Homework is finished.

I finished my homework for the Mitred Jacket class Sunday night. This is one arm and the cuff on the 2nd arm. All ready for the next class Tuesday night. I really should finish the arm for the Last Minute Stripes baby sweater and get that finished but tonight I'm off to get school supplies for my 9th grader.

Black out knitting

What's a person to do when the power goes out in town and there's knitting homework to be done? Borrow your son's head flashlight of course!

Deja vu?

Our house - March 1998.

Last Thursday we had several tornados go through our area of the state. It was very scary for people in our town since we had millions of dollars in damage when a tornado went through in 1998. We spent a nervous 1/2 hour in the basement bathroom with the 2 dogs as the sirens blared continuously.

Unfortunately, not everyone in our area was as lucky as we were this time. This is a slide show of pictures taken, some of which are only a couple miles from our home. We had an opportunity to drive near some of the areas this weekend and it made tears come to my eyes. The memories it brought up and the emotions I knew they were going through. I wanted to go up and hug them and let them know it would really be ok but from my experience before, I didn't believe them until later.

Our prayers and thoughts are with you. Please remember to take care of yourself to keep your body and mind strong for the trials you will face in the next 12 months.

Class was great!

Anna is our teacher - she's so much fun! There are 3 of us in the class and the other 2 couldn't make the first class so I received tons of individual attention. I finished the cuff and am making my way up the sleeve. We planned out where I wanted the black and the color and marked up the pattern book so I can remember to switch - hopefully. I'll be making the cuffs and the band around the sweater in the color. I will also make 2 stripes in the middle of the garter stitch section. I really want the color to be a fun highlight instead of the main part of the sweater. I can hardly wait to see it all come out! My homework is to finish the one sleeve and to get as much of the other sleeve done as possible.

I found these fingerless mittens I have to make - they would be great for when it's chilly at work - or for those hockey arena's that aren't cold enough for big felted mitt's but are still a little cool for my thin blood. Thanks to my KnittingParents yahoo group for sharing them with me.

Class starts tomorrow

I signed up for the Mitred Jacket class at the LYS - Tangled Skein. I'm so excited! I picked out some black (what was I thinking) Cascade for the main part of the jacket/sweater with some Malibrigo (verdeazul?) for the accents. Yummy!

Last Minute Stripes update

The Last Minute Stripes front, back and one arm are complete. I am doing the arms on DPN to avoid that seam. The directions say to wash and block the pieces before seaming so this is a shot of the front and back drying. I have one arm finished and hope to finish the other arm soon.

I've never blocked anything until it was completely done so I'm anxious to see if blocking first makes seaming easier. I sure hope so since this is sock yarn on size 1 needles! Next time I should probably pick a different colored towel to pin it to so it will show up better!

A finished sweater!

Thanks to many hours in the car driving to a hockey tournament - I have a finished object. I made it exactly to the pattern - with the exception of the i-cord ties. They just seemed too big using the doubled yarn so I did it with just one strand and like them much better. They also said to only do them 6" long but I've done them almost the length of the sweater, about 8 inches. I will definitely do this pattern again, I'm not sure if I will make it the same width however.

Diaper Bag Sweater

I finished the front of the Last Minute Stripes sweater but found I really wanted to do the arms on DPN to avoid seaming that part of the sweater. Since I didn't have any, I cast on for the Diaper Bag Sweater . What a fun and fast sweater! These are pictures of what I have after working on it for just one day. I am absolutely loving the texture!

I'm making it with some Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (color 83) I had in the stash after a failed attempt with a baby blanket pattern. It's a worsted weight so I'm doubling the yarn. I think I may get the sweater done with 3 balls.

Football already?

Would you believe DS#1 had a meeting at school tonight to get ready for football practice. It starts next Wednesday. I can't believe it - school already? Have I had enough time lounging in the sunshine yet?

DS#2 had a hockey game tonight (they won) - what has my life become when I spend a night in the beginning of August involved in hockey and football. Sheesh! :)

I've managed to get 90% of the front of the Last Minute Stripes sweater complete. I am just starting the one shoulder - hoping to finish tomorrow night. I'm thinking the sleeves should really be done on DPN so I don't have to seam up the entire arm. Much more comfy for baby arms than a big seam.

The Interweave Knits e-newsletter I received today had a link to this neat Ms. Poppins carpetbag pattern - another one for the "must do" list!

Another good weekend

We spent another great weekend at the cabin. Friday and Sunday we were "alone" but Saturday was full of fun and games courtesy of a mini-family reunion. My mom's family gets together every 2 years... this year not as many could make it so we moved it to our cabin and a fun day was had by all. The kids swam, tubed and paddled their hearts out and the adults either helped in their fun or watched them have it. I managed to sit for alittle bit Saturday and start this dishcloth - managed to finish it today while enjoying the quiet before we came home. It's ready to be washed and then into the drawer it goes to be used, used, used!

Last Minute Stripes sweater back

This is the completed back of the Last Minutes Stripes baby sweater in the 3-6 month size. It hasn't been washed or blocked yet so it took a few hands to hold it down. I have an excellent start on the front. I'm using Lana Grossa D-85080 Gaimersheim yarn that is 80% wool and 20% Polyamid (whatever that is) on size 1 needles. I'm very pleased with the size of the stripes since my fear was that they would be too narrow.

My plans for tonight were to enjoy the cloudy, COOL (82F) rainy evening on the screen porch with the front of the sweater.... well, of course one thing led to another and I'm just now able to think about it and it's way too late to even start. Maybe tomorrow?

Heat Wave!

It has been close to 100 degrees F way too many days for this Minnesotan - I'm ready for a good summer storm and some cooler temperatures! I did manage to spend Friday evening finding my flower beds under all those weeds. Saturday morning we went to the local Farmer's Market - then a Flea/Antique Show in town and then out to the lake for the weekend. It's much easier to stand the heat when you are floating in the lake with an icy lemonade. Now if only those sunnies would stop nibbling the parts hanging in the water! This is a shot at sunset from the middle of the lake. There was a nice breeze out there. I managed to complete 2 dishcloths this weekend - of course forgot to take pictures and they went home with my baby brother today. I also finished ready the copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting I got at the library this weekend. Definitely one book that will be added to my must have books list - along with the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules that I also have on loan from the library now.

I've finished the back and 5 inches of the front of my Last-Minute Stripes pullover in the 3-6 month size. It seems small to me but it's been a long time since I've held or seen a baby that size. Hopefully I'll get this version finished - and a girl version too before my newest niece or nephew arrives in November.

Bridge Jumping anyone?

On our way home from golfing on Monday, we saw 4 men about to jump off the bridge over the Snake River Canyon. We walked to where we could watch and saw each of them in turn, climb over the railing and then jump off. Luckily each of their chutes opened. The white spot in the middle of the picture is one of the person's chute's - the shadow of the bridge is also visible. Neat thing to see - no way I could do it!

Nieces - one can never have too many!

Here are two pictures of my youngest nieces. They will have a little brother or sister join them in November. These shots were taken on Sunday night when we were bowling. My brother may beat me every game in golf but I got him in bowling!

Old Faithful

Picture #1 is Old Faithful during an eruption. It lasted 2-3 minutes and was really a sight to see. This pictures looks like thousands of others I've seen but is special to me since we were actually there. Picture #2 is Mr. Buffalo who was nice enough to say goodbye to us on the way out of the Old Faithful area. Picture #3 is of me and "the boys" before the eruption. Wonderful place - would like to go again without impatient kids. :-)

Bass Lake

These pictures are some of the ones I took on Sunday when we were at the Blue Lakes Country Club's private swimming hole - Bass Lake. SIL and I took the kids and went out for an afternoon of sun and swimming while the hubby's golfed. The top picture is of my 2 sons taking my 2 nieces out in the canoe for a little tour - picture #2 is of Niece #3's very first fish she caught - and a huge one it was too! The 3rd picture is a shot of the bridge over the Snake River Canyon taken from out in a canoe at Bass Lake.

Twin Falls, Idaho

We made it to Twin Falls shortly after 7:00 pm on Friday. We drove from Cody, Wyoming, through the middle of Yellowstone. We stopped at Buffalo Bill Dam - this is the picture that Tom took with his cell phone. We then stopped at Old Faithful - and then didn't stop again until we were at Bill and Janae's house in Twin Falls. Saturday we went golfing and hung out at the pool. Today Bill and Jim golfed while Janae and I took the kids to Bass Lake. A private lake at the golf course. The water was clear and cool and we had a lot of fun. Tonight it's bowling and more vegging out together. It's nice to just hang out and not feel pressured to get tons of stuff packed in. We're really enjoying it. I'm getting my "girl fix" hanging out with my 2 and 6 year old nieces. :-)

Cody, Wyoming

We left home this morning at 6:15 am, stopped once for the bathroom, twice for gas/food and made it to our hotel in Cody, Wyoming at 9:30 pm MN time, 8:30 Wyoming time. We drove through the Big Horn Mountain Range - saw some gorgeous stuff! This is a picture we took on the way where we found a rock formation we share the same name with. Very cool - who couldn't stop the car when you see that!

Vacation Traveling!

I'm officially on vacation! Tomorrow morning at 6:00 am we begin the 22 hour trip from Minnesota to Idaho. We'll stop over in Cody, Wyoming for the night and then see Yellowstone and Old Faithful before getting to my brother Bill's house. Things are mostly packed - still need to pack some sandwiches for the trip and other food/drink. All 4 sets of golf clubs went in the trunk first. My men definitely have their priorities. :-) I shouldn't really talk since I packed my knitting first and now have to get my clothes finished. This will be our 3rd driving trip out to Bill's house, I'm anxious to see what it's like to travel when the youngest is 12. They are both getting way too grown up. The next driving trip we'll have another driver in the family! I'll update when I can - have a great weekend everyone!

Cardi-Wrap

This is another finished object thanks to a class this spring. It was my first experience with cables and with dropped stitches. I really like how it turned out although the arms are a bit snug. My next cable project will be with lighter colored yarn so the cables pop out more. Our instructor wore hers lots of different ways - one side pinned up with a pin, both sides pinned up with brooches, worn backwards with the "tails" around the front and pinned, and of course, just loose and hanging down. I'm looking forward to having it in the car and tossing it on over summer clothes when youngest son has a hockey game. Click on the pictures to see a larger version.