A Beautiful Bedjacket

I've been knitting -- a lot!  Between the power outage and being sick, it seems like I've had more opportunities these last few weeks.  One project I've been working on is this Bed Jacket Charlotte has been coveting for many moons.  It's one my sister Kate made a few years back and from the moment Charlotte saw it, she wanted it.  The pattern is by Joan McGowan-Michael and is included in her book, Knitting Lingerie Style.  The Ravelry page with other iterations of this gorgeous piece is here and my Ravelry page project link for it is here.  I knit it out of a cotton (Cascade Yarns Luna in Red #707) and I'm really happy with the look and the drape.  It's such a sweet, comfy, old-fashioned thing to have a Bed Jacket to wear over nightgowns.  It will be warm and cozy on our cold, snowy nights here in the mountains and frankly I'm jealous.  I'd make myself one, but frankly this thing required so much seaming and so many fiddly little finishing techniques (it took about 8 hours to steam and seam all the parts together, crochet the edging and embroider over the seams) -- I think I'll pass.  If my younger daughter eventually asks for one, I guess I'll have to do it again, but otherwise I'd prefer to just admire this one and let it go at that.

Ironically, the one day I had 8 hours to spend all in one sitting was actually last Friday, April 1st -- my sister Kate's birthday.  So I think the jacket really is a tribute to Kate in its own way.

It really is quite lovely and opened up, it has quite a gorgeous "winged" look.  The entire thing is one big circle and the lacy edging is quite dramatic.

By the way, pay no attention to the swirly circle thing on the jacket in the picture above -- it doesn't exist in reality -- just some weird trick of my stupid camera and the light.  The drape of the jacket is also a real highlight -- it's heavier than you'd imagine.

Sheesh! I wish my hair looked like that :)  The overall effect is very vintage and Charlotte's quite pleased with it.  We especially like the graceful sleeves, which you can see a little better in this picture: