Cruisin' Along

Things are moving along these days. The summer is going well, a few humid days, alot of rain but overall enjoyable. The flowers in my yard are enjoying the weather so far, just take a look-


My widow boxes are going crazy and the hydrangea is out of control (in a good way). Don't you just love my "birds of a feather" garden stake? I couldn't resist them at the garden center. Flowers are blooming everywhere. It really is pretty. On the agenda for the rest of the weekend is taking our little fountain on the deck and moving it to the garden area surrounding the deck. I think it will look better there.


In the knitting world M's shawl is complete. I really am proud of it. I can't believe I was afraid to start it. I sent M some pictures and she loves it too, yippee! I can't wait to see it on her. M moves to NJ tomorrow to start a new job so she and vet2b will be separated until the wedding. She's excited but I know they will miss each other. However the good news is that if all goes well it looks like they will settle in the NJ area when vet2b graduates and that means they will only be 3-4 hours away. So good luck M as you start the new job!! Here's a look at the blocked shawl.

I also finished a baby sweater and some socks. My fingers seem to be moving right along these days. The projects that were overwhelming me in their bags hanging all over the house are finally being completed. Only a matter of time until it starts all over again. Meanwhile I'm into trying to finish up projects started that are on the needles.

The sweater is Helena from Knitty. I did it in the Sheep Shop 3 yarn, purples. The socks are called Order from Chaos from Fearless Fibers. Great pattern . They were done in yarn hand dyed by Kim at Butterfly Yarns. She is doing some awesome colors!

Guess that's it for the knitting news. Heading off to the airport to pick up vet2b who will be with us for the next two weeks doing one of his rotations. Almost like old times 2 out of the three boys home. It will be fun to spend some time with him. Then it's off to Las Vegas for my conference. What better place to discuss breasts! See you when I get back, maybe sooner !

Excuses, excuses...

Really, we bought a new computer and my husband has everything all over the place and things aren't hooked up and talking to each other. At least that is what he tells me! That and the fact that work is driving me bonkers has kept me from blogging. But I have been knitting.

I finally finished the Everlasting BagStopper from Knitty. By finishing I mean I finally put the ribbon on for handles. I love it! Be forewarned, the sucker s..t..r..e..t..c..h..e..s!!

I also finished some baby sweaters for some of my co-workers and their upcoming babies. I love both of them.

The one on the left is the Seamless Kimono. Made from Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. The pattern is extremely well written and works up like a charm. The yarn is scrumptious. I think I will be making more of these for future babies. There is also a Kimono version that wraps with a tie. The right hand sweater is the Yarni Lace Baby cardigan. While I love the outcome I have to say the pattern wasn't as well written. There were a few errors that made me crazy. I also changed the sleeve so that the pattern just goes down the center rather than all the way around. I think I like it better and it was much easier to deal with the decreases that way. It is cute though, don't you think? The author of the pattern was quick to respond to questions which is great but I think a few more rounds of test knitting might have been helpful. This one is made of sock yarn from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm that I got at New Hampshire Sheep and Wool.

I did finish the shawl for M from the yarn that I bought when we went out to visit them in Minnesota. That's not the wedding shawl but a plain basic garter one that she loved. I forgot a picture (or if I did take one it's somewhere in one of these computers hiding). She loved it as did her mom, sister, and grandmother. Hmm, do I take that as a hint?

So I need to finish the wedding shawl because we are under the year mark now and you know how time flies. I also have my own shawl to finish. I'm working on another baby sweater, Helena, from the new Knitty. It's 3/4 of the way done. I'm using Sheep Shop three in a soft purple colorway. Very nice. And my new passion is Blue Heron Yarns. Oh My!! The colors and feel, pure luxury. I have a feather and fan scarf on the needles now and eventually I will make the Flower Basket Shawl with it.

Which leads me to the upcoming projects. I finally put yarn and patterns together for things I need to get moving on. As you can see the pile is daunting. I need to stop throwing in projects and get cracking on the pile. How to stay focused? And just in case you hadn't thought about this for a while, Christmas is just a little over six months away. Yikes!!!!