Male knitting ~

I was pleased to see that Chris brought his "Male Knitting" on the camping trip, just as he did last summer here and here. It is rather amazing to watch him work on his chain mail. He's also been working on some samples of weaves and assorted styles.



This one (below) looks like lace, so I paired it up with my Brandywine ~ they are all amazing.

This year he's working on scale armor, and it is stunning to view in the summer sunshine.

He was even working on it with a headlamp while we were roasting marshmallows after dark!

Back again ~

We are finally back camping by the river. First time this summer, and we can hardly believe that it is the end of July and we are here for the first time.

Sitting in the river and knitting feels so great. Relaxing while listening to the river rushing by, the birds are singing and the breeze is softly blowing the heat down river. I couldn't be more happy than when I'm sitting in the river and knitting....ahhhhh.......

Fast Crazy Socks ~

The great part about these socks, other than the 'way cool colors that make me smile while I'm knitting, and other than how soft the alpaca and silk yarn feels while knitting...is that the worsted weight yarn is knitting up really fast.

Hurrah!!

Happy Birthday ~

Happy Birthday to my sweetie girl ~ how did she grow up so fast?

Here's to a great year of fun and new adventures!!

Backyard update ~

Progress made today, as some concrete forms are going into what will be the half court basketball court.

Not sure if we'll be playing basketball before the summer is done, but we are making progress!

Fourth Chart B ~

I'm making progress on the Brandywine Shawl. It is really fun to knit, as long as there is complete silence.

Today a visit from our cat messed me up a bit, but after some investigation I'm back to the correct amount of stitches ~ Whew!

Crazy Sock knitting ~

These socks for "oldest daughter" are coming along. They are fun to knit as the yarn is soft and great to knit.

Using the different colors is causing a bit of a tangle of the yarn ~ two balls for striping for each sock, so I'm stuffing the "not using" ball into the sock to stop the tangles.

Third Chart B ~

Here is the third Chart B of the Brandywine Shawl. I love this yarn and how pretty the pattern is turning out.

Only 12 more Chart B's to knit!

Crazy Socks ~

With my oldest daughter on a mission trip with the church youth group this week, I thought I should work on her crazy socks. I knit each stitch with love and think of her.

I know she's going to love these ~ as they are pretty crazy colors and will be cozy warm!

Second Chart B ~

Here is the Brandywine Shawl with the second Chart B. We are making progress bit by bit.

I think it looks lovely and it such fun to knit....

as long as I have complete silence!

Empty nest ~

This weekend both kids were gone ~ one on a mission trip to Texas, the other one camping with friends. My man fixed a very sweet breakfast omelet on our beautiful back deck.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner he prepared, also on our back deck....it was a lovely weekend.

Perhaps "empty nest" won't be so bad when the kids are grown..

Chart B ~

Here is my Brandywine shawl with the first Chart B complete. I need to knit 15 repeats of Chart B, and there are 8 rows within Chart B.

Only 14 more to knit!

Happy Birthday ~

Today is my sister's birthday. Hurrah! Here she is on our trip to Sisters, in our quilting class on Friday.

Great sister, beautiful color choices!!!

Brandywine at Sisters ~

I forgot to tell you that I was able to knit one row (and one row only) during my trip to Sisters. The lace chart is not well suited for road trip knitting as I find I have to count out loud to be sure I'm getting all the stitches done properly.

While my sister was shopping in the Sisters Coffee shop, I was able to do one row, and take this picture....

Canoe Garden ~

Another great sight we saw in Sisters during the quilt show was this window box garden.

In a canoe.... I love this idea!!! The perfect use for a family canoe that has been retired from service.

Row 56 ~

I've just finished Row 56 on the Brandywine Shawl (on Ravelry) and this means I'm done with Chart A.

I think it looks lovely. Warning ~ knitting lace can be addictive....(some of you may know that already... just saying....)

Done ~

These socks turned out to be beautiful. I love the pattern and still love the yarn. Jeny's Bind Off was great too.

I love everything about these socks!

I'll be casting on another pair soon!

Vacation souvenir ~

Did I mention that I found something in Sisters Oregon that I thought would be a good souvenir for me. Not counting the Mirasol Qina that I scored, as that was necessary for the economy and to be sure The Stitchin' Post continues to stock yarn in their fabric shop....

Roving of merino and Tussah silk... mango is the color... and I thought it was too beautiful to leave on the shelf.... plus I bought a darning egg, as I'd not seen one in years, and I need to darn some socks that my oldest daughter has worn a lot.... great souvenirs, eh!!!

Time for bind off ~

I'm at the point in the sock knitting that I have just enough yarn for Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. It will be the second time I've used this technique, and it worked really well the first time, so I'd recommend it to you if you've not tried it yet.

I do hope I have enough yarn left! These socks look so great ~ I love how they've turned out! Hurrah for Roadtrip Knitting!

More socks coming ~

The Stitchin' Post is one of the best quilting stores in the country, with great selection of fabrics and many finished quilts lining the walls for inspiration. In recent years they have also carried a great selection of yarn. A few years ago I scored my first Jitterbug ~ good times!!!!

This year I scored some Mirasol Qina, in a lovely golden yellow, at 30% off too! These will make perfect socks for my oldest daughter that seems to be wearing out the socks I've made for her...

Second Saturday in July ~

The Sisters Quilt Show was amazing. Over 1300 quilts displayed outdoors for one day, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. They are hung up in front of every store along all the streets of this town, and traffic is not allowed on the main street during the show so the public has a better view of the quilts on street (pictured below).

The quilts are sent from all over America (and the world!) to be displayed. They are not judged, they are not in competition with other quilts, they are displayed for the joy and celebration of being displayed at the largest outdoor quilt show in the world. The quilters range from kids to 90 year olds, and all are creative and inspired!

The quilts are beautiful.
The quilts are inspiring!

The quilts are amazing.... we are planning our trip for next year already!

Roadtrip knitting ~

Heading to Sisters Oregon to see the largest outdoor quilt show (hosted by the Stitchin' Post) in the world. My sister and I have been making the trip each July for many wonderful years, and we still enjoy the amazing spectacle of all these quilts.

On the way to Sisters, my sister drove and I knit on my alpaca/silk socks... and made great progress.... and to beat the 90 degree heat, we had a Dairy Queen Moo Latte....Yummy!!

Row 42 ~

The Brandywine shawl (found on Ravelry, and proceeds benefit Haiti) is fun to knit. I'm on row 42 after several hours of knitting. Lucky for me there is a chart that shows the stitch count after every row, and I've needed that to be sure I've knit the correct pattern for each row. I've had to tink back in a few places until I get to the correct place in the row...

The pattern is looking good, the yarn is great and the "thinking while knitting" is just what I needed!

Multnomah on its way ~

The shawl for my mum is now on its way to Michigan.

I think it turned out great, and will be super warm and perfect for her.

Hurrah for finished projects!!!

Brandywine ~

After seeing Ms M's Brandywine, it seemed like a good idea to cast one on, as it seems to be a magical shawl, full of beauty and grace. The Yarn Yoga gals helped me pick out the perfect yarn from my Sock Summit stash (which may be discontinued now, as I can't find it online), and so I decided that the 4th of July weekend was the perfect time to cast on.

It may not look like much, yet, but I'm already on row 11..... :)


Isn't it beautiful!!!

Busted ~

Last fall, at one of our Yarn Yoga events, the JitteryKnitter and some of the other knitters were having some trouble with a 4 row pattern on a scarf. It was basic enough that it was easy to get confused, and then the pattern would be wrecked... The yarn is super soft, and the needles are rosewood, and super smooth. In a gallant effort, and since these needles are heaven to knit with, I told her that I'd finish this scarf since I found the pattern to be so easy...and I may have mentioned that I really really liked these needles... She noticed at the recent Yarn Yoga that I still had this project, and inquired how it was coming along, since an alpaca scarf could have come in handy last winter... although summer doesn't appear to be here yet...

So I started knitting on this again after the rain drenched fireworks, as I thought we could use an alpaca scarf to watch the 4th of July fireworks... but I really won't want to part with these needles....

It is looking very beautiful, indeed....

Pacific NW 4th ~

To celebrate the 4th of July, I did more than knit. Our neighborhood had a great party across the street and I brought my specially noteworthy homemade raspberry ice cream, looking beautifully patriotic as a waving flag.


For those that are familiar with the Pacific Northwest, it won't surprise you to see this is how the neighbors watched the fireworks.....

Summer is supposed to begin here on July 5th....

July knitting ~

I love the three day weekend and all the knitting I can knit.

Here are the socks I'm making great progress knitting.... and drinking good coffee and relaxing, and knitting....

July Yarn Yoga ~

We had a great day today as we gathered for Yarn Yoga. This is what we call our monthly knitting group, and we had a great time today - as we always do when we get together. We did a lot of knitting, and the best of all was the 'show and tell' of finished shawls. Here's Ms M's Brandywine...(on Ravelry)

...stunning....

absolutely stunning....

Here's JitteryKnitter's Sayona (not sure of the spelling) - very beautiful, and those leaves are so great!

Summer Knitting Time ~

While there was a little sun break today, I planted flowers in the pot on our back deck where I do a lot of knitting in the summer. I planted two types of lavender that smell wonderful, plus two happy verbena plants, one red and one is purple and white. They are really beautiful.

As you can see from the larger view, the back deck is now ready for some serious summer knitting!
P.S. Here is my helper, as I was planting in the front garden, she was always in the pot that the new plant was about to be planted....

I think she liked the company!

A little spin ~

I was listening to Gigi this morning, talking about her new drop spindle that she bought at the Black Sheep Festival. I decided that when I came home from work tonight, I'd take my drop spindle out for a little spin...

It feels good to spin, I'm still very very very slow at the spin, park and draft...but I'm going to keep practicing....