BSJ#3 is Done!

Teddy and I would like to present BSJ#3!Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket
Yarn: 4 balls (360 yards, 200 g) Crystal Palace Bamboozle
Needles: US 5
I cord BO around front and bottom. Shoulder seam is crocheted slip st. EZ's decreases, YO used for increases.
Although Bamboozle is not particularly fun to knit with, very splitty, it is soft and washes up nicely into a thicker fabric. Although considered to be a WW and suggesting US8 needles, I find the 5's make a very nice firm fabric that still is drapey enough to be attractive. It's still a good point to know that Crystal Palace's Panda Cotton, is the same as Bamboozle but is much less expensive and is sold in bigger balls.

A long neglected project was resurrected after finishing up the BSJ--Diagon Alley Rainbows! I had finished the first one back in May, but I really don't like making socks with patterns in them, even though I keep trying to enjoy it. So, they got slid into the "I'm pretending they don't exist" pile. However, in honor of the new Harry Potter movie we are going to see today, I decided to bite the bullet and finish them. I made a bit of progress yesterday...finished the leg, put in the waste yarn for the afterthought heel and got about an inch done of the foot. To be perfectly honest, I may only do half the foot in pattern (it'll be covered up by my shoes, so who really cares?) so I can make them into FOs!Pattern: If You Know Where to Go
Yarn: Crystal Palace Mini Mochi
Needles: US2
Modifications: Afterthought heel so the color patterning of the yarn won't be interrupted. Interesting thing about the dyeing of the yarn, the color patterning isn't consistent throughout the skein. I assumed the same color pattern would repeat, it doesn't so even if matching socks were the desired outcome, it's not gonna happen...not that I think matching socks are a necessity!

Speaking of Harry Potter, it looks we got the Vatican's Seal of Approval!

Still BSJing

On the home stretch on the current BSJ. I'm in the midst of the I-cord cast off but am running out of yarn. Will have to run over to LYS today to pick up one more ball to finish of the I cord and do the seaming.
These are the buttons I got for the second BSJ. It's all finished up now, ready to pack away to send to the reservation in the fall!
There hasn't been much else going on around here lately. It's hot...been over a hundred for several days now. That's not so bad as long as the humidity stays low, but that's not happening much either as we're in our "monsoon" season.

However, tomorrow will be a reward in a nice air conditioned theater to go watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince!!! We had an interesting discussion last night about when the Levicorpus spell was introduced, and an argument ensued about whether a particular scene was in the movie or the book. Seeing we've all read memorized the books, sometimes it's hard for us to tell! We did decide that knowing those book details allowed us to fill in cracks and crevices in the movie storyline to make it a more complete story. The books are too big and with directors and screenplay writers feeling they have to add their two pence....well, the movies are good stories as are the books, but there just isn't enough movie for each book. Glad to know they are making Deathly Hallows into two movies. We just can't decide where episode one should end and episode two begin!

BSJ Addict

My BSJ#2 is finished, washed and blocked! I have four of the five buttons I need for it, so will take another pic once they are all purchased and sewn on. I did an I-cord bind off around the front and bottom edges. I had used a provisional crochet CO so, also did an I cord bind off around the sleeves and across the shoulders and back to seam it together at the same time. Loop I-cord button closures. Size US8 needles with bulky yarn, Aarlan Sportiwo. More pictures and information on Ravelry. And this is BSJ#3. This will be the store sample for my LYS and the class I'm going to teach shortly. There has been a lot of interest in the knitting groups so we should have a bunch of BSJ/EZ converts soon! The yarn for this one is Crystal Palace's Bamboozle, a bamboo/cotton blend. It's very soft, a bit slick, bright colors that don't fade but a bit splitty. Size US5 needles makes a nice fabric that's not too firm, but holds it's shape well. More pics and information on Ravlery.Some thoughts about our reluctance to frog....

Only three more wake ups till Harry Potter!

Oldest Grandsons

My grandsons in Hawaii! They finally got a computer and now we can exchange e-mails and pictures!
I'm on the final states of my BSJ#2, the button band. Pics tomorrow!

Friday knitting group today.

Mud Pies is Fun!

My first three attempts ever to throw pots. I did one more but didn't get a pic of it yet! It was just way too much fun!Clay comes in 50 lb boxes. I lifted one. It was heavy. I was overwhelmed to think that that is how much weight I've lost. Life is good.

Beef--it's NOT what's for dinner anymore

Food activists feel this is not enough: The only progressive piece of Food Safety reform that has occurred in the Obama era, to date, is a ban on downer cows being allowed to be slaughtered and put into the food chain. Downer cows aren't cattle with depressive disorders, BTW, they're cattle that are too ill to walk the slaughtering line. Yep, before President Obama took office, sick cows were routinely winding up on dinner plates, both here at home and abroad. I'm astounded that this reform had to be made. As I said before, who needs terrorists when we have the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Today is 7/8/9

Pots and Yarn

Knitting progresses on BSJ#2. I'm into the increases now, almost to the end of them. It's still a big sweater.... But boy, will it be snuggy warm! Should keep out those cold, cold winds on the plains of South Dakota!

Spending some time with BFF today. He's taking his car in for preventive maintenance so we'll go out for coffee and/or breakfast while the mechanic is earning his daily bread.

Tomorrow BFF and I embark on a new hobby. Well, new for me....pottery. BFF took classes several years ago and has since purchased a pottery wheel. But, with no place to fire finished products... So we are taking classes at the local Pottery Co-op. This is a brand new adventure for me. I did a bit of slab work and the infamous pinch pots in high school some, oh, 40 years ago or so, but never have used a wheel. I like clay and think this will be loads of fun. Hey, mudpies appeal to everyone at some point in their lives. They are kinda like a brand new box of Crayola Crayons and a big pile of clean, empty paper. Who can resist?

What do you think? New Dream Blog: Periods and Spaces

This is as scary as the baby Allie McBeal used to see.....

BSJ#2

I CO a second BSJ yesterday, although not from the yarn my LYS gave me. I wanted to try a couple modifications first before I decide if the LYS sample will be knitted as EZ wrote the pattern, or with modifications....At this point, I did a provisional cast on (green), and changed the decreases to K2tog, K1, K2tog. I started out with adding four sts to the CO number and put an I-cord edging on both of the selvages. However, that creates different looks on each edge, so frogged that and resorted to the provisional CO with the idea of, when it comes time to sew the seams, doing an I-cord bind off while picking up a st from the front to make an attractive seam that matches the I-cord bind off I'll be doing on the front and lower edges. It'll also allow either cuffs to be made or an I-cord bind off at the edge of the sleeves.

If you haven't made a BSJ, it's hard to explain where these edgings all end up, but the CO edge is the back of the yoke and runs along the back of the sleeves and neck. The selvages run across the top front of the sweater and match the CO edge to be seamed. The BO edge is around the bottom and up the fronts....See, it's worth making one just to see how it all folds up into a beautiful sweater! Not only is it fascinating to watch it fold up, but one has to wonder at the mind that could conceive the idea of it all....

BSJ Completed

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Miscellaneous wool light ww yarn from my stash
I-Cord Bind Off, Attached I-Cord to neck edge
Needles: US5
Size: 18 in around chest, 13 in length, about 3-6 month old
CO: July 1, BO: July 4

Pattern available at:

• The Opinionated Knitter
• Knitting Workshop
• Knitter's Magazine 14, Spring 1989
• Knitter's Magazine 56, Fall 1999
• Spun Out / Wool Gathering
• Schoolhouse Press #5, A-B-C-SJ (Adult, Baby, Child's Surprise Jacket)

This BSJ will be sent to the Cheyenne River Reservation in SD. I'll be CO another one today with Crystal Palace Bamboozle (Carib Blue, Seascape, Royal Blue, and Fern) for the sample for my LYS. With luck I'll have it done by Wednesday night.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Yarn

I spent the afternoon knitting in AC comfort at my LYS, Grandma's Spinning Wheel, in the midst of another knitting group. This one is nice and noisy, bordering on X rated and I enjoyed myself immensely. This is a pic of our fearless LYS owner, Vicky pledging her allegiance to the freedom of fiber everywhere!

I took my BSJ (pics to come) with me to work on. It surprises me how many people have never heard of it or of Elizabeth Zimmerman for that matter. Guess us nerdy web knitters are the ones sharing all the information! However, with that said, there seems to be interest in learning how to make it, so I'm going to teach a four part work shop on it in the fall. We also discussed teaching the Magic Loop method and Magic Loop socks, so those will go on the schedule, too. Could be too much fun!

If you're looking for a good movie to celebrate our freedom to be comfortable in an air conditioned theater, take the family to see "UP!" It's just way fun! You'll laugh, you'll cry, and laugh some more.

Windy knitting....very cool.

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Confession

Well, I CO my BSJ for the KAL. About four times.... I started out with some fingering weight cotton. Pretty, but I don't think there was enough. Then I tried it with some sock yarn. Pretty, plenty of left over balls of sock yarn, but I really didn't want to knit with small stuff. So then I found some light ww wool, and that was the winning combination.

I frogged one, in addition to being the wrong yarn, because I couldn't get the decreases to line up correctly (hint watch the videos for the easiest method I've come across so far). That's the four attempts. And I did one of those dumb things...read the instructions...to see EZ's suggestion on increases that make less visual impact on garter stitch. So, I'm proceeding with more confidence on this BSJ than I have with any of my previous attempts. And I'm having fun tracking down all the odd balls of wool to use in it. Cleaning up the stash! It's such a boring knit, all garter stitch and such, that without some color changes it would just be way to brain dead.

Tonight is knitting group and I'll take the BSJ along for my project.
Some quotes from Helen:

• If you’re Michael Jackson’s father now is not the time to be enjoying the limelight.
• You can’t be Pro-Life and Pro-War at the same time. If one of these dispositions has to be in your cadre, then pick one and live with the consequences.
• You can’t deny the right to marry to some and then cheat on your spouse. The right to happily marry belongs to all no mater how unhappy it makes you.
• You can’t tolerate the atrocities of one President for eight years and then assign the consequences to one who follows. From this day forward everything was Reagan’s fault.
• The Christian Right should be forced to spend a week in Iran. May the best radicals win.
• The Real Housewives should actually be housewives.

If you don't read Margaret and Helen, please add them to your Reader. Great wit and insight from a couple of very bright and quick ladies!

Starbucks has given me a reason to spend money there on more than just plain old coffee (yes, surprisingly, you can get just black coffee at Starbucks!)! "Saving customers 7 billion calories per year, equaling nearly 5 million pounds of fat by using 2% over whole milk as the standard in all beverages and setting nutrition “guardrails” for new products to be less than 500 calories."

Where's the beef....

Avoid Beef like the plague.... What's scary is recalls of life threatening foods is voluntary. The manufacturer, JBS Swift Beef Company in this case isn't legally responsible to notify the public or follow through to pull items from the freezers of stores, homes, or institutions. What's up with that! JBS Swift Beef Company refuses to release the list of where this life threatening beef was sent, and is within their legal rights to do so.... Who needs terrorists when you have food manufacturers?

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A Baby Surprise Jacket before it's folded into the jacket. More information about the BSJ. The link for the KAL is in the last post. I've received comments and e-mails asking for it, so now you know! There is a compilation of all kinds of BSJ information on Ravelry at the BSJ Wiki Page. There's a series of six videos to help with the BSJ. These are great! Make sure you have them bookmarked when you start working on your BSJ so you can refresh your memory on how to do some of the techniques as EZ wrote them. In the long run, this will help you interpret other EZ patterns.

Someone asked me where to find the pattern:

• Pattern from SchoolhousePress
• Knitting Workshop, book has the pattern
• Opinionated Knitter, book has the pattern
• The Yarnery, pattern comes with kit
• Knitter’s Magazine, Issue 56, Fall 1999, #6652 (out of print, try eBay)
• Your local yarn store

BSJ

Baby Surprise Jacket. It's one of those knitting icons from Elizabeth Zimmerman. It can be made from a solid, with planned stripes of any size, or with variegated yarn. By changing the size of the yarn and the size of the needles, the size of the jacket is decided.
Yarn / US needles / Size

Fingering / 2 or 3 /Newborn

Sport / 4 or 5 / 6 mos

DK / 6 or 7 / 9 mos

WW / 8 or 9 / about 1 year

Chunky /10 or 10.5 / Toddler

There are a couple of KALs on Ravelry: A seamless BSJ starting July 1st and a regular one starting July 4th. I plan on doing one of them. Wanna play? I made one a couple years ago, but have been itching to make another....