Lovely Lupine and her seven little leftovers.

There is only so much I can do with alliteration but I try.

First off is a glimpse of my lovely lupine lace socks. I've had to reknit a few times because, while the pattern is easy to memorize, the non-pattern rounds are easy to lose track of. As I have numerous times! I finally bought the Lace Triangles book by Evelyn A. Clark and I think I am going to use it for some Christmas presents. Or, possibly, Mother's Day presents! Just give me time . . .



Secondly, the Seven Little Leftovers are from the closets of my teenaged daughters. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, Youngest Daughter needed some dress clothes for church and school so we went shopping today. Three stressful hours later, success at last. That means, out with the old. four tee-shirts, one pair of sports shorts, a hideous hoodie and one too-short plaid skirt. Shh, don't tell her about the skirt!

And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day'

And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

I don't have any real connection to Saint Crispin's Day, which is today, October 25, but I heard this story recently that made me pull out my copy of Henry V.

Supposedly - and really, why would they lie? - a professor at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania read the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V to inspire the college's football team before the big game. And it worked!

Just rereading that speech tears me up. The 1989 film version is excellent. Say what you may about Kenneth Branagh's real life behavior, he is one fabulous director and actor here.

I didn't do anything so interesting today but I did get to see Crazy Aunt Purl at a book signing tonight. I had a very busy day and even missed a meeting but I managed to get there just a few minutes late with GFMel. Aside from a busy-body guy in a Steelers jacket who couldn't believe we were all there to hear her read about divorce and knitting, it was a lovely crowd.



Even Miss GFM had a good time!

Oh, when hobbies collide.

I've been swimming much more strenuously with a Masters Swim group - and it is definitely making me stronger. And sore-er. Okay, more sore. Especially my wrists and ankles. Flexibility is important for an efficient swim stroke BUT - now it hurts to knit. And to blog - that typing thing really hurts! So, I'm taking a day off, reading and avoiding knitting. Swimming usually feels good so I went to practice tonight.

In the meantime, enjoy this:

Gummy Bears

You may be smooshie and taste unnatural, but you're so darn cute.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

What is funny is that I love Gummi Bears! And Swedish Fish and, my absolute favorite, Orange Slices. I like that they don't really taste like fruit, just some approximation thereof. Also, they are so sweet that I only eat a few at one time.

Photos to follow - so they say!

I'd have love to post something yesterday but No Photos make for a Dull Post. And it's not even my fault! I generally have very few problems with Blogger but yesterday's "unable to post" message drove me away from my computer.

Luckily, the sun came out yesterday for a few hours and it brought back the autumn that we know and love here in Minnesota. Unfortunately, today was the day we went to the pumpkin patch but - it was fun anyway.

Knitting-wise, I'm chugging away on my Lupine Lace socks - that means I ripped it out and started again - but I am enjoying the pattern right now. I just don't think I am a natural sock knitter. Now, Guinifer over at Halfway Down the Stairs, she's got the sock mojo. Visit her if you want to see something get done right!

I also need to buckle down and finish the "Back to School" vest. Unfortunately, after doing the right side of the vest, the instructions just say, "Reverse the directions and finish the left side." I hate that! It really slows me down. Designers, stop that silliness! You have a whole book to chart the stuff out!




My Middle Daughter had her class play this week so our schedule was really crazy. She was Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I have a hard time imagining "Miss Hair and Nails" as an amazon, but, it is the theatre! Unfortunately, she is looking a bit peevish in this photo ("Peevish in Pink"- the sequal to "Pretty in Pink!") but my photo ops were very limited. It was a well done performance - give a bunch a teenaged boys the chance to goof off in the "rude mechanicals" scenes and they always run with the ball!




The Saturday Seven is always easy when Youngest Child is growing. Jammies, sweat pants, shorts and tee shirts - off to Baby Karl.

In honor of book club - or, why I don't get that much knitting done!

I haven't quite got the hang of knitting and reading at the same time. Despite this, I recently joined a Yahoo Group for readers of S.M. Stirling. He writes long, involved sci-fi/fantasy novels that are aimed very much at men. Despite the fact that I am not a member of that group, I found this great quiz. I may be the least military minded reader of Stirling's "Alternative Histories" but at least I'll have some useful skills (knitting and spinning to clothe my family!) when the revolution comes . . .

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Wild Wisconsin Weekends - Part Deux!

Yep, once again the Monday Night Book Club took its tacos, margaritas, books and movies to the wilds of Wisconsin. Since we didn't continue setting off the smoke alarms, everything turned out fine!

I started off the festivities a little early by checking out a few of the local yarn stores featured in the Y.E.S. 2nd annual shop hop which began Friday, October 12. The theme of this year's shop hop was "Tools of the Trade" and every shop gave out a small knitting-related tool. I only managed to get to three of the seven shops - 3 Kittens Needle Arts, Zandy's and the Yarnery. I keep hearing great things about the Coldwater Collaborative but I just couldn't fit in any others before we left on the Wisconsin Book Trip.



I did buy a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Firefly to use in a pair of Christmas socks. I'm working on a pair of Evelyn A. Clark's Lupine Lace socks. Good Friend Melissa said, "Should I have stopped you?"



This weekend's Saturday Seven was pretty easy. Seven outgrown pairs of shorts, sweatpants and a teeshirt - all Youngest Child size. Or what was his size. Not quite-a-baby Karl will be getting some hand-me-downs this week! Now I have to stop and get back to reading my book club selection for the month, "Frankenstein."

My life - with music.

Blogger Puggyknits sent this video by Anita Renfroe to me and it is so true! Enjoy!



I think I've said at least three of these today - and it's only 10 a.m. I really like the line about "Your Ipod is my Ipod!"

MKG Knit Out 2007: An insider's view!

Today's Knit Out seemed to go without a hitch - tons of people, lots of teachers, a Mountain of Yarn and lots of fun. One of my jobs was to "pre-cast on" needles for the teachers to use and we ended giving away all the yarn and the extra needles. Not all went to beginning knitters - many charitable knitters picked up supplies for their groups - but we gave away 150 sets of needles, 400 skeins of yarn and 266 people signed up for door prizes. And my feet hurt at the end!



Both Good Friend Melissa and I helped out with the fashion shows - she is wearing a lovely "picture" sweater - but my modeling shots just didn't turn out.



My green Kiri Shawl made another appearance - the model is a knitter from the Yarn Garage and her shawls put mine to shame! She did the Mystery Stole #3 and it was gorgeous.



After I got home and had a bite of dinner and a nap, I worked a few rows on my Vest. I think I'm wearing it too high here but as I have no shoulder straps, I couldn't really place it correctly. It better get cooler soon - it was 80 degrees F. and horribly muggy outside.

See you tomorrow!

Yep, I'm on the advertising committee for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild and our own LOCAL Knit Out is tomorrow, Sunday, October 7th at Brookdale Center. We'll be knitting up a storm from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the center of the mall. I just listened to the "Cast On" podcast and Brenda Dayne (Sound of angelic trumpets plays HERE!) mentioned our event. She is so great! I might bring along my sad Pink Sock, just to get some professional knitting help.

I've been knitting along on the "Back to School" vest but not getting very far. I've joined a Masters Swim club and the extra workouts are killing my wrists and ankles! I am just not very flexible any more. My husband saw me stretching my hands this morning and asked if I was knitting in my sleep again. Yes, I have dreamed of knitting and awakened with very stiff wrists!

This reminder of Time and Tide (plus my extra spinning this week) cut my knitting output in half. Ah, well, at least I'm getting excercise.




This week's Saturday Seven are spare paperback books, a kitchen knife and a case for Treo 650 phone. My husband got a new phone and doesn't need the case any more so, off to Freecycle. The knife is being donated to my church's kitchen. The books are going into more "To any soldier" boxes - they are kind of addictive!

Staying up late with the Dyers

I've been on the search for some new fibers to spin but I thought I'd better get my current crop out the way. So, I finished up some Punta roving that I bought from Paradise Fibers. It was very soft and a little hard to manage but I THINK that the final product wasn't too bad.



I love the orange color. I am still having trouble with tieing the dyer's knots just right - I am getting some color changing there but I can probably cut out spots of the yarn while knitting. Yes, I do cut yarn when I have to. I think I'm going to use the orange for a wrist and waistline stripe on a blue sweater. Or as part of Fair Isle yoke. Youngest Child would like a hoodie but I've already done one of those for him.



I divied the total up into a couple of skeins after I finished spinning it but I began the dyeing process a little too late for comfort. I ended up staying up to to 1 a.m. with the green and orange skeins. Sometimes, waiting for that dye bath to exhaust is exhausting! I made the yellow skein this morning and hung the whole lot out to dry on the line. Thank goodness for sunshine - it's been horribly rainy and yucky this fall.



Tonight, I spent some time taking it from skeins and turning into center pull balls. Once I get the purple vest going, I'll spend some time coming up with a pattern. Cheerful colors - they'll make it easy to spot Youngest Child in a crowd!

Nice day to stay at home and knit . . .

So I am. I am up to the basket weave portion of the bodice in my "Back to School" vest and I've gone out and bought fabric for a matching skirt. We'll see how that goes. I don't mind sewing but it just means . . . less knitting!



With my digital camera still in the middle of either a mid-life crisis or a death march, the photos of my Saturday Seven barely turned out. Basically, I weeded out the DVD shelves. I never liked the movie "Antz" - those ants are all way too sassy for my four year old - and the others are DVDs that just needed to live elsewhere. A friend told me about sending them overseas to military personnel - I find it hard to imagine how many of those guys are "Men who Knit" but perhaps someone is looking for a new hobby?

On a fun note, my copy of Crazy Aunt Purl's "Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split" arrived today. She will be visiting the Twin Cities on her signing tour and I will be there! I really enjoy when people take something like knitting and use it to change their lives. It just makes change seem more possible. After all, taking up marathon running or ballroom dancing to change your life seems . . . too much like work. Knitting is one step away from taking a nap on the couch. It's nice to know it can shape your future. I wonder what the unfinished Poor Pink Sock will say about my life?

Laurie Perry - a Confirmed Stop!

Thursday, October 25, 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
118 E. Broadway, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN

When it all changes . . .

So I'm a big geek - want to make something of it? Weekends are back to being my favorite part of the week. You know, when you're in school and the weekend is prime goof off time? Not that I'm really breaking any rules or anything but . . . I do enjoy being left alone (or at least with a group of people who know enough to talk ONLY during the commercials!) to watch my favorite shows.

Usually, I just end up Tivo-ing them and watching them late at night so what happens at Torchwood stays at Torchwood! it is a bit more adult than plain old Dr. Who. Thanks to my daughter's technical advice, I've already watched all of Season One on YouTube but the episodes have been removed now and I'll just have to bite the bullet and watch them week by week again. I've also been to the online Torchwood lab AND figured out how I can make my own "Giant Torchwood T" window cling. See, you can learn a thing or two from Starfleet University!

Now, if I can only convince my husband that watching Torchwood = Happy Ms. Daisy just like watching racing = Happy Mr. Daisy . . .



Also on the home front - strenuous knitting on the "Back to School" Vest. I even took it to the Minnesota Opera on Tuesday - yes, I CAN knit in the dark - and sat knitting in the interval while the rest of my Opera Group went out for a drink. Foolish non-knitters! Unfortunately, my camera battery is winding down right now and it's affected the color. Think purple, not burgundy.



Minnesota-wise, I'm part of the planning crew for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's Fourth Annual Knit Out on Sunday, October 7, 2007. It's been great fun sending out press releases to newspapers and magazines but even more fund sending them out to knitting Podcasters! We are listed on the Stash and Burn Podcast website and I got a reply from Guido at It's a Purl, Man, but we actually were discussed on Sticks & String! That David Reidy - what a gentleman for helping us out AND it turns out he's a big fan of Garrison Keillor and "A Prairie Home Companion." Yea!

Just in case you were needing to know more . . .

The Minnesota Knitters' Guild's very own annual fall Knit-Out, a day of knitting outreach and just plain fun, takes place this year at Brookdale Center on Sunday Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Come for free knitting lessons, door prizes, hourly fashion shows, a fastest-knitter contest, and community-service knitting projects — not to mention the offerings of local yarn shops and expert knitters. This is the MKG's own event, not to be confused with the national Craft Yarn Council's winter "Knit-Out" (see Feb. 16–17, 2008). We've held it every fall since 2004!

See Here for directions to the mall. We welcome knitters of all skills!

See you 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Brookdale Center on October 7!

Pumpkin, pumpkin, who gots the pumpkin?

I finally got around to adding the leaves and segment lines to my Giant Felted Pumpkin. Not quite sure if I did the lines the right way but they look okay - and I love the leaves and vines. I was working on my BTS Vest while watching Elizabeth Zimmerman's "The Knitter's Almanac" dvd but my eyes kept closing . . . must . . . stay . . . awake.

Well, I lost that battle for awhile but since my daughters are at a school dance tonight, I'll have to knit awhile while I wait for them to come home. Yep, we're those kinds of parents.



The Saturday Seven was a mixed bag. Some patterns and needles that I'm sending on to the Interim House Knitting Ladies, as well as some pants and a turtleneck that just didn't work out and a yoga mat bag. That really sucked because I spent about $20 on it but it just didn't hang right. I just ended up carrying my own mat to the Y. Ah, well, back to watching "The Phantom of the Opera."

"Back to School" for me!

Not too long ago, I picked up the "Fitted Knits" by Stefanie Japel because I had "favorited" quite a few of her designs on the web and on Ravelry. I even bought the yarn just in case I fought my way through some of the remaining "on needle" projects in my bag. Well, I gave up on the other projects. The pink sock sucks. It just looks bad and I think I might rip it back to above the gusset - that's where it's gone spectacularly wrong. Not just ugly but wrong! The bag - eh, it gets knit a few lines here and a few lines there. I might even break down and buy the really large Options needles for that project. The current needles are so blunt that it's like knitting with sausages. Brats, even.

So, I gave up and began the "Back to School" vest. Just a few rows into it and it is so soothing. Not dull or boring - just easy and NOT WRONG.

I spent a little time today with a recent Netflix choice - "Venus" with Peter O'Toole. His character is refered to in the past tense as in "He was a gorgeous man!" and yet, in a bony sort of way, he stll is. Now, it's the kind of good looking that looks better clothed but . . . most of us fit in that category! A good knitting movie.

Yep, it's Talk Like a Pirate Day . . . again!

So, what did YOU do to celebrate? I don't think reading, shopping and knitting really make the list but perhaps quaffing an adult beverage or two with a loved one counts as a celebration?

More than enough for a pie . . .

I finally got a move on and felted my giant pumpkin. I was a little hesitant because I have a front loading washing machine and they don't always work well for felting. A lot of the techniques for felting in a machine (pausing the routine with a full drum of hot water, draining but not spinning the drum) just don't work with a front loader. But, it's only knitting so I just threw caution to the wind (and the pumpkin in a zippered pillow cover) and went ahead with the load. I sent it through twice with a break in between to shape and poke and that seemed fine. After spending an hour or so stuffing it through the teeny tiny hole in the bottom (plenty of time to watch "Torchwood!"), I sewed up the pumpkin and left it to dry. Once it is dry, I'll put on the leaf and vines as well as the traditional pumpkin "score lines." I think I'll skip the Jack O'Lantern grin, however.



Felting the leaf was really fun as well. I simply got it wet and soapy and then put it in a zip top baggie. After that, I carried it around and massaged it. Then I walked on it. Then I put it on the floor of my car (we had to go to the mall) and rubbed it with my foot as we drove around town. I think the ribbed rubber car mat did most of the work. Although, it did look a bit like someone's forgotten lunch . . .



The Saturday Seven continued the Halloween theme - to some extent. Five of the items are hand-me-downs from my daughters and, in the past, these always went from daughter to daughter. From large to medium to small - there was always a spot for outgrown clothing. Now, the girls aren't outgrowing anything but their tastes are definitely different. When one daughter wants to get rid of something, there isn't always a willing person to take it. So, off go the swim suit, polo shirts and tees to a local rummage sale. I've had the two "gold" necklaces since I was in college but I haven't used them in recent years except for Halloween costume duty. And, since we don't really trick-or-treat anymore - off they go to become part of some other little girl's Halloween costume. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for little girls dressed up as gypsy fortunetellers. Or mermaids. Or robots. Or cats. Now, I am living in the Boy Costume World of race car drivers and Spiderman. Sigh.

By the way, I hope all you out there in Blog Land have visited Knittymama's blog and read about her contest to raise money for the flood stricken organic farmers in southern Minnesota. She has only three steps for contest entrants:

"1. Make a donation to Sow the Seeds. You can donate online or send a check. If you are in the region you can can also donate at your local co-op. Donate $5 or $100, any amount will help!!

2. Send (her) an e-mail (knittymama AT yahoo DOT com) letting (her) know your donation amount so (she) can keep track of how much we knitters are collecting for the farmers.

3. Create a link on your blog to this flood relief contest so we can let others know about the need for help.

4. If you do the above three steps, you will, of course, be entered in a random drawing for yarn. (You knew there was yarn coming, didn’t you?)"

Her contest has been slow but steady and there is still much to do. The rewards (for the contest winners) are Fleece Artist and Spunky Eclectic Tough Sock yarns. Knittymama is also posting a running total so it's worthwhile to stop by her contest site and see how things are going. With regards to the work Sow the Seeds is doing with local farmers, check out their website for more information. Peace Coffee is also creating a "Sow the Seeds Blend" coffee as a fundraiser for their flood relief work.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Ignore the wrinkles - it wore beautifully!

I had the Flower Basket Shawl all stretched and beautiful and ready to photograph . . . but I had to go to a party. A surprise 40th birthday party for a friend on a cool fall night - I needed that shawl! Luckily, it went great with a brown long sleeved shirt - the brown flecks in the blue yarn were a perfect match. So, the official Shawl Photo is draped on the wall - framed a little crookedly - and wrinkled. But I enjoyed it!



Team Lurid Yellow had to bail out of the Saint Paul Bike Classic on Sunday - with a crash. Oldest Daughter wiped out at about the 3/4 mark - pretty much the farthest point from the Start/Finish line - and since her scrapes were pretty uncomfortable, we rode the sag wagon back to the Ramsey Hill rest stop and visited the nurse. Her tights, jackets and gloves kept her from the worst but she has a pretty big owie on her knee as well as a few other scrapes. Next year, we are having lessons in crashing (keep your arms and knees in tight, hands on handlebars and let your thighs and arms take the brunt) as well as listening to your mother - "Slow down going around that corner, dear!"

Knitting wise - I went all Yarn Harlot and cast on for a Back to School U-neck Vest in Cascade 220 in a heathered purple. This pattern from Stefanie Japel's "Fitted Knits" just called to me from Ravelry - so I broke down and bought the book and the yarn. I'm also thinking of the Cozy V-Neck Pullover."

Saturday sights and sounds . . .

Pretty boring. It was a lovely afternoon but I didn't do anything besides run errands and clean house. I used to have a rule that all cleaning needed to be done on Friday afternoon so we all had a relaxing weekend but, now that the girls are all teens, we just can't fit it in. I hope that tomorrow allows for more knitting time.



Today's seven was mostly leftover books, some misplaced baby clothes and a tee shirt I just never liked. I gave away the girl-related books to GFM - she's got a daughter and she'll probably find a good use for the information.



Knitting-wise, I'm waiting for the Flower Basket Shawl to finish blocking and whiling away the time working on a little shopping bag as a gift. I have to admit, this Red Bag (Oat Couture's Stow Away Shopping Bag) is the second attempt. I tried it with another pattern and some linen and almost lost my mind! I think it's just the very blunt needles needed for the large gauge. It's like knitting with sausages.

I would love to find a pointy version of circular 15 and 1/2 size needles. Any ideas? I might see if the Knit Picks Options come in such a large size - I like the smaller sizes a lot.

I didn't like knitting with linen, either. This Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece is about as coarse as I am willing to go. I am such a wool yarn kind of girl!

Here's hoping the nice weather holds for tomorrow - it's the St. Paul Classic Bike Tour - and Oldest Daughter and I are skipping church to cycle the city. If it starts to rain, I'm pretty sure that there will be some praying going on!

Hallelujah, I'm done!

It won't be ready to wear for a little while and it isn't perfect - but I like it! I am going to have to sneak some peaks at similar shawls on Ravelry to see how mine measures up.

I didn't mention this the other day but my "unexpected knitting time" was the result of Youngest Child's first visit to the emergency room. He woke up at 4 a.m. with an incredibly stiff neck and was just miserable. So, while I was driving the other children to school, Mr. Daisy drove Youngest Child into the emergency room.

It turned out to be just a strained muscle in his neck but he was not a happy boy! Especially because he missed the first day of school. But, he is fine now and we have heard about a virus/cold? going around that includes a sore neck.

I just hope I don't need any more trips to the ER in order to finish the Poor Pink Socks!

Birthday noises can be good

Squee!



Tuesday was Youngest Daughter's birthday and this photo shows off two of her birthday surprises - a manicure and an ipod. She also got some sewing related gifts as well - sewing is her latest craft passion - so she can turn out lots more of these . .



I'm not so "doll oriented" of a sewer as she is (I do curtains and clothing) but she's made quite a collection. Her aim is to get good enough so she can sell her dolls and buy - guess what? - a doll. A Super Dollfie from Volks.



I was able to use some unexpected knitting time today to finish my Flower Basket Shawl. I couldn't wait to block it before I took the photo so I used a nearby schoolgirl to model it for me. I'll get better, blocked photos later this week. That's my spinning wheel on top of the television cabinet - it looks funny there but it keeps it away from the dog!

Fair Child

We spent most of Labor Day at the MN Renaissance Fair and part of the fun was seeing things through the eyes of Youngest Child. He was amazed by everything and spent part of our visit stalking three costumed visitors (dressed in matching blue doublets and swords) whom he was sure were the Three Musketeers. We listen to a lot of "stories on tape" by Jim Weiss so he knew all about what musketeers wear! He wore the face paint to school today to meet his new teacher. While it was quite pleasant, I still missed the knitting time. I am down to the lace edging on my shawl - can't wait to see the finished project spread out flat!

One last time . . .

I cleaned out my bookcase this weekend as part of my big Labor Day cleanout. It's funny but it always seems to be the best weekend for a good cleaning. I can remember cleaning and moving my living room furniture around the weekend that Princess Diana died. I actually didn't have much to remove but I did find a few items to weed out. Every one was a good read but it's time to pass them on. They'll be going off to the St. John the Evangelist big sale. It's lucky that they do this sale twice a year!

The rest of tonight I'll be watching "Breach" with DH and knitting on the Flower Basket Shawl. It's time to get that finished as well.

Birthdays, nonsense and socks - Oh, My!

Happy Birthday to my Two-Headed Valentine!

Yep, today is my husband's birthday. After a lovely dinner and strawberry shortcake outside on the patio, he opened his presents - one of which is a bust of Winston Churchill. Andy's a big fan of Winston and decided that he could ride around on his shoulder. The rest of the gifts were great as well (One daughter gave him a "Nunchuks" - a little gun that shoots tiny nuns across the room!) but I know he'll be having some long talks with Winston.



Despite the festivities, I've been alternating work on my Flower Garden Shawl and the Poor Pink Socks. Nothing I do makes them look any better - I can only hope that steaming/blocking the heck out them will make them seem like a decent pair of socks. I did the first 2 1/2 inches with #2 needles and switched to #1 needles for the rest of the sock. It gives them a bit of definition at the lower calf and lots of room at the top. I've read a bit about this technique and I think I'd like to try it on the foot as well - but that will have to be another pair of socks and another story.

Pay no attention to the corn dog behind the curtain . . .

Sure, I'd like to say that I made good food choices at the State Fair but . . . I'd be lying. Yep, we had trips to the malted booth, the Pronto Pups, the mini-doughnuts and the free Cheetos. And chinese food. But we did walk all over the grounds (no one would let me visit the Sheep booth!) and had a lovely time so maybe, they actually balanced each other out. Right . . .



We also stopped by to visit my green Kiri shawl at the Textile Center display. No, I didn't enter it in the Fair (I knitted it for the Knitting Olympics and it had a few mistakes!) but I love it and they needed items from the Mn. Knitters' Guild for the display. Stop by and wave at it! GFMelissa has a cute little felted hat (with needle felted flowers) on display as well. Later on, I stopped by the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers booth for some great Rosemary soap and a yarn-decorated bowl from Jennie the Potter. I hesitated over the yarn for quite some time but I'm still spinning quite a bit and until I make something with it, I'm feeling a little guilty.



Obviously, I didn't feel guilty enough. On Friday, I read on the TC Knit Yahoo list that Creative Fibers in Minneapolis was going to be closing at the end of September. Everything is currently 25% off. That is the store where I took my first spinning class and I feel so sad. Someone - buy that store!

So GFM and I bundled up all the kids and drove over to check things out. I bought another skein of All Things Heather sock yarn in Mustard Yellow and some Mohair/Wool spinning fiber. I was hoping to score some more Red Star Rovings but it was all gone. So, I really used up my State Fair self-allocated yarn allowance before I got there.




This week's Saturday Seven went right to someone who could use them. Someone posted a "Wanted" request for cloth diapers on Freecycle this week and I was able to give them the end of my diaper stash - nine diapers and four covers. Yes, we used cloth diapers until they wouldn't stay on Youngest Child's bottom any more. Then, we moved into disposables and training pants. Not me, personally, I've been trained for years! The Royal/Group "We." So, I bundled them up for the recipient and they were picked up yesterday. I could have kept them for cleaning cloths but they were really nice diapers!

Read This Or Else! (a.k.a. Revenge of the Giant Pumpkin)

Here I am, shuffling along with my Giant Mistake of a Pumpkin, and this guy is putting me to shame. He started this Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark in SeaSilk just about the same time as I started my blue shawl and it is gorgeous. And then - he gave it away. Yes (well, he is a guy and it might look funny on him) - off it went. I would have a hard time giving away anything so pretty.

This Boy Knits: Heh, my bad

Oh - here's the flat version of my pumpkin. I loved making the leaf and vines but the pumpkin - eh, not so much. It was just too big. The pattern was great, however, and I recommend it to others. Just give up your social life as it will soon revolve around giant squash.

Just a little something - something

So, today I finally finished the stem on my Giant Felted Mistake of a Pumpkin. The sad part was that I had to beg Good Friend Melissa to give me her left-over bits of green yarn as I didn't have any. She (Also known as "Muy Great Stasher of Cascade 220") had the tab/butt ends of three different green yarns on hand and I used Knit Picks Yarn of the Andes in Evergreen. Now, I just need to knit the leaves and twirly vine (I need to get out some different needles) and I'll be done.

Unfortuntely, I don't have a top loading washing machine any more so I'll have to visit my local laundremat to get it felted.

Tonight, I took the Lousy Pink Sock to the MN Knitters' Guild meeting. It got a little air before I was lost in the Maggie Jackson designs shown in the fall fashion show. My sister (the one with the baggy 1824 seater) has expressed interest in "a little something" for her cold shoulders and I think the Maggi Knits might just have the answer.



And I bought "Romantic Knits" by Annie Modesitt. I think they might be a little too young for me but I expect to change my mind after some bedtime reading.

Oh and Sunday's results?

Bib number: 509
age: 42
gender: F
location: Saint Paul, MN
overall place: 350 out of 400
division place: 20 out of 25
gender place: 161 out of 197
time: 1:43:40
swim: 17:33
trn1: 3:42
bike: 46:15
trn2: 2:16
run: 33:56

So I ran faster but biked slower. Hopefully, I beat the 80 yr. old man. He's the Twin Cities triathlon standby - anouncers like to mention him when he's racing. Unfortunately, once, I came in right behind him. Now, we are in waves and I probably started after him BUT . . . I can only hope he doesn't knit socks.