BSJ the second

First off, I wanted to say I've been enjoying the craft along hosted by frontier dreams, and at the flckr group KCCO flkr It is nice to see what everyone is up to, and is good encouragement to both make progress and post. And it's nice to have comments! Especially when most of my week seems to be spent trying to get one kid or the other to sleep.

Progress has been slow this week. Inspiration and thoughts plentiful. I've been trying to go to sleep with the kids or as close to it as I can manage what with having to have the kitchen in some form of order before bed (I can't sleep if my kitchen is below some self-determined low standard of clean), so I have lost the usual hour or so to knit in bed and unwind. Also spring seems to have arrived a little early, and I have been playing outside and having picnics ( and realizing if I want to put a garden in this year, I'd better get a move on it!) But I still got through the decreases.

The yarn is knitpicks Swish DK. The pattern Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket, available in many different formats from schoolhouse press. I have it in newsletter form from the reprints available in "The Opinionated Knitter" which is a very lovely book. I'm using size 5 needles and a little tighter than 5 st/ inch, though I haven't checked the gauge (it's a little tighter then the last sweater which was 5st/inch). It should fit the baby in progress when it is about 9 months, during it's first winter, or at least that is the hope. I like the swish DK for shower gifts to non knitters because it is soft, and is superwash (yet still wool) so it can be thrown in the washer (but never the dryer, oh no, never the dryer). I don't feel it wears the best of yarns, probably due to the superwashyness, so I also caution about over washing items (only if dirty,not every time it is worn, it's on outer garment), which might sound really suspect to first time, non-knitting parents. It is funny how a generation or two ago people would have just known those things, but now a lot of young people grow up ruining their wool sweaters. I was one of them until I started knitting!

The early bed time does give me time to think. I've sketch a design for a sweater for pizza. It is a fireman coat inspired sweater as per his request. Perhaps not the color scheme I was hoping to work with,but I have a sketch. Hopefully, I can share my thoughts in a week or two after I have a chance to swatch.

The aforementioned color scheme (black, yellow, and grey):

Have a good week, and we'll see what happens!