My first BSJ!! And I didn't even need penicillin...

I feel like I've hit some sort of extraordinary milestone in my life. It's reminiscent of the big ones: learning how to walk, learning to ride a bike, driving for the first time, or going on my first date (with a boy, cause the girls didn't count)! I completed my first Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. The BSJ as it's known in knitting circles. I remember just a few short months ago when I was reading the Men Who Knit blog that I'm a member of and saw this obscure acronym. I tried reading all of the entries to gain some sort of context of what it stood for. I couldn't just pipe in and ask! That would be like stopping to ask a gas station employee for directions! BSJ? BSJ?...Sweet Baby Jesus?...No, wrong order...Boy Scout Jumper?...wait...no...Booty Shakin' Jig?...now I was getting ridiculous! Well, unfortunately I gained no context clues in reading the comments--damn that 4th grade reading class! I had to swallow all of my male pride and post the question--"Hey guys, what's a BSJ?" Of course, they were very nice in explaining it to me and even posted a site that I could see examples. Do you know how it is when you've never heard of something for your whole life and once you do hear about it, it starts popping up everywhere? Well, suddenly I saw BSJ every waking hour. BSJ picture collages on Fickr, BSJ groups in Ravelry, BSJ instructional videos, BSJ support groups at www.whatthehelldoyoudowiththesedamnstitchmarkers.com. So, to feel like a "real knitter" I had to dive in. Let me take a second to say I love reading E.Z. She's so funny and so informative. Following her patterns makes you a better knitter because she doesn't give too many specifics which allows you to think, and allows for personalization of how YOU want to make it. If you haven't read one of her books or knitted one of her patterns, I'd highly recommend it! So here it is my 1st BSJ! Now I'm officially a REAL knitter, so there!

Not to toot my own horn, but I think E.Z. would be proud. I swear to baby Jesus that if I could squeeze my fat butt into this tiny coat I would wear it myself! It's done in Lion Brand Cotton worsted with a US5 Addi turbo circular. I did a 6 row alternating color stripe (3 ridges in garter stitch). I got the pattern of the collar from Wikipedia under...you guessed it...BSJ! What did we do before Wikipedia? It was really fun and quick to make and when you finish you end up with this very odd looking piece of fabric that almost resembles an oversized sanitary pad with wings. Then SURPRISE you grab a couple of cast off edges and fold them up to meet other cast off edges and BINGO you have a baby sweater! It's ingenious really. There happens to be some very helpful tutorials on YouTube. Like many a knitter before me, I can't wait to make another one! Great, another knitting addiction I didn't need! It was made for my best friend's new baby boy, Andrew, and I also made the Umbilical Cord Hat from Debbie Stoler's "Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook." And the pattern for the booties is called Gum drop Booties from Crochet Today Magazine. They were made in the same yarn and I was really happy with the completed set: