A Good Ribbing

I worked up the courage to pick up all those stitches around the front and neck of my handspun Featherweight. It was actually a lot easier than I thought.

There was no "pick and knit 5,948 stitches" type of directions in the pattern. It was simply "pick up 2 out of 3 for the front and everyone for the neck". Those are my kind of directions.

There are still lots of stitches on the needles and lots of ribbing to get done but the end is in sight well in view of my 2014 TdF goal. Now I only have to hope that once I bind all that ribbing off it looks right. Time will tell.

The Dreaded Deed is Done

 Wednesday Maggie went to the vets to get "it" done. She came home a pretty miserable pup.

 In fact, the vet called and said to come and get her early because she was raising such a fuss there that they were worried about her.

 She settled down at home after lots of dramatic carrying on.

 She was sent home with a cone but she went all hysterical if we tried to put it on her so I sat up all night making sure she didn't lick anything that she shouldn't.

She also can't jump or climb on things for two weeks (!) so we made a big blanket and pillow bed on the floor where I'll be spending all my time trying to keep her calm. Today she is back to being full of wiggles and I'm at my wits end with her. Already her little incision area is starting to look iffy. I can see yet another trip to the vet's in my future. Darn dog.

Even More Loose Ends

 Last week I had a major spring cleaning of both my knitting room and my sewing room. Since Christmas they had both been nothing more than storage facilities where I just parked whatever I couldn't find a place for. In that mess I discovered this old gem and actually spent a lovely afternoon working on it. It's a mosaic knitting pattern by Barbara G. Walker and it's easy and fun. Just what I needed at the moment.

It's being made out of a big stash of my late Aunt Esther's vintage cheapo yarn.

This tub is filled to the brim with every color imaginable. I've already decided that the next rows will be that lavender and dark purple.

The really crazy thing is that all of that 20 plus year old yarn is the same price as I can get it today. That's a real bargain.

The Age of Aquarius

My psychedelic crocheted shawl is finally blocked and ready to wear.

Other than starched doilies back in the 60's, I have never blocked crochet before. I had no idea where to put the pins.

I could have pulled all the chain loops and probably should have but that would have taken years and every pin on the planet.

I counted on gravity to do the job for me and it doesn't look too bad.

It certainly is a crazy looking thing but I do like it. With the right clothes and in the right situation it would be a show stopper. One of my sisters will be wearing this to next year's MDSW-if the stars align and we get actually there.

Let the Summer Begin

This Memorial Day was a special one for our little family. Number One Son's better half is now a US citizen.

 Her journey began in China, then continued to France and lucky for us, she ended up here in the Washington DC area.

To say she has made a difference in all our lives is an understatement.

This one contribution says it all for me. I can't imagine life without him.

 We celebrated the way we always do-with lots of food.

 We have vegans, vegetarians, gluten free folk and plain old omnivores to feed so it's always a feast.

The Mister and I drove home stuffed to the gills. Next time we gather to celebrate I will wear one of my tent dresses.

It was a bittersweet day because Number Two Son has taken a job in Michigan and will be leaving soon so it will be a long time until I have all three kids in the same place again.

I've never been to Michigan so this could be a chance for a big adventure. I've been trying to talk The Mister into a small RV to do some traveling with the dogs and this just might tip the argument in my favor.

Holiday DeStashing

That giant pile of apron material has been calling my name. I've been collecting holiday themed material in my quest to have one apron for each month.

What better way to spend the Memorial Day weekend than to dig into the red, white and blue.

As usual, I didn't buy quite enough to get the job done but at least I had the sense to buy more of the collection than I thought I needed.

Self Awareness

This isn't an ad for audible.com. It's just a lament over the fact that while I was packing for my trip I realized I have 3 audible credits to use up in the near future and at least 40 books yet to listen to. Try as I might I have yet to figure out why it takes me 6 months to listen to a 12 hour book. If I could figure this out I believe I would have the answer to all the mysteries of life.

Columbus: Stitching and Knitting

 I packed the wedding sampler because being locked all alone in a room for several days seemed like a good way to get serious about this thing. The only problem was that I forgot to pack my needles.

 After pouting about it for very long time, I remembered I had packed some of Daddio's paper pieces to work on and I did have some itty bitty quilting needles.

 It was a real chore to thread them but it was my punishment for being so darn stupid.

 Somehow I managed to painfully get all of the vine in the border done. My penance was served so I put it away.

With that same needle I got four blocks of Daddio's latest started.

 As for knitting, I lined up the day's work on the window ledge every morning and knit until my fingers were numb.

 This was not without drama also. I forgot to pack stitch markers and the double points I needed to close the top of the hat.

My Knit Kit came to the rescue. I've been carrying this around for years and it really came in handy. I'm adding some embroidery needles in there because you just never know.

 I am happy to say my side by side sock blank socks are off to a good start.

 The Trekking XXL sock is at the heel...

 ...and so is the second of my Elm Street socks.

Sadly that front band didn't grow very much in spite of intensive work. I am afraid that trip around Elizabeth's neck is going to take a very long time.

Columbus: Knitting, Napping and Working Out

 Daughter and I left for Columbus Sunday afternoon and arrived just before midnight.

 She was attending a US Figure Skating conference for program directors. I was tagging along.

 The only plans I had for the week was to sit and knit.

 The view from my 12th story window was nothing to write home about.

In fact, the hotel itself was not very interesting to look at but I couldn't have cared less.

 My only other plan was to stay in my pajamas as much as possible.

Thanks to Daddio and new Pup, I had months of sleep to catch up on. I took as many naps as I could fit into a day on my big comfy bed.

The whole trip would have been perfect if I hadn't caught a glimpse of myself au naturel in the big bathroom mirror. Two months of stress eating had certainly taken a toll and I was horrified and feeling guilty.

The seven hour car ride there had consisted of unbridled road food gluttony-and gasp...a real coke.

When I wasn't knitting or sleeping I was dancing and jogging around the room trying to undo some damage.

I did a lot of knit walking. It was 20 steps from the bathroom to the window and back again. I probably didn't lose a pound but I did a lot of knitting. Tomorrow I'll show you how much.