Distractions

I held out until just about the last minute, but ended up signing up for a class at the annual state quilt show. The quilt show has, for many years now, been my own personal mini-vacation. It lasts three days and offers a plethora of opportunities to take classes, attend lectures, view beautiful quilts, and spend money at enticing vendor booths. And, it takes place only 21 miles from my home, so I don't have to go to the expense or bother of staying in a hotel.

In past years, I've gone a bit over the top and taken three day-long classes in three days. Last year I only did two, which gave me a full day of viewing and shopping, and that was really quite nice. When the class list came out in February, I was in the midst of planning the Knitting Boondoggle to Webs in May, and reserving my spending money for yarn, so I didn't sign up for any classes at all. As the show neared, I was trying very hard to imagine only going for one day as a viewer, but took a few minutes to look at the class list site and, of course, found a class with openings that looked like it needed me to take it.

I'm glad I did. It wasn't rocket science, but got me to dig out my sewing room a bit (including starting to organize my yarn stash which was creeping out into the center of the room)and clear off my cutting table. Spending a day sewing bits of fabric together has renewed my interest in returning to a couple of projects I haven't touched since last summer -- such as the Star Quilt for my sister.

So, I can see that I'm going to be distracted from my knitting for a while. But, the knitting can travel with me, and even though I won't be attending as many sports events as an empty-nester, there will still be some since I'm married to a teacher. And, I can knit and watch movies with DH.

Add to this that when I offered to knit something for my mother, she said she'd rather have a quilt! I didn't see that one coming. I was sure the woman who knit many a sweater for many other people would love to have something beautiful knit for her. But, truth be told, I've thought about making a quilt for her for some time, but wasn't sure she'd want one. Now I know. Now it is out in the open and I can have her input on size, color, etc.

Now to work on the problem of finishing projects!

OFF MY NEEDLES
Two Baby Surprise Sweaters are done and buttoned and ready to give as gifts at a family reunion this weekend. Hopefully they'll fit the intended recipients!





ON MY NEEDLES
I've finished the back and am more than half-way up the front of the Poonan Baby Sweater from Berroco, using Berroco's Comfort DK -- the DK weight version of the yarn I used for the Baby Surprise Sweaters. This baby is due in December and since the parents like the color red, and it will be a Christmas month baby, I'm using a lovely dark red color. Hopefully you can see the cable pattern in this photo:



I need to get back to the last section of the Swallowtail Shawl. Those "nupps" involving "knit 5 together" require concentration and being in a particular place. I can only do them on the arm of my knitting love seat (pictured below -- half the couch is mine, half belongs to the cats -- in the winter you'll often find all three of us together here, but not in the heat of summer). Maybe I'll make time for it this week.



I need to frog the Pi Shawl and get it off my needles before it sinks to the very bottom of my knitting project basket. I'll find another project for that yarn sometime, but this isn't it.

And, I'm making another Baby Surprise Sweater, using some red and cream yarn that was in the big yarn purchase my mother-in-law and I made. There's some pink too, so I'll try to spread the cream out between two sweaters and then I'll have a couple of baby sweaters "in reserve." It is such a great project to take along as it is just garter stitch, requiring only a bit of attention every other row to add or decrease a couple of stitches.

WHAT I'M READING
Not much, really. Except I'm still working my way through Eat, Pray, Love on tape. I didn't really like this book until I got at least half-way through it. Now I'm liking it enough to want to finish it. I've got an Amelia Peabody mystery waiting in the wings and am now thinking that it might be good to save for the drive to PA we'll be taking to drop Zeben off at college (13 hours drive each direction).

My sister filled this out on her blog and I enjoyed reading it. You can do it too!

A Simple Woman's Daybook Entry
FOR TODAY July 24, 2008...

Outside My Window...it is clouding over and threatening to rain (again). It has been a day of alternating showers, downpours, and sunshine. Lots of variety in today's weather. Best of all, it isn't too hot and there promises to be nice weather for the weekend.

I am thinking...about the workshop I just signed up for at the last minute at this weekend's state quilt show. I usually take a full slate of classes but didn't sign up for any this year. Just today I noticed that an interesting one had space left in it and a quick e-mail got me into it. Now I need to scurry to get all the materials together.

I am thankful for...Financial Aid! I'm about to pay our first college bills for my twin sons and am so thankful for the help they are getting with the costs.

From the kitchen...where I'll have to cook dinner tonight since it will probably be raining when I'd want to put something on the grill. I think I may run down to the farmer's market and see what I can find. Cooking for two is so much easier than for four -- as long as there are leftover for one son to have when he gets out of work at 7:30.

I am wearing...a summer dress as I just came home from work. But no stockings!

I am creating...baby sweaters at the moment. I spent my lunch hour buying buttons for two baby sweaters I'll be giving away next weekend. I have another one started for my niece's baby due in December. I've also got a lace shawl nearing completion and plans for lots of other projects.

I am going...to the Maine Quilt Show tomorrow morning!

I am reading...The Thief Lord, a children's novel that takes place in Venice -- someplace I'd love to visit. I'm also nearing the end of Eat, Pray, Love as a book on tape. The next book on tape will be an Amelia Peabody mystery -- but I may save it for the drive to western PA to drop one son off at college in a few weeks.

I am hoping...that I won't miss my sons too much when they go off to college this fall. They are ready, we are ready, but it will still be an adjustment and I've been blithely saying I'm prepared for the empty nest and hope I won't find myself crying a lot.

I am hearing...the rain -- the skies just opened up again, but it is slowing down quickly. And the rumblings of surround sound in the living room as my husband watches the end of a suspenseful movie (he's on a Denzel Washington kick this summer).

Around the house...are our two cats. We've just been encouraged by the vet to put them on a diet (especially one of them) and while they just had a bit to eat, they are pacing around hoping for more.

One of my favorite things...the patio my husband built last summer and the flower gardens we've been working on around them. I can see it from where I'm sitting, looking through the beautiful, old-fashioned screen door my father just built for us.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: the quilt show will, hopefully, inspire me to clean out my craft room so that I can actually use it. During the school year, I call it the "dump room," as everything that isn't where it is supposed to be ends up in there, somehow. Then, every summer, I clean it out and try to get organized. I'm thinking I'll have the boys' rooms to put the overflow in this year, so maybe I'll be able to use my room as intended this year. Sunday is my quilt workshop, and next Wednesday I'm taking a daylong class in Excel. Everyone seems to know how to use Excel except me at work, so I'm doing some catching up.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Doesn't she look content and comfy?

Photos at Last

My Norwegian Woods scarf made from one skein of Misti Alpaca Lace (yummy to knit with!):


And my first Baby Surprise Sweater knit in Berroco Comfort in navy and lime green:

Now I'll need to go take some more pictures!!! Many thanks to DH for talking me through this.

Suddenly Summer

The last few months have been quite a blur. I should have blogged, but really things were going too fast and furious. I was looking forward to having this computer all to myself once the boys' laptops for college arrived, but then one son, in his need to move everything from old computer to new, completely wiped out the contents of the family computer -- that is, everything except what was in his area of the computer and saved to the hard drive. My iTunes and iPhoto were completely wiped out, though I was relieved to find that most of my photos had been downloaded to my iPod, so I still have them. And Nate was able to back-fill my iTunes from my iPod, so all I had to replace were my podcast subscriptions (resulting in finding new ones -- more on that later). So, it was a few weeks before I could face the computer at all, even though it is now all mine.

I usually take a couple of weeks off in June and then start my two months off in the summer. This year, though, I had too much going on in June, including a conference in Chicago the last week of the month, and am now working two days a week in July and August. By the end of June I was completely and totally exhausted -- worn out by the events of the end of the boys' senior year, the beginning of their summer jobs, and the transition we're going through at work. I did have a 6-days off stretch at the beginning of July and on the first day, I felt like a balloon with a slow leak. DH even noticed that I got progressively limper as the day went on.

But, two days a week is manageable. I'm finally sleeping through the night, without waking up to my head spinning over something out of my control (the computer debacle was the focus of a few nights' wakefulness). I actually slept 10 1/2 hours the other night and actually felt the stirrings of energy this morning! How nice to start to feel like myself again!

I have been finding time for knitting. In May, a friend and I went on a "knitting boondoggle" to celebrate our turning 50 this past year. We signed up for a class with Cat Bordhi at Webs and spent a weekend in Northampton, MA. Well, actually, the hotel room was a few towns away as Smith College had their graduation that weekend. We drove directly to Webs on Saturday, and did some shopping at their annual tent sale which happened to be the same weekend. Then we walked into town for lunch at the restaurant that Kathy and Steve have mentioned on their Ready, Set, Knit podcast. We poked around in the shops -- what a great little town -- and bought celebratory similar woven shawls (which I have worn numerous times already). We had dinner in an Indian restaurant and saved the leftovers to bring for lunch during our class the next day.

The class was about knitting creativity and was meant to encourage us to think out of the box when approaching knitting design. I learned how to make a mobius scarf and proceeded to make one out of some ribbon yarn I didn't know what to do with but loved the colors. I also fell in love with the lace scarf/shawl that Cat was wearing and ended up purchasing the pattern -- more on that later too. During class breaks, Cathie and I did some more shopping and ended up with our big purchase of the weekend -- we invested in blocking boards. I went straight home and made a lace scarf for my mother for mother's day and blocked it on my new board.

ON MY NEEDLES
I got frustrated with my pi shawl and though I haven't done it yet, am planning to frog it. I don't know if it is the pattern, the yarn or me, but it just wasn't meant to be. But, I wasn't ready to give up on lace, so I ordered the Sivia Harding pattern for the Norwegian Woods Scarf/Shawl and it went together beautifully using one skein of Misty Alpaca Lace in blue. I even found the right size beads at Joann Fabrics. All that is left is to block it (on my new blocking board).

Since that lace project went so well, I started right in on another one. This is the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits. I've gotten through the first pattern and am in the second, which is going slowly due to the "knit 5 together" stitches every other row. But, it will be beautiful and I just need to get back to it.

I've been distracted by knitting two of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jackets. I have a cousin and the daughter of a cousin who had babies last winter that I'd like to give something to. In the past, I've been more ambitious and made baby quilts, but that isn't going to happen this time. The first sweater was an absolute puzzle as I didn't know which end was up until I'd gotten almost all the way through the pattern. It was knit on faith alone. But, even on faith, it is a quick project. The first is in green and navy blue and the second is maroon and navy blue -- both out of Berrocco Comfort. I promise that in the next week, I'll learn how to put up photos on my blog! Anyway, one is done and the other is about half-done. It is lovely garter stitch mindless knitting.

The other project I'm involved in at the moment is socks for Don, my DH. He complained that I never make anything for him, so he picked out the yarn from my stash and I got a lot of the knitting done while at the conference in Chicago. I'm knitting them at the same time, though on separate sets of double pointed needles (I didn't have a 40" needle of the right size available to do the Magic Loop) and took the time to find the same starting point in the self-striping skein so that they actually match pretty well in the stripes. I did a K3 P1 rib just to add some interest to the knitting, but other than that they are pretty straightforward, cuff-down socks.

UPCOMING PROJECTS
The main project on my list is to clean out my "sewing" room. I've spent hours in the past couple of weeks cleaning out Zeben's room. He has a summer job on campus that includes a dorm room, so he "moved out" about three weeks ago. I warned him that I was going to "shovel out" his room when he moved to campus and he was agreeable. What a mess! I won't give details, but I really did need a shovel (in the form of a dustpan). Now that it is clean, I can use his bed to put my blocking board out (maybe I'll block that Sivia Harding shawl today!) and use his room as a place to put things while I clean out and rearrange my sewing room.