Hooray! The Jacket's FINISHED!!

Yesterday my Knit Meter said that I've knit 986 yards of yarn this year.  Today it says that I've knit 2,777 yards.  Why?  Because this morning I finally hid the last end on my adult version of Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket!

*HAPPY DANCE*  I haven't photographed it yet because frankly I don't want to look at it again today.  *LOL*

I have to admit that I was a bit horrified when I went into Ravelry to update my Projects page and found that I'd started the jacket almost a YEAR AGO.  Of course, I wasn't knitting on it steadily.  I had to stop and do my Christmas knitting, then there were various birthday and retirement items that had to be completed, not to mention a few baby gifts.

But all the same I'm glad to have it finished and to know it will be waiting in the closet when sweater weather finally arrives in my part of the world.

Next?  Christmas knitting.  I can't believe it's already time to start Christmas knitting, but it is.  So, off I go to check my stash to see what to start first.

Have a lovely weekend, my knitterly friends!

Nearly Finished!!

After almost a year of on-again, off-again knitting, my adult version of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Sweater is ALMOST FINISHED!!  The knitting is completed, and I'm now hiding the ends.  *happy dance*

I was on leave last week, so I was able to dedicate a few more hours of knitting time than usual to the sweater/jacket.  I was determined to get it finished in time to actually wear it this winter!  I also knew that I had to finish it pretty quickly because I need to get started on my Christmas knitting.

It's hard to believe how this summer has zipped past, but I must confess that I always look forward to fall.  Love those crisp mornings!

Okay, I must get off the keyboard now so I can get back to hiding ends.  Photos soon!

I Need Some Knitting Time!!

It seems that lately any time I've had away from the office has been spent recovering from time spent at the office.  :-(  I've had many more migraines lately than usual, and it's getting really tiresome!

But this is going to be a three-day weekend, and I'm hoping to get enough household drudgery out of the way tomorrow that I can spend Monday with my knitting needles.

I would really love to get some serious progress made on my sweater jacket.  All I need to do is to knit the extra length on the sleeves, sew the shoulder seams, and decide what I want to do about the collar.

I'll be glad to finish it up, and I think it's going to be really nice.  Sure hope so.

I need to get it finished so I can start my Christmas knitting.  Can you believe that it's already time to start thinking about CHRISTMAS KNITTING???  Well, when you knit as slowly as I do, you have to start early.  *LOL*

Well, I have a scrumptious Greek pizza waiting for me to indulge, then I might just kick back and watch something on Netflix and knit a few rows.  If I can stay awake.  :-)

Have a great weekend, fellow knitsters!

I'm baaaaaaaaaack....

It's been awhile since I posted (a MONTH!) because I've actually not been able to get in much knitting time lately. Which tells you a little about how MY life has been lately. :-)

The horrific computer system they forced on us at the office about a year ago is being "upgraded". Not "fixed", mind you, but "upgraded". So, there's been lots of training, a trip out of town for a few days, and many, many teleconference calls. Sheesh.

On top of that, my beloved Dell desktop computer bit the dust, taking with it a ton of things I hadn't backed up. I have a terrible tendency to become complacent about backups when my computer is working well, and this is the second time I've been caught in this situation. Luckily, while out of town on my training I made a visit to Staples (there's not one close by where I live) and bought myself a new Toshiba laptop....ON SALE!! *happy dance* So, I've been spending a lot of time getting it set up with all the little goodies I like to have on a computer. Oh....and I bought myself an external hard drive a couple of days ago. Just in case. *LOL*

Now, back to knitting, both as a topic and as recreation!! The last time I picked up my needles was EIGHT DAYS AGO. It's been that kind of a week. However, I'm going to visit my parents this afternoon and already have my knitting bag ready to take along. I'm still working on the grown-up version of Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket for myself. I doubt that I'll have it finished before the weather turns warm for good here in my corner of the world, but I'll have it ready for next fall. It's a lot of garter stitch, but it's good relaxing knitting and believe me, I could use a little relaxation right now!

I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe, looking out my living room windows at the bright sunny Saturday morning, that snow is predicted for tonight. Not a lot of snow, just a dusting, but snow all the same. February. 'Nuff said.

I've been knitting this morning because my favorite Saturday morning activity is knitting and sipping good coffee. This morning I've been working on my adult version of Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. It's a lot of garter stitch, but it's good relaxing knitting. I've made enough progress on it that I can't carry it around very easily. (I usually carry socks to knit in public.) I'm going to visit my parents this afternoon since the weather's predicted to turn semi-ugly tonight, and I plan to take my Surprise Jacket along to work on it while visiting. I'm hoping to finish it in time to wear it a few times before I have to switch to my spring wardrobe. *LOL*

And so, fellow knitsters, I wish you all a terrific weekend with lots of sticks and string!

Camping and Knitting

Last weekend I had another great camping adventure with lots of relaxing and knitting time. I finished my second pair of Dragonfly Socks (see my sock-knitting blog for photo), and knitted a bit on a Purly Lace Swiffer Cover.

Not only is the Swiffer cover a pretty simple project to work on, but I think it will make good small Christmas gifts, too. I'll let you know later how the pattern works up. I'm doing this first one in Peaches 'n Creme dishcloth cotton in the Juanita Rose colorway. It's looking pretty good so far.

I've also started a Baby Surprise Jacket. It's my first Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, and all I can say is "Thank goodness for Ravelry!" If not for their BSJ group, I'd be completely lost! Zimmerman is a knitting icon and no doubt was a genius, but her pattern writing style assumes that I know a lot more than I know. *LOL*

I didn't work much on the baby jacket while I camped; I knew that I'd probably need to consult with Ravelry and had plenty to work on with my socks and Swiffer cover anyway. I just took it along in case I got bored with my other projects. Much like my habit of carrying more than one book on a trip.

Now I've started another pair of baby socks with my leftover yarn from my Dragonfly socks. I think everyone who's learning to knit socks should start with baby socks. You can learn the basics of sock construction without getting into mind-numbing stretches of knitting the same pattern for rows and rows and rows while working your way up the leg.

Speaking of which, I'll close for now (on my lunch break) so I can knit a bit before having to get back to work. *LOL*

Weekend Outlook

I work a flex schedule in the summer, so today is my last day in the office this week. I just checked Weather.com to see what the forecast is for the next three days. Is it weird that I'm glad there's a chance of showers and thundershowers each day?

Here's why I'm glad:

1. I don't need to do any shopping this week, so I can devote Friday to cleaning, laundry, and cooking next week's meals for freezing. (I just love to come home in the evening on a work day, pull a home-cooked meal out of the freezer and pop in in the microwave.)
2. That will leave most of the next two days open for....KNITTING! *happy dance*

I just love to get in the recliner on a gray, rainy day with a big 'ol glass of iced tea (I need to make a fresh batch tonight), a good audiobook on my Zune (which is ready and waiting), and my knitting (which is ALWAYS ready and waiting).

I currently have a big stack of UFOs because I'm trying to finish up my summer sock knitting. I've finished three pairs (see my sock knitting blog for details) so far and have nearly reached the heel on a fourth pair. After I finish the current pair, I want to knit at least one more pair of summer socks before I get back to my other projects.

I've been tracking my sock knitting time for the 10kH project and am now beginning to wonder if I should change it to 10,000 hours of just KNITTING instead of 10,000 hours of sock knitting. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions. Even though getting back to my other projects will cut into my sock knitting time (and my 10,000 hour goal), it's a long-term goal anyway, so it won't really matter. Okay, decision made: leave it as 10,000 hours of knitting socks. Moving on.

I bought Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop for myself and have cast on the famed Baby Surprise Jacket as my first Zimmerman project. My first reaction on reading that pattern was "Okay. Now where can I find help with this?" *LOL* Luckily, my beloved Ravelry has an excellent BSJ Group, complete with its own Wiki. I've already joined the group and anticipate using it a LOT while knitting my first jacket.

I hope to spend some time this weekend just reading through the Knitting Workshop and absorbing the differences between EZ's style and other knitting books I've read. She's a legend, and I'm looking forward to learning more about her and her techniques.

All in all, it's shaping up to be a good weekend. Hope yours is great, too!