Lady Kina is DONE and FINALLY dry! She was blocked on Friday and didn't dry completely until this morning. Many thanks to my sister for the button from Alaska. It worked out perfectly.
While waiting for the drying to happen, we had some fun with Max and Stella. She's just learned to point. (and is now standing!)
Max looks hesitant in this photo, but don't be fooled. He loves to swing and....
so does Stella. Guess whose hat she's wearing?
It's good to be back home!
It's good to be home! We were in Colorado this past week visiting friends and sightseeing in the mountains. No pictures yet, though, because our camera got left behind in an airport restaurant yesterday. Thankfully, it was turned in and will be mailed to us. Phew! We have some fun photos to share, including one of a mama moose and her baby. Soon, I hope! I did finish this hat for Stella. It's made from yarn called "Stella" that I got last winter in California and of course, couldn't resist. It was even on sale! The little topper is a felted flower I found at the Center Diamond quilt shop in Cannon Beach.
Lady Kina is also finished, blocked, and drying on the dining room table. It's surprising how much knitting gets accomplished on the plane and in the car. The back of Kiribati is done, and the front is on its way. Just this evening I sewed up the toe of Skyp. That is a nice pattern, and I love the yarn Bugga, but sadly I just learned it is being discontinued. The second sock is cast on and the ribbing is started.
Now I need to get to work on a long neglected cross stitch project as well as a quilt that needs binding. Hope you all have a great week. More photos when the camera comes home. Oh my gosh, I almost forgot to mention that we visited the Loopy Ewe shop in Fort Collins! And yes, I bought some yarn and one fat quarter piece of fabric. The shop looks just like its online picture but the picture doesn't show all the yarn. It was SO hard to choose! If you're ever in the area, be sure to shop; you'll be very glad you did! (And I'm sure you won't walk out empty handed either!)
*Be sure to check out Patchwork Times to see others' knitting projects.
Lady Kina is progressing nicely which is a good thing since we are heading toward mid-July, and she needs to be done by the end of the month! My, the summer is just flying by, even faster than it usually does. We have been blessed with unusually nice weather this month, and the garden chores keep multiplying, so knitting time has been mainly in the evenings.
This pattern is worked from the top down, and the sleeves have been completed so there are fewer stitches now for the endless rows of stockinette.....about 10 more inches to go. This project is the perfect place for a very special button my sister brought me from their Alaska trip a couple years ago. Here it is close-up so you can read its interesting story.
A bit of my time recently was spent trying to remember how I made a macrame plant holder years ago. It had gotten really dirty and then broke, so I had to make a new one even though the string I used wasn't to be found. The hardest part was threading the string through the beads because the holes were small, and the thread frayed. However, Fray Check saved the day! In the original holder the bottom threads were untwisted which made threading the beads a whole lot easier. This thread was woven around a core, but I still managed to thread all but 2 beads, thanks to Fray Check. The Hoya plant is happily hanging back inside where it belongs.
Back in April came the notification that I'd won the OPAM drawing, and a couple of weeks ago the package arrived all the way from Australia with this lovely little quilt inside. Sweet Peg of Happy in Quilting persisted in her efforts to get this to me after I sent her my address with a typo. Thank you, Peg; I love it! And it's very happy in the center of our dining room table. (And thanks to Susan, I have now added the photo!)
And now it's time to get back outside. In posting the above photo, I noticed the ivy is climbing the tree again....not good. Off to the rescue. Have a nice weekend! (Don't forget to check Patchwork Times to see what others are knitting!)
Heartwarmer is off the needles, blocked and has its buttons! I had to start a new ball of yarn for the last two rows but will have plenty left to make a matching hat and then some. Actually, this pattern would also work (without the buttons) for a shawlette for grownups! (like me?)
Here's Clockwork! I reread the pattern which says it's supposed to represent the gears of a clock. We'll see. With the multi-colored yarn and the grey vertical post-like thingies, it's a fun and interesting knit. It's on hold now, though, because I 'm working on my July Camp Loopy project (Stay tuned for a photo of that.) and something else.
Also on my needles is another Prayer Shawl for a woman in our breast cancer support group who's having a really tough time right now. She needs lots of prayers, too.
Now you're probably thinking, doesn't this woman do anything but knit? Well, at long last, this week the sewing room got straightened up a bit, and, wouldn't you know it, a very old stitching project reappeared ( No photos of that though.) Then, yesterday Max and Stella came over with their folks and Uncle Carl for a picnic. Max talked Uncle "Cawul" into reading him a book
and Stella and I shared a special moment, too.
Oops, I nearly forgot. Yesterday morning I found something quite amazing on our front porch, a recently expired, perfectly preserved dragonfly. Many times we've watched them flitting about our garden, but never had we seen one close enough to admire its beauty in such detail.
Aren't those wings wonderful? It was also a great reminder to take time to look around to not miss the splendor of each and every moment.
Hope you all had a nice Fourth also! Enjoy the rest of the weekend, too, and take a minute to check out Patchwork Times.
