Random Thoughts and an Urgent Prayer

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~I haven't forgotten about our Small Steps Together Study. Look for a post on Thursday. I'm giving a talk tomorrow and dedicated my writing time to that in recent days. Also, there has been a flurry of knitting and writing about knitting as the Knit Along casts on. I do promise you that this won't be an all-knitting, all the time blog;-).

~There is still time to join the Knit Along. Just leave a comment after any of the Knit Along posts. You have to have told us you are in to qualify for the prizes. I saw a sneak peek at the prizes and, really, you want to qualify.

~The weather is so beautiful here that I'm really glad we homeschool. We're down to the basics this time of year. We'll ramp up to a fullblown course of studies when it 95 and dripping humid.

~I sort of miss Lent. Actually, I miss the discipline of Lent. The longer I live the litrugical seasons, the more I am certain that we need to guard against feast seasons becoming a pass for gluttony (or sloth or any number of other vices). Those lenten disciplines bore great fruit. Back to that plan. Oh, and, I can do without sugar forever. Truly.

~Finally, and with all heartfelt sincerity, please pray for Elizabeth DeHority today. This is the first day of a new chemotherapy regime.

Please God, wrap her in your Grace. Comfort her; hold her; console her. Give her family the strength and grace and courage they need to face the challenges of this season. And God, let us help her to carry this cross, to remember that we are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures or wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:2)

 

Baby Surprise Jacket Knit-Along: First Ten Rows

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Baby Surprise Jacket KnitAlong

 

Good Monday Morning:-)! Are you ready to knit? Did you look at your pattern and utter some version of, "Huh? This is like no pattern I've ever before seen. I'm out of my element knitting when I can't see where the knitting is going?"

How do I even start?!

The good folks at Schoolhouse Press have graciously given us permission to post Elizabeth deHority's answers to just those questions when I posed them to her. I read her "translation" and then read the pattern and tah-dah!

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{The First Ten Rows}

Remember, if I can knit this jacket, you can knit this jacket. Without further ado, here are Elizabeth's line by line words of wisdom for the first ten rows:

This is garter stitch, so knit every row.  Don't purl back, BUT remember that you do your decreases on row one (after cast on, that's row zero) and on odd rows.  Once I get a couple of rows done, I mark the side that FACES ME ON ODD ROWS.  You'll see this below at Row Five.  That way when you put your work down, even without the pattern, you can tell where you are and where to go.
 
 
Use just the regular stitch markers that you know and love.  You will need four, but five makes things easier.
 
Cast on per the pattern, putting simple plastic stitch markers after stitch 29, 42, 118, and 131.  (row zero)
 
Row 1:  Knit to marker, move marker.  Knit five stitches.  Slip one stitch from left to right, without knitting.  Knit the next two stitches together, then PSSO:
Pick up that stitch that you slipped, which will be the second over on your right needle, with your left needle, and pop it over the first one.  (pull it over and drop it like a necklace around that K2tog.)  Here's a video, demonstrating PSSO (also called a double decrease).
Knit 5. Move marker. knit 76. Slip marker.  Knit 5.  Then do the double decrease again. Knit 5. Slip marker. Knit 29.
 
Row 2:  Knit  back.  Big breath.  That row one is always tricky :-)
 
Row 3:  Knit to marker. Move marker. Knit FOUR. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit four.  Move marker. Knit 76. Move marker. Knit FOUR. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit four.  Move marker. Knit to end.
 
Row 4:  Knit back.
 
Row 5:  Stick a safety pin or a yarn loop on the side facing you, maybe on row three or something, so that you know when the pin is facing you you're on an odd row.  Then:  Knit to marker. Move marker. Knit THREE. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit THREE.  Move marker. Knit 76. Move marker. Knit THREE. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit THREE move marker. Knit to end.
{Elizabeth Foss  (How many Elizabeths can we get in on this project anyway?) note: you don't see a marker for the right side in my pictured project because I'm switching yarn every other row. Once I finish a ridge, I switch. I know when I'm on the right side because it happens every time I switch. Of course, this only works if you are striping every ridge. Honestly, I can't even remember why I decided to stripe this much. I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason somewhere along the way.}
 
Row 6:  Knit back.
 
Row 7:  Knit to marker. Move marker. Knit TWO. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit TWO.  Move marker. Knit 76. Move marker. Knit TWO. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit TWO move marker. Knit to end.
 
You should see a diagonal line forming where you are decreasing.
 
Row 8:  Knit back.  Breathe.
 
Row 9:  Knit to marker. Move marker, knit ONE, slip one, knit two together, PSSO.  Knit ONE.  Move marker. Knit 76. Move marker. Knit ONE. Slip one. Knit two together. PSSO.  Knit ONE. Move marker. Knit to end.
 
Row 10:  Knit back.  End of day one. 
  DSC_0098
{My BSJ with bulky yarn, handspun by Elizabeth deHority. White and Pinkish purple stripes, for my tiny two-year-old to wear right around her third birthday. Actually, after Elizabeth DeHority saw these pictures, she declared the yarn too loose and sent me all new yarn. Now, I've knit using these instructions twice. New pics on Ravelry.}

Let us know how you're doing! Please leave a comment, and then leave a link as well, so we can find you. (If you don't have a blog, join anyway. You can post pictures to the Flickr group. Just take pictures as you knit along and upload them to the group so we can Ooh and Ahh.) I'm looking really forward to seeing what yarn you've chosen and what ideas you have about stripes and such.

Before We Knit

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Elizabeth DeHority has graciously offered to help us through the knitting of a classic Baby Surprise Jacket (there are 14,564 pictured here). This jacket is knit from an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern, which can be found in the The Opinionated Knitter or in the video (also available at Amazon here). If you are a new knitter, I highly recommend that the pattern you purchase is the line-by-line  ABCSJ pattern available at www.schoolhousepress.com. The link will take you to the page. You have to scroll to find the pattern. I'm sorry, but there is no direct link to the product. The line-by-line pattern is much easier to understand than EZ's original rendering.

Please let us know if you're joining us. You don't need a blog to join. You can post photos of your progress to the You can post pictures to the BSJ Knitalong Flickr group.

  Bsjlogo

 

If you do have a blog, please put a small button on your sidebar and grab a large one for your progress posts

Here, again, are button codes. I think they are copying correctly but let me know in the comments if you have problems with them:

Here are codes:

Small:

Large:

If you are still having trouble with button codes, I beg your pardon and your grace. Please leave a note in the comments and I promise to work on it.

Look for a post detailing prizes real soon. In the meantime, Elizabeth DeHority answers more of your questions below:

We've talked about what a knitter needs to know to start a BSJ... really and truly, if she can cast on and do a knit stitch, she can knit this whole sweater.  There are a few other stitches and things that we'll need, but none are hard and we'll have videos of all of them.
 
Here are two more frequent questions from email and my ravelry messages:
 
1.  Why do I need to do a swatch if I don't have to make my knitting match a certain number of stitches per inch?
 
Good question!  First of all, some people ARE trying to make a specific size sweater, and therefore need a certain number of stitches per inch,  I want my sweater to be about a size three, but shorter (for George, who has short upper arms like many people with Down Syndrome)  Therefore, I needed to be sure that my yarn and my needles worked together to give me 3.5 stitches per inch.  But even if you don't need a certain gauge, a swatch is valuable.  First of all, every knitter is different, and the size needles you need to make a nice fabric from a particular yarn might be very different than those recommended on the ball band.  And what if there IS no ball band?  Several knitters who have signed up are using handspun.  They really have to experiment to decide what needles give the best results.  Also, since your sweater will be babywear, it will get washed.  And washed.  And washed.  Even machine washable yarn changes quite a bit after that first wash.  Or what if you're trying a new yarn and you discover after washing your swatch just once that it gets all distorted or pilly?  You might not want to spend so much time and effort until you exchange your yarn for something more durable.
 
2.  I want to make stripes.  How do I do that?  How many rows until I should change colors?
There are some color-changing guidelines ("when" in the pattern conveys to "where" in the sweater) in the ABCSJ pattern.
 
You can change colors whenever you want.  I'm alternating 10 rows of my main color with 6 rows of contrasting colors, Elizabeth Foss is changing colors every two rows, Ginny and my mom are using self-striping yarn. 
 
If you're knitting only two rows with a new color, you are going to carry your yarn (both colors) up the side of your work. To keep things neat, every time you switch colors, just give the yarn a little twist with other color before knitting the first stitch.
 
If you're knitting more than two rows, it works best to cut your yarn, leaving a nice long tail to weave in later.
 
Pull about the same amount of tail from your new color.
 
Tie a loose knot close to the edge of your work, and just start knitting.  When we sew it all up and do the finishing, we will talk about weaving in ends.
 
There is one other thing to think about when you plan your colors.  If you change as you start a right side row, the rows with the odd numbers, your color change will be a solid line, like this:
 
Achange2

If you start your new color when the wrong side is facing you, when you are about to start knitting an even numbered row, your color change will look like this:
 

Achange1

 

Either way is fine.  I have made sweaters with all the changes on one side or the other, and I've made sweaters with changes on both sides.  often if I'm using a muticolored yarn, I want to make the changes on the wrong side, to mix the colors up more.  My sweater this time is all solids, and I want the stripes to be smooth, so I'm going to change only when I'm starting odd numbered, right side, rows.
 
Leave questions in the comments below and we'll answer there. That way, everyone can benefit from the answers. no doubt, there will be questions as we move along. My mom borrowed my The Opinionated Knitter book to knit her sweater, and she looked at the pattern there (which is not the all written out kind) and said, and I quote, "This should be fine, looks pretty straightforward to me"  I'd hope it would be easy for her; she's the one who taught me how to knit, and I think she's knit even more whole big fancy sweaters than I've knit plain little baby socks.  By the way, happy mother's day, mom :-)

 

Cinco de Mayo Daybook

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Outside My Window

Today is bright and beautiful, but cold. It won't hit 70 degrees today and the wind is blowing.

I am Listening to

Nicholas and Katie discussing Tangled versus Rapunzel.One thing is certain: Nicholas is sure that Tangled is not a princess movie. "It's way better than that."

I have to agree.

 

I am Wearing

Jeans, ruffled neck t-shirt, embroidered cotton cardigan.

 

I am so Grateful for

~my optician, who has been on a quest for nearly ten years to find me a pair of glasses that fit.

~glasses that fit. Worth every penny I saved to buy them.

 

I'm Pondering

 “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” Bl. John Paul II 

I am Reading

a review copy of Kate Wicker's new book. Good stuff.

 

I am Thinking

about asking some small businesses and Etsy crafters if they'd like to sponsor this blog. Let me know if the thought appeals to you.

 

I am Creating

A Baby Surprise Jacket

 

On my iPod

 a little Cinco de Mayo earworm.

 

Towards a Real Education

Nicholas has been challenged to read his way through every picture book we own--aloud, to me. We have a vast selection of historical, science, saints' and other biographies, geographical, and just plain good stories. If he meets this challenge, he will have a wide and varied (and fairly deep) knowledge base and he will have an appreciation for good art and language. Sounds like a plan.

{The extended time on the couch with mom is not to be underappreciated, either.}

 

Towards Rhythm and Beauty

We've begun a new school term and so far the rhythm is lovely. Our afternoon knitting and crafting begins in earnest when Gracie arrives around 2:45 every day. Mornings are productive and academic. Chores are getting finished. Outside time happens when the weather permits. Evenings are for soccer and dance. Lots of reading. All good.

 

To Live the Liturgy...

Playing this song over and over these days.

 

I am Hoping and Praying

for Elizabeth deHority. She is constantly on my heart and in my prayers. She needs you now. Please, please pray with me.

for the soul of Ty Lewis and for his family and for the countless soccer families who grieve his loss.

for Sarah and her family as they grieve the tragic loss of her sister-in-law.

for Mike's dad and for his mom and for his medical care.

 

 In the Garden

Snap peas and spring lettuces. Observation: we have a very small square foot garden. There's no way it can a feed a family this size. For instance, I can't begin to gather enough lettuce at one time for a dinner salad for us all. We really need a bigger garden. One at least three times this size.

Around the House

I fixed the washing machine. It's been taking ages to get through one load of laundry--seriously, four or five HOURS. I dreaded calling our very nice repairman and having him tell me that someone's pocket treasures were clogging up the works. And I dreaded even more writing him a $200 dollar check. So I googled. And I found this. We bought a set of Torx screwdrivers ($8). And I fixed the washing machine. When you subtract the $1.75 in quarters I found in the pump, the whole thing cost me $6.25. And made my whole day.

Furthermore, I learned a valuable lesson: it really does matter how well my appliances work. No matter how organized I am and how disciplined I am, if the washing machine doesn't work well, I will get behind on laundry. This principle can be applied to other things. More on that later, perhaps.

From the Kitchen

Tea without sugar. I gave it up for Lent. Now I don't want it any more. Go me.

One of My Favorite Things

the smell of the craft store

 

A Few Plans for the Week

~May Crowning at the mission church tomorrow with our girls club

~State Cup on Satruday

~Mother's Day: game in Maryland (and hour or so away),  pickup at the airport close to home, game in McLean, drop off at the airport close to home.

~ballet on Monday. and soccer

~and Tuesday

~and Wednesday....

~I'm speaking at the women's group on Ft. Belvoir Wednesday morning:-)

 

Picture thoughts:

 
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{{Comments are open. I have been terrible about responding to mail. Please forgive me? I do read every single note and I do pray for you. But, I don't always answer promptly. I'm hoping that having comments open on occasion will give me a chance to answer the more common questions for several people at once and will give you dear ladies an opportunity to talk with each other. They are moderated, so if you don't see yours at first, it means I'm busy knitting; it will appear shortly.}}