Oh, I was so mistaken . . .

There were far more than eight hexipuffs needed. Right now, I'm working on sets of particular colors to  finish up some sets of ten. Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of these but at least the end is in sight.

Outside of hexipuffs, I'm getting started on a Nordic Lights cowl using some lovely Ultra Alpaca.

I'm also working on some cute little items out of sock yarn leftovers for a contest at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild.

Outside of knitting, we were experimenting with a new summer drink - barley tea.

It's pretty simple - roasted barley (and roasted corn, too) steeped like tea,

and then drained and sweetened.

It doesn't have any caffeine but we can all do with less of that, right?

Until next month - Happy Spring!

Spring breaks

Well, we're finally home to Minnesota. Dirty dishes, a "not walked enough" dog and a dent in the minivan makes me think I won't be choosing the "leave the older teenagers at home" route again.

As for Pennsylvania,

Rainbow Bridge (for those Grovers in the know!)

We got lots of family visits in and, while the weather wasn't exactly warm, it was sunny. That seemed springlike enough!

I got to test some cookies for science fair project

I finished a shawl out of that free mohair (Mohair #9)

and got about a quarter of the way through Rosemary's Little Sweater.

The cute bag came from my husband's trip to New York City and KnittyCity. 

Now, back to cleaning up and getting some of the garbage out of the house. Grr. 

Saturday Seven to arrive sometime later this week . . .

Creaking along . . . or Same Old, Same Old

Well, even though my own knitting has been anything but inspirational (crocheting teddy bear arms and legs, baby sweater body, and a repeat or two on the Paws scarf) - mainly because we have all been sniffly and sore here at Chez Daisy - I thought I would direct your attention to a really great project.



Jeanette over at The Knit before Christmas, the blog of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s volunteer knitting program, Christmas at Sea, has come up with the idea of 4,000 Hats in 40 Days. Although she writes that she heard of a similar project elsewhere, her goal is to have people (herself included!) knit as part of their Lenten Discipline.

Now, I have a friend who gave up buying knitting items for Lent and I have talked to another who gave up the actual act of knitting (she'll need your prayers!) as well. I think this idea is a better one. They are collecting the 4,000 hand-knit or crocheted hats for mariners working in the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Her organization will distribute these hats as Christmas gifts, along with other items as part of the 2008 Christmas on the River Program.

So, if you are a knitter (and, with the exception of Mrs. Stephanie, you would have to be lost if you were here for any other reason), spread the word to your other knitting and crocheting friends and help SCI raise 4,000 hats.

The finished items should be sent by March 30th to:

The Seamen’s Church Institute
241 Water Street
New York, NY 10038

Attn: Jeanette DeVita

This organization, the SCI is a long-standing agency for mariners and does some amazing work. Stop by their website to see what they are accomplishing without much fanfare.

Back to the same old, same old here. With the exception of a hat on the needles, nothing new here. I've been faithfully sorting out the Saturday Sevens - so much so that I am actually ahead for a few weeks.

But, the sun is shining and the weather is promising to get warmer (10 degrees F. today) and spring is in sight.

Peeps Extensions give me nightmares.*

"Then to cheer himself up, he took out from its case on the dresser a strange little set of knitting needles which looked as though they were made of straw and began to knit. And the noise he created made Lucy want to cry and laugh and dance and go to sleep all at the same time."
- "The Lion, the Witch and the the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis.

Okay, okay - Mr. Tumnas didn't knit, he played a flute for Lucy but he had to know how to knit because he had a cool little scarf. Plagerism aside, I am extending the deadline for Peeps dioramas until tomorrow morning. Like many other people, I put off until tomorrow what was supposed to be done today.

Although, after my kids and I made dioramas last night (I'm not in the running for anything but my Knitting Daughters each made a Peeps creation on their own and entered the contest), we turned the Peeps into S'mores on the grill. After a snowy week here in Minnesota, warm spring evenings after a sunny day are every reason to celebrate!! I'll begin posting the entries on the Peeps Flicker page and I'll name the winner on Wednesday.

Hooray for Spring!!

*I did have nightmares about Peeps last night. Something about not knowing how to post the pictures. Silly but enough to make me wake up worried!!