Pan-Am Jacket Progress

Since I have returned to cross stitching, I am not knitting quite so often.  My shoulder hurts a little less, though, so I think this returning desire to stitch may be healthy for me!

Most Saturdays, a group of friends meet at a Starbucks for knitting. There is a core group of three of us, but many times one of four other knitters join us. Most weekends, someone stops to talk to us about our craft and sometimes they, too, are knitters. A week ago, one such person asked if she could join our little group.  Of course, we said, "Yes." Fast-forwarding to Thursday afternoon...I already knew not to expect one of the core members, as she is out of town.  The second was offered some overtime at work, and would newly be unavailable, so I arrived on time and waited to see if anyone showed. It was a pleasant day to sit outside, sip coffee and knit. The new girl never showed, but I had a very nice time working away. About a half an hour before I was ready to leave, a lovely lady and fellow knitter sat down nearby and we talked until I needed to go. It was altogether a wonderful experience that I don't often enjoy.

As I was working on my Pan-Am Jacket, I finished the body, moved the stitches onto waste yarn for later, and began the first sleeve. (I don't have an extra needle in the correct size right now, or I would have used it instead.) Later on that day, we made a 40 minute drive to some relatives' house for a picnic and during that time I worked on cross stitching.  However, while we sat outside, enjoying the tree-filtered sunlight, I pulled out the jacket and knit almost half the sleeve in a relatively short time period.  I still love working the pattern and taking frequent breaks to cross stitch is helping me to stay interested in the rather simple stitch pattern that comprises the bulk of the sweater. I am looking forward to cooler days and the finished project!