Away for a bit

I've been slacking on my blog, I'm afraid. June absolutely flew by -- I feel like I was always off on a trip or trying to recover throughout the whole month, with time for nothing else. The latest trip was a long weekend to visit with my sons, both of whom are working away from home this summer. I took one with me to visit his brother at his college in western PA - he'd never been out to see his brother's college. Despite the nearly continual rain and the cancelled/missed flights in both directions, it was a fun visit.

Now we're getting ready for a combined trip -- camping in western MA so we can attend the Prairie Home Companion broadcast at Tanglewood followed by the 4th of July in Rhode Island. The 4th with DH's family is a tradition that stretches back to the first year of our marriage. PHC at Tanglewood dates back that far in my sister's marriage, but has been part of our June schedule for just 3 years now. Both are not-to-be-missed events for DH and me!

I'm trying to figure out if I can fit in a side trip to Webs on the way to the campground, but haven't mentioned it to DH yet. I just got their annual Valley Yarns catalogue and I'm drooling all over it. On the other hand, my LYS has its summer sale starting tomorrow, so I could spend my money locally when I get home after the 4th. That is what I'll probably settle for :)

The trip to PA gave me lots of knitting time. I spent almost all of it working on my Bitterroot Shawl, including doing the first few of the beaded rows with a bowl made out of my sweatshirt in the Charlotte, NC airport. I'm just three rows and the bind-off from finishing, but will likely leave it at home to finish next week. I was also working on a simple cowl from some glittery yarn I picked up at Fiber Frolic, but it wasn't the most forgiving stuff to work with and broke my Knit Picks Harmony wood needle -- right where two of the layers of wood come together.

Now I need to pack and think about what I'm going to take with me for knitting on this trip. I did knit a swatch of the String Theory yarn from Fiber Frolic and washed and blocked it. I usually am pretty good about making swatches, but have never washed and blocked one before. I'll measure it this morning and decide what size needles I'll use to make the Isla cardigan. That would be good traveling knitting because it is all stockinette and I'll be able to knit without looking at my work. There is lots of good people-watching at Tanglewood and I don't want to miss anything!

I have already started my shopping list for my LYS sale. Hard to believe, but it is time to start thinking about Christmas knitting. I want to make some more of those faux-felted mittens for some people, so should stock up.

Here's a photo from our trip at the end of May to Acadia: