La grenouille…
March 30th, 2008
(Which is to say–The Frog.)
That’s right–I love the Baby Surprise Jacket so much that I have unraveled the whole thing into little balls of yarn and have begun reknitting it (mostly while watching episodes of Firefly). I did this because, despite my best efforts, the decreases weren’t lining up the way they were supposed to.
It gets better. So now I’ve gotten about, I don’t know, 25 rows in…and I was doing so well that I forgot to put the cuff increases in a few rows back. Can I put them in now? I thought. Can I go ahead without them? Nope, the math won’t work out and the entire BSJ will dissolve into shapeless anarchy. Worse shapeless anarchy than it’s supposed to look like.
So now I have to unravel back and catch the stitches on the right row so that I can do the increases.
Any normal person reading this would vow never to knit a Baby Surprise Jacket, they would tear the pattern out of whatever book and set it afire and then urinate on the flames. But. I swear. The problem is that I am stupid and inattentive. The whole thing is actually quite simple, and would knit up perfectly if I would Just. Pay. Attention.
If my pills allowed me to drink without provoking liver failure, I’d be passed out on the floor by now.
15 Comments Add your own
1. Bridgett | March 30th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
At least you got to watch Firefly…
I have watched a friend unravel a baby surprise jacket before. I think urinating on flames might be a good decision for me.
2. marjorie | March 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
My sister has made several baby surprise jackets. So take heart, shortly you will have a lovely sweater where once you had little balls of yarn. I myself don’t think I’ll try it, however. I don’t have much of an attention span for anything that isn’t pretty straight forward and logical when you think it through. The BSJ is not in that category. It will be very cute when you finish it. Best of luck and be sure to show us when it’s done!
3. Susan Evenden | March 31st, 2008 at 8:18 am
I love “Firefly” my husband and I have watched the series about 10 times now.
4. Nichole D. | March 31st, 2008 at 8:58 am
I’ve never made the BSJ, but now I’m a little skeered of it. Hope yours works out okay!
At least you had something awesome to watch. I don’t know if your into this level of nerdery, but my friends and I have been playing the Serenity RPG
5. Diane | March 31st, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Love the Kermie performance and the shaking-from-laughing camera work ! It made me feel fuzzy warm. Cheers !
6. Suzanne V. (Yarnhog) | April 1st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I’ve never made a BSJ (mostly because I don’t have the pattern), but they are adorable and probably well worth the trouble.
I’m also pretty sure that urinating on the flames wouldn’t work out so well for female knitters, but you go right ahead!
7. Anne | April 1st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I have made several BSJ, so take heart it will be beautiful. For me it was a matter of giving up control and simply trusting EZ.
I can’t believe that a series as good as Firefly would get cancelled. I am very grateful for DVD rentals.
8. Karen | April 1st, 2008 at 6:45 pm
David, this has absolutely nothing to do with the BSJ…but I wanted to thank you SO MUCH for your YouTube video on the longtail cast on. I’ve been knitting for 43 years, subsisting mainly on the knit-on cast on, and haven’t found anyone else whose demo or explanation of longtail actually worked for me. Yours did. You have my humblest appreciation.
Oh, and I do love your Knitty column. I hope you’ll be back to it soon.
Karen
9. Cetta | April 1st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Firefly should bring some comfort, anyway
I haven’t attempted the BSJ yet… should I be afraid?
10. david_demchuk | April 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 am
Cetta–no, you should not be afraid. If you can knit, increase, decrease, count and follow instructions, you can make a BSJ. (This tells you a lot about me.)
Thank you, everyone, for your encouragement. And thank you, Karen, for your praise for the long tail cast-on video that I have up on YouTube. I’m delighted that people are finding it useful. I find it kind of perverse that casting on–the fundamental building block of knitting–is actually harder for most of us than the actual knitting itself! Hopefully this will get those beginners who have no one to cast on for them, as well as those who need to learn a different cast-on from what they normally use, to get over the hump.
11. Judy | April 2nd, 2008 at 10:19 am
Loved this post - I have you on RSS and check daily for new posts. As a knitter who never got beyond scarves, and a person who has lived with depression, I am in awe of your talent and your tenacity.
12. david_demchuk | April 2nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
I think it’s more the tenacity than the talent!
I have thought back over many incidents, physical and psychosocial, reaching back to childhood, and I will say that I was often stubborn, self-reliant and defiant.
I’m sure I was hell then, and I’m sure I’m hell now, but I don’t think I would have survived if I’d been any other way.
13. Dorothy | April 9th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’m glad to find your blog as I have been thinking about knitting a baby surprise jacket. Thanks for leading the way, I shall watch your progress and hopefully learn some tips.
14. Andres P. Nevarez | April 11th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
The Joys of Knitting I say
15. Carole Kenna-Nelms | April 16th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Dave, Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed reading your write up about your experiences as a male knitter. Question: If you will allow me. That SBJ that you talk about the cute little sweater that is laying on knitting that sweater? Also, if it isnt could you please point me in the right direction. My son’s friend’s g/f just had a little girl and I would so enjoy making that sweater that is picstured on your blog. It has what looks like three pink buttons and pictured under the baby in green sweater pic.
Thank you bunches.
Knittingly,
Carole in Pennsylvania
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