Friday, June 16, 2006

It's Friday already - where did the week go?

It is hard to believe the week is almost over. The weather was strange. One morning I woke up freezing and now it is hot. I feel like I have been watering almost everyday and really wish it would rain. But, the watering has payed off. I had enough strawberries to make strawberry cream cake (recipe from Cooks Illustrated May 06). It turned out really well, exactly what I was hoping for. I love garden strawberries. Andrew and I picked another 2 1/2 pints yesterday and there will be more to come. I also have flowers on my tomato plants and a banana pepper ready to pick.

I did realize that I needed something to work on other than the lace so I am continuting to work on the red cabled cardigan that I started in January or February. I have the back and one front side done and the second front almost done. Kind of amazing, since I started on the second front last Friday. I will post pictures when I get the second front piece done. I thought it was kind of funny that since I needed something to knit that I didn't need to concentrate on as much as the lace, I pulled out something with a bunch of cables instead. I guess I just knit too much.

I have also been busy sewing on the duvets for Andrew's room. Lots of fun matching patterns to make a wider piece of fabric. JoAnn has denim on sale this weekend, which is what I was planning to use for the back of the duvets and for the curtains so maybe I can finish that up next week. Then on to more diaper sewing.

Bullet got a little grooming done last night since it felt cooler outside than in the house. A nail trim and brushing.


He is a very happy dog.

Tomorrow we have a graduation in Jordan and dinner with Tim's dad in Burnsville. At least I should have time to knit in the car.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Socks, a Scarf, and Sewing in the Sauna

First the socks.


I finished Andrew's handspun/handknit socks at knitting night Saturday. Knitting was just Bobbie (who was hosting) and me. It was quiet and gave me a chance to get the socks finished. They are basic socks - no real pattern. 48 stitches, 2x2 ribbing till the heel using size ones, short row heel on size threes, then ribbing using ones on the top and stockingette stitch using size threes on the bottom. Contrary to what the picture shows the cuffs are both the same length. I made them a little long so they should fit Andrew this winter. It was interesting to see how much more consistant the yarn is at the end of the second sock than at the beginning. I still have some yarn left and will probably make matching socks for the baby. Andrew is very happy to have his woolie socks. The other day when we went to the playground I told him to put his shoes and socks on so his feet didn't get hurt while he was playing. He responded that if they did he would put on his woolie socks and his feet would feel better because they were so soft. He is the best three-year-old to knit for, although not the easiest to have hold still for a picture.

Next, the scarf. I have wanted to try lace knitting for a long time, but haven't wanted to jump in with a shawl. It just seemed like a big commitment for something that truly isn't really my style of clothing. I did find some silk laceweight at Shepherd's Harvest that I decided to splurge on. I am kind of thrifty, so I don't usually spend much on yarn. The Trellis Scarf in the Spring Knits magazine had already caught my eye, so I decided to try it with the silk.

I am 2 1/2 repeats into the main pattern and it is getting easier now. I don't need to constantly look at the pattern and even the 7 into 5 clusters are getting better. I'm not sure if I will keep it or give it away at this point. I mainly want to see if I can knit it.

And sewing in the sauna? My sewing machine and serger are in a bedroom upstairs that is on the southeast corner of the house. Because of the way the upstairs is layed-out it doesn't really connect well with the rest of the upstairs, so there isn't much airflow. It gets really hot. I tend to put off sewing projects in the summer because I don't want to be up there in the heat. Unfortunately, there are diapers to be made for the baby and curtains and a comforter cover to be made for Andrew's room so I have lots of sewing to do. Since blogger was down this afternoon and I couldn't put off the sewing by blogging I braved the heat. Tonight, after dinner we went to Menards and bought an air conditioner for the room. It is currently the only one we have in use in the house. I can usually keep the downstairs around 80 by closing curtains during the day, and the bedrooms cool down pretty nicely during the evening, but the sewing room is just hot and I decided it really isn't recommended for pregnant women to be spending time in a sauna. Hopefully, the air conditioner will motivate me to do some more sewing. I do have nine small diapers mostly sewn together though. So, I did accomplish something today.

Friday, June 02, 2006

The Pool

Do you ever put something away so it won't get lost and never find it again? Last summer we put away the inflatable pool and the three plugs were set on the kitchen counter. Sometime this winter I was tired of looking at them and was sure they would be lost sitting there on the counter so I put them away. Today we decided to set up the pool since it will be in the 80s for the next week or so. Do you think we could find the plugs? It took five hours and finally I found them. Of course, Andrew was upset that we couldn't blow up the pool and put water in it. He had all kinds of ideas about what we should do; so to the gym (the pool at the Y), use someone else's pool (our neighbor has hers set up), go inside and look again, etc. I finally told him that we could go get another pool after his nap so I could convince him to go inside and have some lunch. I did find the plugs while he was napping and filled the pool, but then the water was freezing when he woke up. Andrew woke up just before dinner and since the water was still very cold and we were going to eat soon we told him he needed to wait until he could go swimming. He had other ideas. We were in the living room and we heard the side door open into the backyard. I walked through the dining room, glancing at the pile of clothes on the floor, and out the side door. Andrew was in the pool, naked. I guess he didn't mind the cold after all.

On another note, knitting night tomorrow. Yea!
 

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