Good Grief!!!

Before I get sidetracked with my crazy stories, I have to tell you one thing. My good friend Heather, of Anka’s Treasures finally started a blog. She is probably the hottest quilt designer around right now. (Her husband certainly thinks so!) So, stop over and see what she’s up to!

This has been a wild couple of days. Saturday night I spent three hours in the emergency room with Kid 4. She had a bad wipe out on her bike. We were concerned that she’d broken her leg. Thank God, she just scraped it up!

Today was another story. I left at 8:00 AM for a town an hour away to do a big Sam’s Club run. I got there and locked my keys in the car. I found a locksmith that could come in 15 minutes. He couldn’t unlock it because of a security feature on the car. I hate cars that are smarter than I am. I then called Kid 1 and she drove an hour to bring me my keys. (I did my Sams shopping while I waited.) The keys she took along weren’t for my car! So we loaded up the groceries and went home. When I got home, I looked in the cupboard where we keep spare keys, and they weren’t there. So I called the dealership and had a key cut. (Are you following all this???) Myself and Kid 2 hitched a ride back, got my car opened, and bought more stuff at Sam’s. When I got home tonight, I found out that my spare keys are in Texas with my BBB. That stands for Brat Baby Brother. I loaned him my car a couple of months ago and the spare keys went home with him.

So, a job that should have taken about 4 hours took about 12 hours.

Why the big grocery run, you ask??? My sister and her family are here from Texas, and we’re heading for Canada in the morning. That’s 13 people to feed. Boy, are we going to eat good. And I’m not doing any dishes. I’m bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan!!!

While I’m gone, I’m going to finish Hydrangea and work on my two Silk Garden sock projects.

Would you like to see what I made the other night??? It’s probably about the cutest thing I’ve ever done and it was a blast to make!!!

It’s my “I’m smarter than a 4th grader” binder. Since I’m homeschooling Kid 4 this year, I’m trying to convince myself that I can do this. You see, I have a business degree. I’m not a teacher, nor do I think like one. However, I’m pretty certain that props like this will help.

I’m off to bed. I have to do everything tomorrow morning that I was going to do today. Yikes!!!

See you in a week. I can’t even imagine life with no internet, but I’ll get used to it!

The Secret Life of a Test Knitter

It sounds like there’s espionage or James Bond involved or something. Actually, it worked like this.

I read Susan’s blog

I loved her Garden Variety patterns

She asked for test knitters.

I volunteered.

She sent me the pattern for Hydrangea the middle of June. After a few false starts, mostly on my part, I was off. I’m using Great Adirondack Soxie yarn in the Hydrangea colorway. I didn’t even realize that was the name of the yarn when I ordered it.

I knit happily along. Most mistakes are very tiny and I could keep going, but a couple of times I emailed Susan for the best way to make a change. The biggest mistake I found was mine. I didn’t look at the pattern closely enough to realize that there were triple decreases. Once I figured that out, it was smooth sailing.

There are a ton of beads in this project, but I personally think it’s well worth the effort. This week, I’ve been going outside in the early evenings to knit. Here’s my setup.

I make a copy of the pattern and just cross the row off with a pen when I finish it. For me, that’s the easiest way to keep track of where I am, especially when I’m working off of multiple charts. I have my crochet hook and this cute little dish for beads. The one thing that’s missing from the photo is the Diet Coke that’s never far away. And here’s the view.

Don’t hate me! I live in Minnesota and it’s covered with snow for the majority of the year! I could also show you the thistle that I pulled out of one of the flower beds. It was larger than my smallest kid. Or I could play you an audio of Kid 4 and Kid 5 fighting in the pool. Or I could show you the landscaping in the back that desperately needs weeding right now. Or I could show you more photos of Hydrangea!

This is probably my favorite shot.

I’m well into the second half right now. I’m going away with Honey for a few days in August, and I’d like to wear it, so I need to keep at it.

I didn’t get a photo of the completed half that I love, so this will have to do.

The release date for Hydrangea is on Monday, July 28. For more info, go to Susan’s post. You’re going to want to keep an eye on her because she’s got some gorgeous designs in the works.

Oh, and I have to give credit to my assistant. What would I do without my staff?

Silk Garden Sock Yarn

How’s that for an original title??? My brain is on vacation. I was going to do the Hydrangea post, but I’ll wait until it’s closer to the release date (next Monday).

What can I say a about Noro??? Most people either love it or hate it. I love it. Nowhere else can you find color like this.

As I looked at the colors in the yarn, I realized it was vaguely familiar. Remember this?

Both my Lady Eleanor and this sock are done in colorway 87.

I started the sock with a pattern called Eagle’s Flight. I quickly realized that all that work was wasted, because it just didn’t show up. And besides, Silk Garden doesn’t have any stretch and it was a pain. So my socks will have a lace cuff, and then it’s just a 6 knit, 2 purl rib. Works for me.

And then I started this!

I am in love. I’m knitting lace with no beads. I memorized the pattern in two repeats. It’s so fun!!! The pattern is Langsjalid Barur, by Sigridur Halldorsdottir. It’s from the same book as this shawl.

It’s going to be about 24 inches wide. I wanted something big and warm for Minnesota winters. It’s going to fit in with my black and denim wardrobe just perfectly.

So, do I love Silk Garden sock yarn? Yes! Yes! and No! I love the color and the way it knits up, but I don’t love the way it feels when I’m knitting it. If you’ve knit with Silk Garden, you’ll know what I mean. It’s great for this lace project, because it’s loose and I don’t care if it doesn’t stretch. It hurts my hands when I’m knitting socks! Basically, if you’ve always loved Silk Garden, you’ll love this. If you’ve always hated Silk Garden, your opinion won’t change. (I haven’t hit a knot yet in either color!)

I’m back to the laundry room. Honey called yesterday from work and said, “Merry Christmas, Garfield.” It took me a while but I finally realized that he was on his last pair of underwear! I did that load first. I’ve already done 5 or 6 loads and that means I’m only half done!

And I have to cook this week!!! My family does not need to eat any more fast food for a long time!

I’m off to be an adult…maybe!

Dog Tired!

To all of you who hate dogs: TOO BAD!!! That’s one tired dog. We’re all feeling that way around here!

We had a busy weekend. Actually, it was a busy week. We attended the Sonshine Music Festival from Wednesday thru Saturday. Last weekend, the size of our town doubled in size. 20,000 people attend this event. It was the 27th year of Sonshine. Honey has attended every year. I’ve missed two years. Our kids have been there since they were babies. About 5 years ago, we purchased a motor home, and because the guy that’s the head of Sonshine is really nice (and I make him chocolate chip cookies) he lets us camp backstage. That means my kids are turning into rockers! (It’s OK, Dad. It’s not permanent! And no earrings!)

The next night, after a hair trim, we added orange to the sides. He also lost a tooth! Kid 4 had an orange pony tail!

The highlight of the weekend for all of us was Toby Mac.

The hand you see touching the stage belongs to Kid 3.

Honey loves Christian rock music. I like some of it, but I’m getting older. I spent a fair amount of time in the motor home. What was I doing? Knitting. What was I knitting? Actually, I think I was beading more than knitting! I’ll give you a sneek peek, but you’ll have to wait for the full post.

This is Hydrangea, the test knit I’m working on. The first half is blocked, and I’m working on the second half. In my next post, I’ll tell you about the secret life of a test knitter. Exciting stuff, huh???

Oh, and the pattern for Hydrangea is due out on Monday, July 28th! More info in a few days.