A Fistful of

BFL!

First off, I hope you had a Happy Fourth of July. Lovely hot weather here topped off with a great fireworks display on the river.

Things were busy around here with a sci-fi convention for my daughters (and me, I confess. I went for the Torchwood and Dr. Who panels), one heck of a lot of spinning for Tour de Fleece (8 oz BFL spun and plied) and hat knitting.

It's not terribly fine spinning but I've been using the bulky head for my Lendrum and I'm not that familiar with its weight and ratio.

The skein on the far right is the biggest - I decided to spin two full smaller bobbins into one. I haven't counted the yards yet.

I finished my service project hat for the MKG. This was my trip knitting project along with 

this teeny tiny Splish Splash washcloth from Evelyn A. Clark.

I finally took three shopping bags of Saturday Seven clothes from Oldest Daughter over to the local rummage sale. I didn't photograph or count but it was way over seven items! How does she get that much extra stuff in her room?

Like you all have time on your hands . . .

Yes, it's 95 degrees F. outside right now and that is limiting our free time options. Until the weather breaks, it's time to explore inside entertainment options.

Knitting? Check.
Spinning? Check.
Playing games? Check (especially if  you are playing Dominoes or Dutch Blitz! We love these both!)
Playing on-line games? CHECK!!

Yes, I'm a sharing a big time sink of a game with you. The Floating City.

This is a free game based on the music of Thomas Dolby. Yes, the "Blinded by Science" guy. He has done lots of other things and this online game is the latest. Basically, it is a post-apocalyptic scenario in that time has gone awry, the magnetic poles are shifting and everyone is escaping by boat.

It is a slow but steady, "trading for supplies to get ahead" kind of game. It's oddly satisfying to check in every few hours to see if any of your trades have been accepted. And it is free so, that's something!

You can sign up at this link HERE.

Now, back to  your regularly scheduled knitting . . .

Tour de Fleece 201

Remember this beauty? Time to spin it up!

I've been spinning for a few years but I've never participated in the Tour de Fleece. That's an online "contest" (maybe I should call it a "challenge?") that involves spinning every day the Tour de France riders ride, if possible.

That's Saturday July 2nd through Sunday July 24th. I've heard there are rest days (Monday July 11th and Monday July 18th) but I'm not sure how that works.

It's kind of fun in that on a day when something especially challenging is going on, you are supposed to spin something especially hard. That's Wednesday, July 20th, when the Tour has an intense mountain stage through five mountain passes.  I love going up hills on my bike (although, oddly, not going down) so I'm looking forward to that one!

This Lincoln Long Wool has always seemed challenging to spin.

Some people DVR the Tour to watch during their spinning but I think I'll be traveling with The Doctor. Dr. Who, that is!

All participants are supposed to wear yellow on Sunday, July 24,  to announce victory as yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour. I'm not sure how that will go - I actually don't own anything yellow - but we'll see . . .  I'm much more of "polka-dot jersey" wearer as that signifies you are a climber.

Perhaps I'll start with these curly locks?

So, I invite you to join me in the fun! Maybe we'll take the break on July 18th to go see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?"

"Travel broadens the mind"

but perhaps, it makes it taller?" Heightens the mind? I'm not really sure what the exact phrase is!

But we definitely have moved into "more rarified circles?" I'm not sure if I can keep this punning up much longer . . . 

Obviously, we are traveling out west - Colorado to be exact. Everyone is having a good time (which is a miracle indeed), I am knitting in the car and all is right with the world

Here's the prairies for good measure - Nebraska!

A photo montage for your inspection:

Pike's Peak

My daughter's photo of the US Air Force Academy - she was aiming for the "Air Force guys!"

Garden of the Guys, er, Gods!

Lovely!

"I thought I saw a Black Widow Spider - Classic Peg!"

I preferred this kind of bug.

People watching in Boulder on a Saturday morning was amazing. And so was my trip to Gypsy Wools - just a little yarn for the road.

More to come - perhaps a finished object even?

Transitions

This lovely young thing is now a high school graduate!

Youngest Daughter is officially out of high school and moving on to college in Maryland. 

I'm not sure where she'll end up but I'm sure there will be lots of books, dreams and feisty opinions.

I should find a graduation quote from Oscar Wilde (one of her favorite authors) but I'll pick one from a favorite of mine instead. 

“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors.” 

--  Louisa May Alcott

Well done, m'dear!

Today, all that's left is the clean-up.

Tasty pies and . . . 

otherwise!

Good to go

Somewhere between the 103 degrees F. Monday and the 63 degree F. Thursday was a perfect summer day. 

Sure, I walked for the St. Paul Pioneer Press Summer of Walking but then I grabbed GFMelissa and went swimming!

We drove out to Square Lake and while GFM sat on the shore and provided emergency backup (she's a former collegiate level swimmer and a lifeguard as well as an excellent Girl Scout!), I did a little warming up for the swimming season.

No cute swimsuits for me - just the plain old racer suit and a swim cap. 

Got to get those goggles on just right!

Working on a high elbow stroke! 

Now, because GFM wasn't actually in the water with me or accompanying me in an escort boat, I swam inside the ropes. I have swum around the lake before but Wednesday it was back and forth, back and forth. Not very exciting but oh, so nice. 

My dream house will be on a swimming lake someday. Boating? Bleh. Fishing? So-so. Swimming? Ah!

We're getting ready for a graduation around here with an upcoming Senior Dinner, ceremony and party so at home, I'm mostly weeding and sweeping up those @%^& helicopter leaves! Swimming was a nice break in the chores.

Ah, the days of summer!

The Pioneer Press newspaper has started a Summer of Walking series and I've been walking along with them. They are also encouraging Tweeps to Twitter about their walks using the #pioneerwalk hashtag.

Yesterday, I forgot my camera but today was just glorious!

The flowers are bursting everywhere!

I walked this route this morning - ran into a lawyer I knew and two men whom I can only hope were a trainer and his client. They were doing a lot of close-up sweating!

Now that it's 90 degrees F., I'm really glad I walked early today.

I've moved on to the sleeves of my Turn of the Glass cardigan. I'm doing them two at a time because I think they go faster that way. 

The cuffs are seed stitch just like the collar of the jacket. 

On Friday, I stopped by Three Kittens Needle Arts to kill some time and came home with one of their lovely Grab Bags. 10 balls of yarn for $10 - mine all came in shades of white, black and gray and I'm looking forward to coming up for a use for them.

Only four items made this Saturday Seven photos (three hats and some soccer shoes) but the other two items already went to a neighbor boy - three work books for school.

Again and again . . .

the knitting remains the same. Yep, the knitting is almost the same. Just more rows, more cables, more hard to photograph sweater.

I did get out of the town this weekend visiting relatives. On the way back, I turned around to see 

this:

a smiling, sleeping boy with his hand in the lego box. Sweet!

I did have seven things (already given away) for the Saturday Seven.

Two pairs of shoes, a string bag, a sweater, a t-ball hat, a pair of shorts and a blouse.

Just some boring old knitting . . .

I read a blog recently where the author said she regretted taking so much time off from her blog. I really don't regret anything but not knitting.

Life is just rolling along here and my Turn of The Glass cardigan is also inching along with me. It's a bit too large to carry everywhere and if I knit it at home in the evening, it is a given that I will have to rip something out.

So, just to recap:

Saturday Seven on 5/21/11:

Seven pairs of shorts and pants. Some mine and some are Middle Daughter's. They've already gone over to the neighborhood rummage sale.

Turn of the Glass Cardigan:

This photo shows the design increases and decreases. I'm just above the waistline here.

This photo is the right color - but you can see why I don't knit this at night!

Move along now - nothing to see here!

Finally, the sun!

We had a busy weekend at Chez Daisy. Some garage painting and some yard work really ate up the available time. But, at least we made room for . . .

Mexican Food!

We took a Mexican food cooking class at Cooks of Crocus Hill and it was delicious! Excuse my terrible photos - the lighting was very bright where we were sitting.

My favorite part was the Avocado Soup. 

My knitting has not been so successful - just rows and rows of the Turn of the Glass cardigan. Not enough, though, to take a good picture. 

My Saturday Seven (shirts, shorts and socks) already went over to GFMelissa's house. Her Youngest Child is now enjoying the fruits of my closet cleaning.

Sun and showers

This darling annual called "Flirtation" came home with me from the Friends School of Minnesota Plant Sale.

The sun stayed out one more day for my Saturday trip to Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival. This is one of our family's favorite Mother's Day trips. I went out on Saturday to work at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild Knitting Help table but I got to visit again on Sunday with the rest of the family. No sunshine but there still was a lot to see . . .

I've been coveting Angora Rabbits for a while but Mr. Daisy is not so keen on the idea.

Youngest Child is absolutely sure he could take care of one. He even offered to help clean up the poop! 

Oldest Daughter was admiring the spinning wheels for sale.

Although we mostly did "window shopping", I picked up two lovely skeins of Opulence sock yarn from All for Love of Yarn. 

Perhaps a little hipster scarf (as Oldest Daughter calls them) from this lovely 80% Superwash Merino Wool 10% Cashmere 10% Nylon in the Freesia colorway.

I also hunted down the Ewetopia Fiber Shop booth and bought a skein of hand dyed brushed mohair in the conifer colorway.

I'd seen this yarn at Yarnover last week and loved it. There is also a very cute "Fern" shrug pattern that came with the yarn. 

I had a little time this week to clean out my own closet. I have to admit this is the Saturday Seven of failure for me. Seven items that I bought over the years and kept - hoping against hope that I would want to wear them or that they would someday look better on me - until admitting defeat.

Four pairs of pants, two pullovers and a cardigan - except for one I gave to Oldest Daughter - are all going to a rummage sale. Sigh.

We love the knitting goodies

Whether they are bright like these skeins from Little Gidding Farm Suri Alpacas

or muted like these skeins of Briar Rose Fibers.

Saturday's Minnesota Knitters' Guild's Yarnover was entirely satisfying. I got to help some teachers as a "Teacher Angel", learn how to make the better buttonhole and sew on zippers using a rug hook. I really spent the most amount of my time simply visiting, knitting and people watching. 

There was a little bit of purchasing as well. 

This pattern is also available from the Ewetopia Fiber Online Shop

I bought this lovely top down cardigan pattern and five skeins of naturally brown worsted weight from Ewetopia Fiber Shop.  This was a really nice vendor at Yarnover and I'm looking forward to seeing what they are bringing to Shepherd's Harvest.  I'm not taking any classes but I am working at the MKG Knitting Help table on Saturday morning.

I also bought these wonderful antique buttons for the sweater . . .

GFMelissa said that I was being surprisingly original because none of the buttons match each other. I was really just trying to not give myself a reason to jump into the project!

Looking ahead, next weekend is once again the perfect storm of Spring Formal/Friends School Plant Sale/Shepherd's Harvest . . . oh, what the heck. 

Be there or Be Square! 

This week's Saturday Seven was really more of a Sunday Seven. I was cleaning out the CD drawer - putting lost cds away in their cases and I managed to clean out seven less than favorite cds. Off to the rummage sale!