Recently in Smocked Baby Jacket Category

Pattern: Smocked Baby Jacket from Debbie Bliss' Celtic Knits
Yarn: Baruffa/Lane Borgosesia Aerobic (100% merino)
Needles: US 4 and 5

I've had this project on my sidebar for at least a year now, with no progress, so I'm going to take it off the list and into the gallery. The only thing it needs are buttons, which I'm sure I'll add eventually. Just. Not now.

Cables and bobbles. I'm not a bobble fan, I've found.

Lovely smocking, my favorite part of this project. The size, made for a 2-year old, is apparently still too big for my niece. She'll be turning 3 this fall. Asian babies are *small*.

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This past Tuesday I met Cara at Wildfiber in Santa Monica. Will tell you more about it next entry, pictures included!

So I'm semi-blocking this, not fully stretching it to size (I wish Debbie Bliss would show some schematics), but just pinning the edges and spraying them down so they don't curl. Shoulders are ready for my now-favorite three-needle bind-off, and back stitches were left live for the collar. I'm thinking round mother-of-pearl buttons, although they may be too fiddly for little fingers. Perhaps more playful buttons? I'm going to toss the finished jacket in the dryer once it's all put together, though. For some reason my stitches got kind of loose (especially around the smocking) and I need to tighten them up. Almost done! I'm looking forward to the Summer of Lace now!

How about some Weight Watchers cards circa 1974?

Reading: Finished Michael Crichton's State of Fear ahead of the Salt book. It was more or less a neutral take on the environmentalism/global warming issue, and I definitely learned a lot from this book. I've read almost all his fiction, and aside from being a compelling writer he also bases things on fact. State of Fear made me more aware of the issue surrounding global warming, and I definitely recommend this. Still reading Salt, and I've been paging through Eric J. Horst's How To Climb 5.12, but that's just supplemental reading.

I was relegated to Sleeve Island... and rescued in a week! So happy to be done with the sleeves! This is the good thing about knitting for infants, because everything is smaller/shorter/cuter. The exciting bits in these here sleeves were the moss border, the decreases, the smocking, the increases, and the bind-off. Yup. You can tell I don't go out much.

Seems I haven't been keeping up wit' the blogs. Which is why Jessica's posted 78 entries! I am almost scared to click... I know she's got those WTF knitting projects and Manolo anecdotes, always funny. Okay, I *will* click!

Kris inspired me with her lists, so here's my summer knitting list:

1. Baby Socks #3, to finish the everlasting ball of Lorna's Laces
2. SIL's horribly belated Birthday Socks
3. Sock Pattern, simple design
4. Grandma's KSH Shawl, take 2. Feather and fan, I think
5. Kiri Shawl

And my summer physical fitness list:

1. Convert those 10 vacation pounds back to, um, "muscle" (run, climb, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups)

It's short, I won't bother with too many details, but we know how painful it is to lose the weight. I *really* want to fit into that swimsuit! Welcome to summer!