Happy Anniversary

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary. As I rise before the sun comes up (and those of you who know me well know how unusual that is) I am flooded with memories.
I remember how beautiful my sisters were that day (and you still are, ladies!) Inside, we'll always be three little giggly girls, playing with Barbie dolls and chasing cars.

I remember my brother David walked me down the aisle to give me away.

I remember that fidgety little flower girl-- the niece whose own wedding I just attended last month (and who asked MY daughter to be the flower girl at her wedding). How does time go by so fast?

And looking over these photographs that become grainier every year, I remember the man I married. So strong, so sure.

Today, I remember. Oh, yes, I remember...

Works in Progress

I had gotten so used to not being able to share the knitting process with all of the secret projects I did that now I almost forgot that I could. Come along, friends, and see what I'm working on now:

First is the Creatures of the Reef Shawl.

This is my second Loopy Ewe knitalong. The first Loopy knitalong I participated in involved a project I couldn't talk about. Where was the fun in that? That project was knit with Dream in Color Classy yarn. This knitalong is all about Dream in Color Baby, which is almost lace weight. The color is Beach Fog. I had bought the Creatures of the Reef pattern almost a year ago, but was too intimidated to try to knit such a large project that involved hundreds of stitches with tiny yarn. When the knitalong came along, I finally felt up to the challenge.

Some of it is surprisingly easier than I expected, and other parts are, well, challenging. It's exciting to see the pattern emerge from the knitting. Below is a close-up of scalloped sea shells that involved purling 13 stitches together through the back loop. It sounds a lot harder than it was.
I'm getting a real sense of accomplishment with this project, and gaining confidence in my knitting. This shawl is definitely only for at-home knitting, when I can pay full attention. But I'm having a great time with it.

Next, I'm in the middle of a 4-week series of a sock class with Judy Becker, she of the magic cast on fame. We're learning how to do two socks at a time toe up (say that ten times fast) in class. I had tried this method before on 2 circular needles and found it too fiddly to enjoy. I thought I'd give it one more try, having the chance to learn it from the master. Imagine my absolute happiness when Judy said you can do this method with the magic loop, which is my favorite way to knit socks. The heavens opened up and angels sang and rejoiced. Endless possibilities for my knitting became known.

Here are the socks that I cast on for in class. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Flamingo Stripe, sweetly gifted to Girlie by Patti from my knitting guild. This is my stopping point until the next class on Saturday. Yes, I've finished my homework early like a good student.
In fact, I'm such an over-achiever that I cast on for a second pair while teaching my mom how to do the magic cast on. This time I used Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop in the It Takes Two colorway.
I am in love. The colors, the texture of the hand spun yarn, oy vey. I think I may have found my new favorite sock yarn of all time. Granted, I haven't knit with Wollmeise yet, but until I do, my heart belongs to Sock Hop. (And yes, these socks are also knit to homework dimensions. I wasn't teacher's pet all through school for nothing.)

So now you know what is occupying my time these days. And happily so.

For all of you that remember the fun I had with Dish Rag Tag last summer (my team won 2nd place--way to go, Ladies!) I wanted to let you know that Emily will begin sign-ups next week for Dish Rag Tag 2 on Friday, August 1st. I highly recommend it. The number of participants is limited, so mark your calendars. Who knows? Maybe we could end up on the same team this year. If not, I will root for you wherever we land.

Zombie socks

I participated in Sock Madness II this year, and once again I made it only to level two before being eliminated. Who am I kidding? I don't knit for speed, but for the relaxing nature of knitting. Still, it's good to know that I'm consistent, having made the same showing as the year before. And I love a good challenge.

The result is the Zombie socks.
I used a mystery colorway of Blue Moon Socks That Rock that I obtained from their barn sale in Scappoose last November. The scattered bits of red and charred black just screamed "zombie" to me.

I have to admit to not being terribly thrilled with the socks. And I take full responsibility for that. I have seen and felt socks knit with Socks that Rock that look gorgeous and feel heavenly. The fabric has a wonderful drape and density. I think I should have knit these socks on a smaller needle size (or two). Has anyone else out there noticed that the longer they knit, the more they start needing to use smaller needles, or is it just me? I overheard a conversation in a knitting store where two ladies were discussing this phenomenon, and one said to the other, "I hope I don't end up having to knit on ought-4's". Yeah, no kidding.

Another reason I didn't particularly like the socks is the same reason why other people love them. If we all thought exactly the same way we wouldn't have much to talk about, would we? And I'm cool with that.

It's the runs in them, or what I refer to as holes. They were really fun to knit, but for me not so much to look at or wear. To me they look like I poked my fingers through them when trying to put the socks on.
There are sock patterns out there that incorporate lace in them, with the yarn overs creating a delicate design. I look forward to knitting and wearing some of those. My favorite sock patterns, though, have more texture than, well, holes.

So I put these socks in the limbo knitting basket. You know the one: it holds projects that you're not quite sure what to do with, or misbehaving yarn that you wound thinking it would be perfect for this pattern, but was not. I couldn't decide if I wanted to frog the socks and make something for myself that I would really like, because if I didn't like these, who would?

Enter my mom. She was here for a visit and happened upon the socks and gasped. I'm like, "I know, aren't they awful?" and she very reverently proclaimed them to be the most beautiful socks she had ever seen. Flippantly I asked, "Do you want them?" Another gasp. A speechless nod yes.

So the story has a happy ending after all.
My mommy loves her socks. And they couldn't be going to a nicer home.

Going to the Fair

It's that time of year again.For the second year in a row, Girlie has submitted her raspberry freezer jam to the Washington County fair. Her brothers are in awe of their multitalented big sister and just had to get right in there and see everything she was doing.
Girlie's mom also submitted raspberry freezer jam and some knitting to be judged. One is a cotton face cloth, seen blocking below in the lower right hand corner (details to follow in a later post).
The other is a pair of socks (called Gull Wing Socks) that the very talented Cindy designed. I "borrowed" this image from her blog. The yarn is Stitch Jones in the Secret Touch colorway. The socks are knit on size 0 Addi's, using the magic loop method, which is by far my preferred method of knitting socks. You can find pattern details on Cindy's blog or over on Ravelry.

We will be going to the fair this weekend to see if any of our submissions earned any ribbons. I always get a little tickle in my tummy when we walk into the exhibition booths and search for our entries. Will it have a white, red, or blue ribbon, or any at all?

I'll be sure to let you know.

Wish us luck!

More Catching Up

I'm on a roll now--two blog posts in two days. Not sure how long I can keep this up, but I'm certainly going to go with it when the inspiration strikes.

The school year ended with ZimDee graduating from kindergarten. He had a great teacher. She was also Girlie's kindergarten teacher, and I hope that Sproutie will be in her class when the time comes (that time will be here sooner than I know it!)ZimDee celebrated with a few of his closest friends.
I seriously think I'm in trouble with this boy. He is adored by all the ladies. He brought home his yearbook on the last day of school signed with curly little girl writing proclaiming "you're kyute" and "I like you-a lot". In kindergarten! I'm going to have to keep my eyes on those little girls who are after my boy. (In all fairness, he is pretty irresistable).

Two days after school got out, my beautiful niece Stephanie got married. Here she is dancing with her dad. *sigh*She was such a lovely bride.
There was not a dry eye in the house.Stephanie was the flower girl in my own wedding 16 years ago. Coming around full circle, Girlie was Stephanie's flower girl.
ZimDee was a ring bearer. I don't have pictures of him yet, but he looked so completely adorable in his little tux. When I get the pictures back, I will share.

Here is a picture of me and my sweet angel girl, growing up so fast right in front of my very eyes.
And where is Sproutie, you ask?

I think a house fell on him.
I just had to share these pictures of him sleeping in the hotel room. Doesn't it look like a scene from the Wizard of Oz? Even down to the striped leggings. All he's missing is the sparkly red shoes. Maybe Dorothy already came along and took them.
Or is it just me?

And yes, I have been knitting. Like the wind, in fact. I just got so used to not being able to talk about it with all the test knitting that now that I can share, I almost forgot how to.

Remind me to show you Girlie's dragon scarf, three scarves of my own, my tea cozies, and some wash cloths. What am I knitting right now? I finally reached into my UFO pile and started working on a sweater that I began knitting for my sister over three years ago. I still have so much to show you. Thanks for sharing it with me.

Poor little knitting blog...

Poor little knitting blog. So neglected. So patient. Why have I forsaken you?

Whether people want to admit it or not, Ravelry has taken up a huge chunk of blogging time. Something has always got to give. And Ravelry has been great for the knitting community, but what of the friends and family that actually enjoyed pictures of your babies and musings on Easter egg hunts? Sure, you can join a specific group on Ravelry and make small talk about these and other subjects, but where else can you monologue on the subject of your choosing at your leisure? Or read about what your friends are doing in detail? This is where blogging still holds its value to me. But, just like having another baby, your time can't help but be divided, as much as you'd like to be everywhere at once.

So I love Ravelry, yes I do, and I enjoy seeing a lot of you on that site. But I also miss the friends I made before the days of Ravelry, and I so appreciate you checking in on me when you notice that I haven't written a blog post in literally forever. I miss your comments when something I've written has touched you.

I make no promises or expectations beyond the fact that I will write when I can, as much as my la vida loca allows. A particular challenge for me is that you need undivided time to write a coherent sentence. After the millionth interruption because so and so is playing with MY toys, I need a drink, I need a blanket, please can I have a snack, he's playing with my toys again, well, that doesn't leave much left for you and me. Blog posts are abandoned because I just can't get into the groove again after so many stops and starts, and blog posts are not even attempted to be begun because I don't have the energy to balance exactly one hundred and fifty-one (wait--here comes number 152...and 3) things at once. But I want you to know that you all are never far from my thoughts. I hope you know that, whether I happen to write once a day or once a year.

Having said that, let's try to catch up with where we last left off. Girlie got the part of Sacagawea in the 4th grade school play. Many of you wrote your heartfelt congratulations and good luck wishes. How did she do, you all wanted to know afterwards. The answer is: fabulous. I expected nothing less. This girl was prepared. Here are some pictures from that wonderful night:(she is third from the right here):
The whole family came out to see her command performance.
Flowers and presents, and best of all, pizza and family followed the performance. I'm so very proud of you, Girlie!

Next came Easter. The Saturday before was a gorgeous, beautiful sunny day. We walked to our local park and participated in their annual festivities. This was the first year that Girlie was too old to hunt for eggs. My sweetheart was happy to help her brothers instead. Here we are at the park:If you noticed that my expression is more of an annoyed frozen smile, then you are very perceptive. The problem was not so much the average challenge of taking a good picture with three wiggly kids. I'm not a rookie. I've got that part down cold. My particular challenge is that the Count (you've got to love him--more on that later) takes forever and ever and then forever some more to actually snap a picture. It's something I've "discussed" with him ever since we had children. His delayed photo snapping finger skills are not a deal-breaker by any means, but it does get annoying every now and then when I realized that great pictures of me with my kids are going to be rare. This one up here is the best that it got. Pity.

But we went home and colored Easter eggs and waited anxiously for the next day to hide our beautiful eggs. Here are the kids and the Count in action. This most unflattering picture of the Count yawning is my passive-aggressive way of getting revenge for the yucky pictures he took earlier. I could use some therapy. I readily admit this.
If I do say so myself, I love how the eggs looked "hidden" on our deck:
Why are the eggs hidden on the deck and not in the yard? Because as beautiful as the day before was, it was blustery and rainy all day on Easter. But why am I writing about Easter in June? Because I have been trying to find the time to write about it ever since then. It was that, or nothing, and I'd rather you hear anything from me than silence.

Much has happened since Easter that I can't wait to catch you up on. Just let me catch my breath first...

What is Happening

What a busy time. I have been occupied with finishing up some soul-crushing test knitting and commission knitting work, and it's taken a lot out of me. Remember how I kept insisting that regardless of the deadlines and long hours involved that I still very much enjoyed doing it? I think it's safe to say that I'm over that now. Not that I won't ever do test knitting and sample knitting again, because I definitely will for a chosen few (you know who you are). But right now I need to take a few steps back and fall in love with knitting again. And actually knit a project that doesn't have to immediately be packed in a box and sent away. To put down my knitting when my children want to play without wondering where I'm going to find the time to make up for it. To say YES to friends and family when I'm invited to do something. To sit down and write a blog post and have actual projects to talk about and share. I put too much of my heart and soul, of myself, into my knitting to not give it to the people I love. My children want me to knit projects for them, patterns which they have chosen, and that's what I'm going to do. A sweater for myself (or even two!) may be in the works. I'm going to become a project ho again. This knitting monogamy, only working on one project at a time until it's done, is for the birds. I am so solid and reliable in other aspects in my life that I want to throw caution to the wind with my knitting. We all must have an outlet, a safe haven, and knitting remains mine.

So watch for some finished objects (Natey's socks) (hey--there's two of them) and some progress reports on a dragon scarf for my girl and plans for some fishy toys for my boys.

But for now I have to go do something very important that can't wait for another minute: my baby boy wants to play peek-a-boo. And right now he's my most important project, along with his brother and sissy.

My love to all.