Real summer has finally arrived in central Maine. The sign? We're using our fans at night now. I absolutely could not live where it was hot and humid all of the time-- the next two months will give me more than enough of that weather.
Other signs include the arrival of MIFF (the Maine International Film Festival) in Waterville. We've already used our pass twice and have plans for using up the rest of it -- we purchase and share a "partial pass" which gives 10 entrances to movies. We never have trouble finding interesting films to see -- so far we've seen our annual Bollywood film (Dabongg - probably my least favorite of all the Bollywood films I've seen) and Madame Butterfly (in technicolor). MB was beautiful and very enjoyable, even though it was in Italian with intermittent English narration, but no subtitles. Lt. Pinkerton was a cad.
In addition to MIFF movies, we've been catching ourselves back up on Harry Potter. We somehow managed to miss seeing Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows, so needed to see that before going to see Part 2. We watched that last night.
The garden is growing leaps and bounds -- we've already harvested radishes and spinach. Soon we'll have beans. Flowers are going nuts -- lots of previously empty spaces are full of blooms that are attracting butterflies and bumblebees. We've been enjoying dinner on the patio when we can.
Although the hot weather isn't entirely conducive to knitting, I've been making good progress on a number of projects. I cast off the back of Isla last night and cast on the fronts. Following my recent habit, I'm planning to knit both fronts at the same time and then both sleeves at the same time. The yarn and colors are just scrumptious, though I did just notice that my swatch, which I soaked and blocked, is actually somewhat lighter in color than the sweater. I think I'll try steam-blocking the sweater instead of soaking it when I finish it. Even faded it is a lovely color, just not as intense.
I was able to get a shawlette out of the rest of my Jewel yarn from MochasFibers. I did have to take out two four-row repeats, so it is about 2" shorter than it would have been if I'd done the whole pattern, but those two inches don't keep it from being useful as a lace scarf. I loved the yarn and hope to get some more when she dyes some colors I like -- stock is low at the moment.
I've finished the vest I bought the yarn for on a whim. Can't think of the yarn name at the moment. When I say I finished, I mean that I finished the knitting. Now I need to review how to use a crochet hook as the instructions include slip-stitching the shoulder seams and single crochet around the neckline and armholes. I have to re-learn crochet every time I need to use it.
I also finished (really finished) the Skew Socks which I've been working on for way too long. They were an interesting exercise, but not my favorite project ever. It also gave me an excuse to use some sparkly sock yarn. Who knows how much I'll actually wear them.
And, I picked up Mom's quilt last Friday morning from the machine quilter (Marcia O'Donnell in Albion - she does a great job). Yesterday I made the binding and sewed the first binding seam. Now I need to hand stitch the binding down around the other side of the quilt. A good project to pick up and work on bit by bit, though not great for hot weather as you're always sitting under a blanket. My plan, at the moment, is to have it done for her birthday, which comes after my brother's wedding. I'm thinking there may be a bit of letdown after that big event and hopefully this will cheer her up.
Speaking of quilts, the Maine Quilts show is less than 2 weeks away! I'm taking two classes (Friday and Sunday, I think) and need to start getting things together for them. One is being taught by Jo Morton, a quilting rock star, and focuses on some traditional blocks and accurate piecing. The second is by one of my favorite teachers, Leslie Volpe, who specializes in miniature quilting. She's from Maine, so I've taken a couple of classes with her over the years. Regular blog readers will know about my fascination with all things miniature (remember the mini-sweaters last winter?). Maine Quilts, in the words of one veteran, is almost always the hottest weekend of the summer -- keep your fingers crossed that the AC at the Civic Center doesn't give out like it did one year (in fact, that was the first time I took one of Leslie's classes!).
So, that's my project update for the moment. Working half-time is lovely -- a good balance of busy time at work and flexible time. I just work the afternoon today, so I need to go get some birthday stuff together this morning! My sons turn 22 on the 22nd -- maybe not so momentous as last year's 21st birthdays, but important nonetheless.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Happy Camper
Ah, summer has finally started for me. April, May, and June are mostly a blur -- too many things (all good) packed into a short time and sometimes one directly on the heels of another. It started with back-to-back conferences at the beginning of April and ended with back-to-back trips in the past two weeks. First to PA, then to camp in Western Massachusetts with my siblings (all but one) on our annual trip to hear/see Prairie Home Companion's broadcast at Tanglewood.
I've been listening to PHC since I first lived in Montana in 1983. Yep, that's a long time. And I still consciously organize my Saturday evening around the program whenever I can (it is great knitting time!). One of my sisters has been going to see the show at Tanglewood for over 10 years, but we've just been going the past three. One of my favorite parts is the sing-along that takes place after the show -- usually over an hour of old songs and an audience of geeks who can sing in parts, not to mention know all the words of songs from folk to hymns to 50's pop. I felt as if I was in the company of hundreds of really nice people.
This was our group on the lawn of Tanglewood at the show, using umbrellas for shade this year, instead of for rain:
From there, we went to RI to visit DH's family, including relatives from Georgia, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Maine. We were only missing two grandchildren, one being my son in Pennsylvania. Papa D provided us with a feast -- lobster on Sunday and a clam boil on the 4th of July. And, lots of time sitting out on the deck, knitting and chatting. My favorite observation was all of the grandchildren, and members of the older generation who had smart phones (not me, alas) spent hours playing Words With Friends together. If we'd pulled out a Scrabble board, no one would have shown any interest at all, but they literally played this game for hours. I got to participate by suggesting words -- one of the benefits of an English major is a fairly broad vocabulary.
I managed to finish the Bitterroot Shawl just before leaving for the trip (photos when I block it) and decided to try to squeeze a small size one out of the yarn that is left. I'm nearly through to the last graph with about 30 rows to go, but am not sure if I'm going to be able to complete it as patterned. I'm happy to keep knitting, though, and see how close I get. Then I'll back up and take a section out if I think that will work. I'd like to use up some of the beads, though, and can always give this as a gift as it will be more like a scarf than a shawl.
I also got a substantial amount done on the back of my Isla cardigan. The String Theory Caper Sock yarn is gorgeous and feels delicious while knitting. Everyone who saw me working on it commented on the colors (Rose Collage - I don't see it on their site at the moment) and I'm really liking the way the colors blend with no pooling. I started out by putting the decreases and increases about 1/3 of the way in from each side, but didn't like the way it looked, so ripped back and moved them 25 stitches in from each side. It looks a lot better. This was a suggestion of Amy Herzog in our Fit to Flatter class, that the fitting details may work better if they aren't just done along what becomes the side seams. I had to stop, however, because I'd left my Fit to Flatter notebook at home and couldn't remember the length measurement we'd decided was just right for me and didn't want to go too long before starting the sleeve/shoulder decreases.
I came home from RI on my own on Tuesday so I could work a couple of days this week. I've got a day at home today before I go retrieve DH from his week in Newport (which included more time with his brother from Georgia, a Red Sox game, and a bike trip around the island, visiting all of his old haunts). Most of the day will be devoted to tackling lots of the things that get neglected when we're busy. I've already updated the checkbook and paid bills. Last night's task was cleaning off the sideboards in the kitchen where a number of piles of things had accumulated. This morning I've already sorted through the stuff on the dining room table - mostly mail and bills. I need to do some work in the garden -- our peas desperately need something to climb. And, I ought to clean the refrigerator since it is fairly empty after our being away so much the past two weeks. Basically, I'll be puttering around all day -- my favorite kind of day!
So, this post started with my describing a happy camping trip, and ends with me being a happy camper. And here is my DH, who is usually a pretty happy camper himself:
I've been listening to PHC since I first lived in Montana in 1983. Yep, that's a long time. And I still consciously organize my Saturday evening around the program whenever I can (it is great knitting time!). One of my sisters has been going to see the show at Tanglewood for over 10 years, but we've just been going the past three. One of my favorite parts is the sing-along that takes place after the show -- usually over an hour of old songs and an audience of geeks who can sing in parts, not to mention know all the words of songs from folk to hymns to 50's pop. I felt as if I was in the company of hundreds of really nice people.
This was our group on the lawn of Tanglewood at the show, using umbrellas for shade this year, instead of for rain:
From there, we went to RI to visit DH's family, including relatives from Georgia, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Maine. We were only missing two grandchildren, one being my son in Pennsylvania. Papa D provided us with a feast -- lobster on Sunday and a clam boil on the 4th of July. And, lots of time sitting out on the deck, knitting and chatting. My favorite observation was all of the grandchildren, and members of the older generation who had smart phones (not me, alas) spent hours playing Words With Friends together. If we'd pulled out a Scrabble board, no one would have shown any interest at all, but they literally played this game for hours. I got to participate by suggesting words -- one of the benefits of an English major is a fairly broad vocabulary.
I managed to finish the Bitterroot Shawl just before leaving for the trip (photos when I block it) and decided to try to squeeze a small size one out of the yarn that is left. I'm nearly through to the last graph with about 30 rows to go, but am not sure if I'm going to be able to complete it as patterned. I'm happy to keep knitting, though, and see how close I get. Then I'll back up and take a section out if I think that will work. I'd like to use up some of the beads, though, and can always give this as a gift as it will be more like a scarf than a shawl.
I also got a substantial amount done on the back of my Isla cardigan. The String Theory Caper Sock yarn is gorgeous and feels delicious while knitting. Everyone who saw me working on it commented on the colors (Rose Collage - I don't see it on their site at the moment) and I'm really liking the way the colors blend with no pooling. I started out by putting the decreases and increases about 1/3 of the way in from each side, but didn't like the way it looked, so ripped back and moved them 25 stitches in from each side. It looks a lot better. This was a suggestion of Amy Herzog in our Fit to Flatter class, that the fitting details may work better if they aren't just done along what becomes the side seams. I had to stop, however, because I'd left my Fit to Flatter notebook at home and couldn't remember the length measurement we'd decided was just right for me and didn't want to go too long before starting the sleeve/shoulder decreases.
I came home from RI on my own on Tuesday so I could work a couple of days this week. I've got a day at home today before I go retrieve DH from his week in Newport (which included more time with his brother from Georgia, a Red Sox game, and a bike trip around the island, visiting all of his old haunts). Most of the day will be devoted to tackling lots of the things that get neglected when we're busy. I've already updated the checkbook and paid bills. Last night's task was cleaning off the sideboards in the kitchen where a number of piles of things had accumulated. This morning I've already sorted through the stuff on the dining room table - mostly mail and bills. I need to do some work in the garden -- our peas desperately need something to climb. And, I ought to clean the refrigerator since it is fairly empty after our being away so much the past two weeks. Basically, I'll be puttering around all day -- my favorite kind of day!
So, this post started with my describing a happy camping trip, and ends with me being a happy camper. And here is my DH, who is usually a pretty happy camper himself:
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