It seems that a lot of my fellow bloggers are falling into the same dilemma that I am. Life has become so busy that it's often hard to find time to blog. But on the other hand, if life weren't so busy, there would be nothing to blog about!
Busyness this time came about in the form of two beloved granddaughters coming to stay for a whole week. We were having Vacation Bible School at our church and I think this is becoming a summer tradition. The girls absolutely love it and we love having them here. They both wanted to dress up in the hats and purses that their Aunt Claudia had bought for them:
I got such a kick out of Isobel, who wanted to wear her hat all week, even when she was wearing jeans. She keeps insisting she's not a girly-girl, but I think there's just a smidge of that hiding in her. She still seems to be loving her doll. At the end of the week my sister and I treated the girls to lunch at the American Girl Store in Alderwood, and of course, the dollies came along for the ride.
Several times while we were together, Isobel brought me her knitting and wanted to work on it:
She only seems to be able to manage one row at a time, but her workmanship is very nice. I'm not pushing it, but letting her set the pace.
On my knitting front, I've been working hard on my son's cardigan. All the pieces are now knit and waiting to be blocked and sewn together!
This is the part that always seems to trip me up, but using a pattern without seaming just makes for a huge project that you're dealing with at the end. I'm anxious to move on to another project and have the yarn and pattern in the queue to make Iain for Isobel for Christmas. She has expressed a desire for a hooded sweater. Still looking for something for Mei-Mei. She's almost never cold and doesn't need something too heavy. She has loved her Child's Kimono and when a sweater is called for, that's the one she wants.
And of course - there's the Ravelym . . . . oops! Ravellenics coming up. I will obstain from posting my observations about all the brouhaha that insued over the whole thing, except to say that the USOC are a bunch of twits. I do understand protecting copyright, but they kind of sorta went overboard and insulted 2 million knitters. I guess I didn't obstain from commenting after all. Anyhoo . . . this is the first year that I am participating as part of team KnitCompanion. To say that I totally love this iPad app is an understatement. I can't imagine knitting without it - especially charts. My project will be Haruni in black KnitPicks Stroll Glimmer. That's black with a lot of sparkle. I'm also entering the WIP Wrestle with Ylva. All that's left is the sewing up and arm and neck bands. Hopefully this will give me the incentive I need to wrestle that puppy to the ground!
The main reason I wanted a sparkly shawl was so that I would have something for (drum roll please) the cruise we are taking this fall! To celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, hubby and I have signed up for a 17 day cruise through the Panama Canal. Port calls include San Francisco, Puerta Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica and Columbia. We are beyond excited. We've never cruised before and as someone commented, it is jumping off the deep end by selecting such a long cruise as our first. But I can't imagine what's not to like. Any advice from veteran cruisers out there would be welcome.
Spurred on by Kathy and her beautiful spinning, I pulled out my sadly neglected wheel this afternoon. I was gratified to find that it is indeed like riding a bicycle and I haven't totally forgotten everything I know. I have unfortunately let my spinning bag dissolve into disarray and many lables are missing, so I'm not sure what this lovely fiber is, other than a guess that it is tencel and merino:
My plan is to Navajo ply it, which is ambitious considering I've never Navajo plyed before. Guess you have to start somewhere!
Iain is adorable! She'll love it. :)
Posted by: Abby | July 09, 2012 at 09:57 PM
The girls are looking so grown up. And pretty, even if one of them isn't a girly-girl.
And even a non girly-girl needs something with bling to wear on a cruise. Or are you a girly-girl?
Posted by: Marguerite | July 10, 2012 at 08:51 AM
The girls are just so darn CUTE!! I envy you an apprentice knitter too. Looks like she's making great progress.
I prefer sweaters that are knit in pieces, and then sewn. IMO, the seams give some stability to the finished garment. Perhaps I'm nuts, but it seems to be the case.
We've never been on a cruise, but it sounds spectacular! I'll be looking forward to hearing all about it!
Enjoyed your post. OH, and yes, I totally agree with you regarding the Rav....whatever games.
Posted by: kathy | July 10, 2012 at 09:44 AM
I cant decide if Im a girly-girl or not. Everyone tells me I am, but I was such a tomboy growing up. I guess my interest in all forms of needlework probably establishes my girly-girl credentials.
Your new improved barn looks great. Youre going to get things fixed up so spiffy you wont want to move! Any thoughts on a time table for selling? How is the real estate market in your area? Still pretty slow around here.
Glad to see things are cooling off a little for you there. A marine layer has moved in this morning and theres quite a bit of fog. It should burn off and give us a couple of nice days. Need to get ready for company this afternoon. One of Bills airplane model building friends that he met on the Internet is stopping by. His wife is into scrap booking so we should have something to talk about. Im fixing some nice Pacific Northwest wild salmon. Yum!!
Dorothy
Sent from my iPad
Posted by: Dorothy | July 11, 2012 at 07:16 AM
You always have such fun with those girls! It's great that Isobel is still interested in knitting.
Posted by: Kristen | July 14, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Blogless Marsha and I have spent lots of time cruising-no better place to knit. Feel free to ask questions. Sounds wonderful! The Panama Canal was one of the best.
Posted by: Lifesastitch | July 14, 2012 at 09:21 PM
The girls look so sweet in their hats!
When you're ready to navajo-ply, watch Sarah Anderson's video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmlwtojLXI8
I had tons of trouble with the technique until I tried it her way!
Posted by: gayle | July 15, 2012 at 05:44 AM
Your girls are getting so grown up! Love the hats!
I also think the olympic committee folks must have lost their minds. I have a couple of projects lined up for the event as well. Are you spinning for the Tour?
If you keep talking about that app, you know you're going to make me have to get an ipad, right? Somehow, John doesn't think a knitting app is the main reason to get one...
Posted by: Lorette | July 18, 2012 at 11:36 AM