Apres Moi - the deluge!

Yep, it is now pouring rain in Saint Paul. It was rainy yesterday and misty this morning but now - The Rain! The Wind!

I notice this because this morning I had my last triathlon of the year, the Saint Paul Triathlon at Lake Phalen. I've never had to worry about being too cold during a race but there's always something new. Usually, the water is the coldest part but today, it was the warmest! No attractive photos to follow - poor Andy had to find a sheltered spot or he would have looked like a drowned rat.

There were several of us from the YWCA of Saint Paul participating and I can't wait to find out how they're all feeling. I didn't linger in the rain to find out any of our race times.

So, now, after a hot bath, a grilled cheese sandwich and one viewing of "84 Charing Cross Road" later , I'm ready to reveal the contents of the Saturday Seven. Gold? Jewels? Household furniture? No. Just an odd assortment of hand-me-downs: four pairs of pants from Youngest Daughter, a paperback book "accidentally" left by a friend of Middle Daughter (she had to read it before throwing it out!) and two pairs of socks from Youngest Child. Off to the fall sale at Saint John the Evangelist.



Things will hopefully settle down this week - Monday is the first day of school for my teenagers (Youngest Child goes to school after Labor Day) and I am looking forward to some decent knitting time. Now, if I could only do it on my bike trainer!

What's on my needles? The Ever Increasing Pumpkin Effect (almost done), the pink Miss Violet sock (turned the heel) and my blue Flower Basket Shawl (another repeat) as well as a line or two of Andy's Brown Sweater. Someone should just lock me in my room with just ONE project and make me finish. But not right now, it's time for a nap.

All about the free or . . . how I was attacked by a zucchini and survived!

So, my Oldest Daughter and I were out biking this morning (I'm trying to get in some mileage before Sunday's Saint Paul Triathlon) when we ran across a lawn chair in some one's front yard with a "FREE Tomatoes and Zucchini" sign. And lots of great tomatoes and squash. So, we loaded up our bike jersey pockets with tomatoes (we looked like we had some odd case of tumors) but what to do with the squash?

As we biked along, I told OD that I really should be chasing her, zucchini in hand, yelling something like, "Take it back! Take it back!"



Here's the stash, minus the zucchini. I think we ate three already.

Sister Scores Big Time!

So, Oldest Daughter was at work recently and began discussing knitting with a co-worker. This older women mentioned that she was going to be moving and needed to get rid of her spinning wheel. Well, yesterday Oldest Daughter came home with the spinning wheel, an Ashford Single Drive Traditional wheel, and a big box of spindles, accessories and dyes. All for $50 cash!



She needs to get things adjusted and spend a little time restringing the wheel but then, she's good to go. What good fortune!



And, now I don't need to share my spinning wheel!

On the knitting front - I am still finishing up the Giant Pumpkin. This is moving from a "Fave" to an "Ugh" as they call it on Ravelry.

I may not be able to grow zuchinni but I will have the Pumpkin to beat all pumpkins!

Remember this?




Now, this is what it is becoming.




But it is STILL on the needles! This better be the best pumpkin I've ever seen. Or I forsee Pumpkin Pie on the menu.

As for the Saturday Seven - it was more of the same. The last collection of clothing for the Fairfield Children's Home went with a young lady from our church. She is going to study and work in Zimbabwe this fall and is collecting items for use in the home. I can only hope the shorts and teeshirts are what they are looking for.

This weekend is the Irish Festival in Saint Paul and we had the dickens of a time finding a parking spot near our designated biking spot. Despite this, we had a great ride up and down the Missippi River. It was just gorgeous! Sometimes, I miss Pennsylvania (my home state) but there just isn't the same attention to outdoor activities there. Very few bike trails. Not a whole lot of lakes to swim in. Cross country skiing? What's that? We are very lucky here in Minnesota.

Settling in for the long haul . . .

I've been spending more time than usual in Chez Daisy knitting and spinning but really, there isn't much movement. Things are slow. The spinning is more of the blue ("Blue Skies" is the colorway) for Youngest Child's sweater. It's lovely - blue with a bit of a sheen but I'm having a bit of trouble mastering my new plying head. Good thing the yarn is for a sweater.



My poor pathetic pink sock. I didn't bother to reskein the yarn and steam out the kinks left by my last sock. Somehow, it seems ever sadder today. It's a good stop on the road to the last resort of knitting.



At least the giant pumpkin is still growing. I swore it would be done last week - I guess I'll have to give Rumplestilskin my first born child now. Or do I owe it to the witch who grows the rapunzel? Some fairy tale creature better show up and finish the pumpkin soon or I'll have to keep it in hibernation until next fall. Since I bought this yarn and patterns last year, I'm pretty sure my fall decorating will survive without it!



I've got some knitting company tonight - Die Kinder scattered as soon as we fed them ice cream (Ben & Jerry's "Steven Colbert's American Dream" Yum!) - but the Old Man and the Dog stuck around. Until the liver treats run out. Then, I'll be on my own.

What Albert said to Elizabeth

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
- Albert Einstein, (attributed)
physicist (1879 - 1955)

I don't think Elizabeth Zimmerman ever met or even thought of meeting Albert Einstein but I think they both lived by this motto.

Today's heavy rain put the kibosh on my bike ride this afternoon (I am hoping to get a swim in instead) and after the weekend cleaning and shopping, I sat down with my soon-to-be-felted pumpkin and the DVD of EZ's "The Knitting Workshop."

As she teaches, Elisabeth obviously has strong ideas about how steps should be accomplished. However, she seems more than ready to toss out what doesn't work. If the pattern repeat doesn't fit - add in a few stitches in the underarm where no one will ever see. Too small of a cast on? Fudge it by increasing on either side of the waist. No seams for ease of folding? Phony Seams!

In other words, change the facts.

I have been working through my Works-in-Progress this summer with the end goal of having some extra time to make my own EZ percentage sweater this fall. It might be made of hand spun or I might use up my generous stash of Classic Elite Inca Alpaca. I haven't decided. But I have decided to change some facts. Like the fact that I already have one sweater on the needles right now.



This was a very poor photo of Andy's Brown Sweater last year. (Don't worry if you don't remember it - it's "hibernating" as they say on Ravelry - but I actually pick it up about once a week.) I am about belly button height right now.

I also have three other sweaters in my queue. BUT, no one is anxiously waiting for those sweaters, no one is actively wondering about the pattern. But I am pondering this every day - what wool, what size, what style - so I think it's time to toss out those facts and make my own. But first, this pumpkin has to go!

Saturday Seven was a motley lot: a briefcase, some extra plastic sheeting, an old fax machine go off to Freecycle and some little children's clothing for the Fairfield Children's Home.

Back to knitting - but if the sun pops out, I might have time for a ride!

"16 ways to make a stitch and every one is right!"

I've been spending a little free time today watching "Real Men Knit", a great documentary about men and knitting. One of the best parts is a "learn to knit a hat" segment with Eugene Bourgeois from Philosopher's Wool Company. I know how to knit a hat but his gentle and entertaining segment is excellent. That quote is from him and I believe it! I actually met him a few years ago at Stitches Midwest - their circular knitting patterns are famous - but I didn't have enough money to buy a sweater kit. Regrets! Regrets!

I won the DVD at the bag stuffing party for the "goody bags" at Stitch n' Pitch 2007 with the Minnesota Twins but I encourage people to buy it. It's a bit like knitting workshop or a Knit Night Out.

I've finally had my camera handy when I'm working on my Flower Basket Shawl. I keep it nearby but do only a line or two a day so it is moving along S L O W L Y! Not that hard, however.






Alas, unblocked, on-the-needles and with-life-lines-installed make it nearly impossible to photograph. Now, back to my travelling pair of socks (Miss V's Pink Ribbon yarn) and a pumpkin to be felted.

A big crack and then . . .

For many people in Minnesota, things are forever changed because of the collapse of the I-35W bridge on Wednesday. I read some terrible stories and heard some amazing things about happened. For me, I am rarely near this part of town but I was driving around Minneapolis yesterday morning so my daughter could pick up her "I passed Driver's Ed" certificate. Just picture stop-and-go "rushing hour" city traffic - and then toss in a collapsing bridge. Wow. Please keep the families involved in your thoughts.

I did get an email today that seemed to sum things up:

1. what seems permanent in this world is not, and

2. that there is a story in creation beyond what we can see, and

3. that there are worse things than death.

Time to stop knitting those elf hats!

They were so busy that Hermione had stopped knitting elf hats and was fretting that she was down to her last three.
"All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay over during Christmas because there aren't enough hats!"
- Hermione Granger


You know how you can be both too busy and too bored at the same time? Last week I was both too busy (driving my children to lessons and tutoring) and too incredibly bored (driving children) that it was making me VERY IRRITABLE. And the last thing you need is an irritated Mom! And it was all in a good cause - I mean, who doesn't want well-educated, able-to-swim kids?

I was getting knitting done but not the quality knitting I wanted. I was getting books read (Harry Potter, of course!) but not when I wanted to. I was exercising but not enough or at times I wanted too. A very unsatisfying week in all.

So, today we just hung out. Went shopping. Antiquing. Cooked out. Played Bocce with the kids. Made a fire in the firepit. Hopefully, this will be enough to reverse the Irritation Trend.

The Saturday Seven was another unsatisfying clump of items. Yes, Youngest Child is growing and these will go to a good cause (The Fairfield Children's Home) but it was too easy. Necessary, needed, practical but, still, boring. Seven "dull but necessary for good works" items. Just call them seven elf hats.

Five for not exercising!

It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota and I should be out biking or running before it gets too hot but, instead, I am a slave to my keyboard. I am trying to sign a daughter up for volleyball camp, get my youngest child's immunization records for school, report some nasty Pay Pal phishing (I think there is a new circle in Hell for those guys!) and, now, all my spare time is used up. Definitely no cookie for me!

Those five Rockin' Girl Bloggers? Here's my take:

Annie Modesitt, the Knitting Heretic. Her take on life is very funny, she doesn't spare us the truth about illness and love and bad teaching experiences, and she is very balanced. Despite all that is going on in her life, she gives it to us straight. And, I discovered that I am a modified combination knitter, thanks to her books and classes.

Alison Hansel of The Blue Blog. Once again, she has a great take on life. Her posts about family, work and knitting resonate with me. AND I liked her Harry Potter knits even before the Charmed Knits book.

Charlaine Harris is the author of several mystery series and my only complaint about her blog is that it's too brief! She discusses what book she's been reading (a great resource - I've liked almost all of them) and what she's been up too.

Kevyn Burger, the Twin Cites based broadcaster and host of the Kevyn Burger Show on FM107.1. She has always been a favorite radio and television person of mine and her new blog, www.Kevynbaby.blogspot.com, is a funny and thoughtful glimpse into what she is looking at as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

And, finally, Marie Irshad, the podcaster from Knit Cast. She is on a (well-deserved, I'm sure but way too extended for my tastes) vacation right now but, when she's back on - SHE ROCKS!

I think these are the top five I would recommend to others but - anyone on the right side links are also great. I don't read what doesn't make me laugh (even if there is some crying as well.)

Partying with the Potters . . . and the Cars

Okay, not a band called the Potters (is there one? I think there might be one!) but the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" release party at the Red Balloon Book Shop in Saint Paul. It was the first Harry Potter party they ever had (they think all good children should be in bed by midnight!) but it was great. There was a contest based on scenes from the books acted out by a youth theatre company, prizes, confetti and Butter Beer!







Someone is very tired! You can guess who gets the first crack at the book!

Of course, I get the book this week! But after our late night, we decided to have another one in a row (Whoo Hoo!) and went to Lumberjack Days in Stillwater. After five hours, I finally got one good photo. Of sorts. The final concert was the New Cars with Todd Rundgren and it was quite good! Those Cars guitarists were great and I've always liked Todd. I even saw him in a double show with the Tubes years ago.



As for the Saturday Seven - a very boring collection of Youngest Child's clothing to be sent to the Fairfield Orphanage in Zimbabwe through our church. Good works but nothing to take a picture of.

Final projects for the weekend - I finished my baby blanket. Sleep tight, honey! The edging was tricky but I think the baby won't mind the grafting job I did.

Learning something every day

After all that stressing, I am finally cruising along with the edging. (Hmm. A long lost Nicky Epstein book?) It is easy to lose your place but very easy to find it again. I am halfway around the blanket - but will I have enough yarn? I was listening to a comment on "It's a Purl, Man" and someone there said her edging took more yarn than seemed possible.

Nothing like a knitter's guild meeting to kick start your skills. It was either that or a few episodes of "Eureka." Nice to see that other people also fuel their knitting with mindless t.v.! My husband says I have the movie tastes of a 20-yr. old boy and my current addiction to the Sci-Fi Channel proves it.

Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!

What a fun thing to happen! I am still in my happy, happy Ravelry daze (Ooh, I'm adding books to my library! Yea!) and, now, Lovely Lorraine sends me this. Thanks - I'll have to send some mental yarn your way. I am supposed to find 5 bloggers to nominate so I will have to go think on this awhile.

Knitting-wise, I am planning on taking my wierd lace edging project to the MN Knitters' Guild meeting tonight (It's a picnic - and I don't have to make the sandwiches!) so I am hoping to post some pictures tonight.

Ravelry came calling . . . and I can't say no!

I first heard about Ravelry on the Stash and Burn podcast. It sounded like the perfect place for me. According to their creators,
Ravelry is a "place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration."

In other words, it's a giant form of spreadsheet - but with photos and links to others. It's kind of like when you are searching for a yarn over the Internet and you find out how others are using it. Plus, you can find out what ELSE is on their needles. Knowledge and nosyness go hand in hand, you know!

So, when I got the email that I was invited to join the site, I dived right in. Watch the Daisy do her happy dance! It is taking quite a lot of time to load things onto the site but it is oh, so fun!

Inanimate objects make me feel guilty.

I think one of the reasons I really like the Saturday Seven concept is that unused objects make me guilty. Here I have a stack of perfectly fine school uniform skirts, a school polo, and an outgrown pair of Kermit pajama pants are going unused. I don't have any reason to keep them and they are all too good to throw away. Yet, they've been lounging about my laundry room all summer. They have no purpose any more in my family. Not allowing these objects to have a purpose makes me feel bad. Guilty, even. It shouldn't matter - it's not like they are animate, living beings - but I feel like their purpose is being denied.

In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's great book, "A Red Heart of Memories," Matt (Matilda) Black can speak with inanimate objects. She talks with cars and trash cans and walls - generally everything. Mostly, they tell her that they are happiest when they are doing what they are designed to do. Garbage cans are happy when they have trash in them. Walls like standing up. Cars like running smoothly. Now, I don't really think that these skirts will feel happier being worn by school girls - but that's what they are for and I want them to go on working. Someone needs them and I don't, so - off to the uniform exchange. The pajamas will probably go to the daughters of a friend of mine. They can fight over Kermit.




My trusty Lendrum has been making me feel guilty for another reason altogether. I pulled it out last spring to spin up some pin rovings I dyed. The roving is just too rough, however, so I left it out to use after Shepherd's Harvest in May.

Well, since then, it's been gathering dust. Just something to vacuum around. Friday, however, I found the lovely Riverwinds Farm Cormo roving I bought at Shepherd's Harvest and went searching for fiber. I dug up this gorgeous blue Corridale roving (from last year's SH, I fear) and began some spinning. Late in the day, I had a spare hour and ran over to Creative Fibers in Minneapolis where I picked up this great Oak Lichen greeen cloud roving made by the Matt Shimon's Red Star Yarn Company. It is the nicest prepared fiber. I think I was almost giddy with happiness on the way home. Sometimes, you just need to make some yarn. That roving was calling to me to be made into yarn! I am a bit puzzled about what the yarn will need to become but . . . that can wait. After all, it took amost two years for the blue yarn to "become."

It came today! Yea!!

I love it! My HKSK swap partner, Gina, sent a great package all the way from Hawaii. It was full of great stuff - Merlin the Cat superwash sock yarn, a copy of "Charmed Knits", a beautiful bag, some cool pins and yummy Hawaiian coffee. Just the stuff to keep me going. I think Ms. G. may be Mama Monkey over at Etsy.com so check her out, her bags are really lovely.



Of course, this brings me up to six new skeins of sock yarn acquired after the Lime & Violet Sock Marathon began - and only three pairs knitted so far. Yikes - good thing Minnesota weather encourages sock wearing!

Who do we love?

My husband can tell you (and so will I - but no one ever believes me) but I don't like to talk to people. He claims that I just keep him around so he can do all the talking. Today? He called the lawn care company. BUT it was a draw because I had to call the piano teacher. It's not that I am anti-social but there is only so much time left in my life and I don't want to use it up talking to strangers. Give me a couple of newspapers, knitting magazines, my knitting and an internet connection and I am A-OK. I generally rate things as "worth losing knitting time over" and talking to telemarketers, door to door people, school administrators, sales people and "chatty people who I don't know" do not make the list.

However, family and friends do make the list. And, while I am not "Hail fellow, well met" with Annie Modesitt, I have taken classes from her, read her blog and loved her patterns. Now, some of her friends have created a great We love Annie blog to help with the non-medical monetary needs that have arisen from her husband's recent diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that manifests itself in the bone marrow and is quite painful.

Visit this website and consider donating. Visit Annie's pattern website , the Red Carpet Convertible, and consider purchasing one. This is a really nice family facing some serious times and I would have no trouble talking to you about them. And that IS saying something!

As for my own shawl knitting - I am visiting the frog pond. I have only three skeins of Cascade 220 superwash and I am using Eveyln A. Clark's "Edged with Lace" pattern as a baby blanket.



The official photo is much more "shawl" like. My green blankie is going to be very warm!

I was a bit worried that I'll be short yarn for the edging so I am making the shawl a few inches shorter than the pattern called for. But, the knitting was so mindless that I went too far. Time to rip and it's the worst kind of ripping - the counting kind. I need just the right stitch numbers to start the lace edging.

Note to Andy: Don't be silly, honey. I keep you around to get the unblemished fruit from the back of the produce display.

We LOVE Travel!

Well, back in the land of internet connections - we find our faithful heroine, Daisy, resting up after her Minneman Tri on Saturday, June 30. Sad to say, but I just don't care what I look like when racing and this was the most flattering photo available. I think I am due for another bike fitting - this just doesn't look right! But the day was lovely, my run was fine and I came in 13th for my age group.

Afterwards, we loaded up the car and drove to (Beverly?) the Wisconsin Dells. Our family enjoyed fabulous weather and some great water attractions. Even a day later, I was pretty much running on memories of fumes at this point.



Then, we drove on to Pennsylvania. Now, our family ranch/farm is pretty much out in the country and comes without cable, computer connections or even a radio. (I think we know what we are getting Aunt Kim for Christmas!) But it is very relaxing and we would be sleeping in if it wasn't for those darn roosters!

We spent our Fourth of July getting ready for my brother-in-law's big race at the Mercer County Raceway. But he was rained out - too bad!



I did get to a yarn store - the Otter Creek Store in Mercer, Pa. - and bought some great Queensland Collection aran yarn. I brought along my baby blanket - almost finished, thank you! - socks and Andy's sweater. I'll have to break that out next.

And was there a Saturday Seven? I actually got ready ahead of time - I sorted out some teenagers' rooms and set up two Saturday Sevens last week.



A basket, a pair of shoes, three books and two sweaters. Off to Saint John the Evangelist and their fabulous sale! They must have excellent storage because they collect items all year 'round.

Now we are off to my parent's house in southwestern PA. See you soon!

What to take, what to leave behind

"So, do you have a lot of carry-on space in there? What about a roof rack?"

What knitting do you take on vacation?

Like a lot of knitters, I get some ideas for my knitting from podcasts. Lime and Violet - very funny and a great resource for yarns. Knitty D and the City - once again, a very funny duo and some great stash management ideas (but I wish they would podcast more often!) Stash and Burn - what won't these ladies try! And Knit Picks with Kelley Petkun - she seems to have such a logical mind.

All of the episodes I've been listening to lately involve choosing what to take along when travelling. After my triathlon on Saturday morning, we are loading up the truck and heading to - Pennsylvania. Via, the Wisconsin Dells. A long family vacation which, when broken up into smaller bites, is actually something we all are looking forward to. I am hoping to get some napping done, early on, but lots of knitting later on! So, what to bring?

I have about five projects actually on needles right now (baby blanket, red bag, Pink Ribbon socks, Andy's sweater and a beaded bag. Ooops - and a shawl and a scarf. So, about seven pieces. I am on a deadline with the baby blanket - so it's going. I'd like to bring the socks because they are little and easy to carry about. The shawl is actually almost finished - only two more repeats to go and then the edging.

The red bag - I'm not loving that linen. And, since I've missed some important deadlines, it's officially now on the Christmas list. Same with the scarf. So, those are not going. The beaded bag, it's knit with a dark red Rowan chunky yarn so that can wait until fall.

The big project is Andy's brown sweater. So big, it has its own bag. So big, I keep putting it off. I think I was at this point LAST summer. Its got to come with as well.

Four projects should be plenty - and if it isn't, I've got some yarn stores to visit!

No swimming - just a whole lot of learning!

I knew this day would come - I finally got a flat tire (the back tire - a pain to remove!) while biking this morning. So, I pulled over and stumbled through the steps I learned a few weeks ago at a MN Tri Club Flat Tire Clinic. Andy held the instructions for me and took this oh-so-flattering picture. He felt like he was getting dirty looks from other lady cyclists but I really needed to do it on my own. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way.

I was originally supposed to swim this morning but the MN Masters race day set-up would have taken my whole morning (arrive at 9 a.m., swim at 10:30 a.m.) and I didn't want to miss a ride with my honey. So, I skipped the swim and we had a great ride from the capitol, out the Gateway Trail and back on the Bruce Vento trail. We ended up at the Saint Paul Farmer's Market and I still got home in time to clean some toilets. Yea.

The Saturday Seven was an exciting six uniform shirts and a uniform fleece from my Youngest Daughter. She is going into high school next year (hard to believe!) and needs the older girls' uniforms. Off they go to the other family in our school carpool. It's odd to think we won't ever need the classic "Catholic Schoolgirl" uniforms again!

We ended up the day with a great long walk (not really a substitute for a run but fun anyway) and now its time to knit and watch the news. I am still working on the green baby blanket and the red bag. I did get the "No Sheep for You" book from the library and it has some great patterns. I am looking at a cardigan pattern using Queensland Collection Cotolino yarn but it seems like a hard to find yarn. Anyone know where to get some?



Pedaling off into the sunset . . .

Socking it to the "Girl from K.N.I.T.T.Y"

These aren't my feet - they are the ridiculously large feet (she knows I love her!) of one of my daughters - but these are my socks!

Yes, just taking a "Dr. Who" break and ignoring my family's demands for companionship got my socks finished. Now, I am back to the "Miss Violet's Pink Ribbon" socks of yesteryear. Yep - I gave up on the "Pink Ribbon" pattern and frogged it all last night. I am going for a quick and dirty ribbed sock so I can get this finished before July. The sad thing is while I've knitted about three pairs of socks since the start of the L&V Sock Marathon, I just realized that I've added about FIVE skeins of sock yarn in that time. I've never been interested in running a marathon - I just didn't realize that there would be so many distractions and roadside attractions to slow me down!

I got a great glimpse into knitting with other fibers last night at the MKG meeting with Amy Singer. Yep, the "Girl from K.N.I.T.T.Y" as she called herself! I didn't buy the book there because there was a line and they all sold out but I am definately going to check it out. Her information about other non-wool fibers was really informative and it gave me a little insight into why my "1824" yarn had so much droop.




I THINK it's just too heavy for the pattern, even though it was from an 1824 pattern book, so I am going to wash it and check out the shrinkage. If that doesn't work, I will take off the sleeves and reknit them. If it still doesn't look good, then, I might just knit it again in another cotton. Or, maybe, make a pillow out of it.

Happy Father's Day!

I never thought I would have to stoop so low for my Saturday Seven but . . . here it is. Seven pairs of little boy's size 2-4 T underwear. I could never give away men's underwear (that would be gross!) but Youngest Child outgrew these in a wink and I know someone whose boy is toilet training. Here they are - good as new.

I think my husband is just so grateful to have someone to give his tools to that this would be a perfect Father's Day card for him. In celebration of the day, we are cooking out tonight and the Girl Contingent is making cookies for dessert. That and listening to the Backstreet Boys in the kitchen. VERY LOUDLY. They are all goofballs - but they're the fruit of his loins so Husband Dear loves them all madly.

Happy Father's Day, dear! And Happy Father's Day to my own Dad who is on a trip to Scotland and Ireland and who should be on a flight from Edinburgh to Belfast right now. See you soon, Dad! Take lots of pictures!

Row that boat ashore . . .

Like many of my projects, I've put off this project to the last minute. The Minnesota Knitters' Guild is collecting hats and slippers for the Ships Project. I put off knitting my hat until absolutely the last minute. Hence, the two inches of hat on my knee! I probably will finish this tonight but . . . that depends how much ice tea I drink!

I am really looking forward to the next MKG meeting - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 19th - because Amy Singer, the editor of Knitty will be the speaker! She is going to discuss her new book, “No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo and Other Delights,” published by Interweave Press. I am not allergic to wool or animal fibers but I am not very comfortable knitting with other fibers. I am hoping to pick up a few tips on inproving my skills.

I got to meet a few other twin cities knitters last week at the Twin Cities Knitting and Crafting Moms play group. This is an offshoot of the Yahoo Groups' TCKnit Message Board. Youngest Child loved playing with the kids and I got a little of my baby blanket worked on. A very little!



After my fun-but-not-so-thrilling showing on Sunday at the Manitou Tri, I've been trying to run, bike or swim almost every day as part of the final countdown to the Lake Harriet One Mile swim on the 23rd and the Minneman Triathlon on June 29 and my knitting has really been suffering. Generally, I've been asleep ten minutes after I hit the chair.

Sunday's time? 1:54:48. That's about 20 minutes slower than last year but it was 26th for my age group. The scoop on the swim was that it was about 200 yards more than marked. I knew it seemed long! And the worst part? I finally came down with swimmer's itch. Yucky red welts. I am officially Bubonic Sally.


There was no Saturday Seven - I have a pile of stuff, but no time to sort it. We'll have to have the Sunday Seven instead.

Knit where I can, when I can

Well, I generally knit wherever I go. Participating in Saturday's World Wide Knit in Public, won't be that hard for me. I take my knitting in the car, to school meetings, the dentist, to friend's houses, the park - wherever.

On Saturday, I will take my knitting along when standing in line to pick up my pre-race packet for Sunday's Manitou Sprint Triathlon. I'll take it with me to the graduation tea at Trinity School at River Ridge (I'm the tablecloth person) and I'll take it to the library as well. That is basically my Saturday!

All I am working on is - oh, please, oh, please - finish the green sock! Yes, there is a baby blanket and, yes, there is a shawl - but I really just want to FINISH THE SOCK!

From socks to swimming . . .

Looking over my photos recently, I realized that I haven't been posting very many pictures of knitting. I've been so busy with family visits, swap sewing, the end of the school year, school events as well as ramping up my training for the first tri of the year. I'm afraid that I've been using a lot of my "Free" time for sleeping!

Today I swam a mile in White Bear Lake and then biked the 14 mile course for the Manitou Triathlon. After lunch, I did laundry, took kids to the library, got dinner together and will be leaving shortly for two back to back student evaluations. I'll finally get to sit down and knit after Youngest Child goes to bed - I have a date with "The Return of the King" and my green socks.

In the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy seeing Oldest Daughter's first completed sock.



It just killed me that she used so little of the Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn - she chose to make anklets - but she said, "That way, I'll have lots of yarn to darn with!" Can't argue with that logic! Now, she just needs to finish the next sock - she must be related to me.




Here's the swimming photo - my Tuesday Efficient Swimming class took their act on the road and hoofed it to White Bear Lake. I started off in my wetsuit but found it was much easier for me to swim without it! Maybe next spring . . .

Okay, this seemed smaller on the page . . .

When I first saw this pattern, it seemed small. In fact, I worried that it wouldn't be big enough. No problemo - my sock partner could have six or seven socks in this bag.

It started out inside out - the grey is the lining . . .



The black stripes are the sides and handles of the bag . . .



Ta Da!



As for the Saturday Seven . . .




I could joke and say it's the "Bottom of the Barrel" for me - seven pairs of pants, shorts and skirts. What's the point of having clothing that you are physically unable to wear - not now or even 20 lbs ago. They are in good shape and someone can use them. Off you go, little (very little!) pants, fly free!