket pattern really does work! I know that many of you believed this without my presenting the evidence, but I didn't!! In both pictures, you can see the yarn I had leftover. My jacket took just about 2 balls of Plymouth Dreambaby. I need to find some buttons for the jacket--I'm thinking little fish or possibly ducks, whichever goes best with the colors--and I have to do the sewing up and weaving in of a couple of ends. I want to watch our EZ DVDs to see her example of finishing.

I took careful notes of everything I did while making the jacket. I'm a details gal! I'll post some project specs when I get the finishing done on my jacket. This was a fun knit. I can see why it's so addictive for some people! Maybe before too long, I'll tackle an adult surprise jacket!

I have a happy lost dog story to tell you. Back during the first week of the month (on my birthday, actually), husband mentioned that someone had posted a lost dog sign in the neighborhood. The pup had been missing since February 1, and it had been COLD here. In the afternoon of February 7, we headed out to do an errand and get daughter at school. We noticed a little dog walking down the road about a mile from our house, and husband thought it might be the one that was missing. We stopped and called to her, but she was afraid of us and ran away.

We decided to turn around, return to our neighborhood, and call the number on the sign. The man who answered thought it was his dog, and he said he'd drive over to see if he could catch her. We went back up the road and parked so that we could keep an eye on her. Happily, this man was indeed the dog's owner, and he was able to catch her and take her home. A $200 reward was offered, but we refused it. It just didn't set right with either of us to make a profit for someone else's bad time. We were pleased to have been able to help reunite a loving family and their pet and never thought anything more of the reward.

Last week, I checked the mail and found a card in the box. I just assumed it was another sympathy card but couldn't guess who in our town would have sent one. What a surprise to open it up and find that it was from Jazz, the little dog we'd helped get home. There was a picture of her and the sweetest note. Also enclosed was a $50 gift card to Outback. We would have been just as happy knowing that Jazz had found her way home safe and sound, but it really was thoughtful of her and her owners to send this gift our way.