Knitting

Time to catch up on what's been knit this year. In no particular order:

This sweater was fun to knit. I finished it in September, but decided I didn't like the way the button band hung, so I ripped that off in October. It sat in a knitting bag until this week when I pulled it out and finished it again. Much improved! I am looking forward to wearing it often.

I knit a Baby Surprise Jacket for my cousin Nina's baby, Benjamin. It is an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, and is called a surprise because you can't really tell what it is when you are knitting it. Elizabeth Zimmerman was a genius at designing knitwear. The sweater is knit all in one piece and the only seams are at the top of the sleeve. I own four of EZ's books, and have just ordered a fifth. I also ordered yarn today for an Aran sweater that I plan to knit in January. One of my resolutions (more like a goal) is to read/knit my way through "Knitter's Almanac, Knitting Projects for each month of the year," and the Aran sweater is the pattern for January.

I wanted to knit something for each grandchild for Christmas and a few months ago my friend Christy posted a blog about a backpack she knit for her daughter. It was just the right thing, especially since the pattern included four variations, so I had a different backpack and finger puppet for each grandchild. No worries about lead painted imports from China!