The Best Laid Plans.........

Yesterday this little lady didn't feel good, so we spent the afternoon babysitting. Needless to say, I didn't get any stitching accomplished.  But then on the best of days, I do more knitting than stitching for some reason.

Here's a Chicago photo I forgot to post.  We found at least one other letter being used by the birds.  What kind of a bird lives in this nest do you think?

Have a good day, we are headed to the UW hospital to do our voluntering.

Home Again!

We are just about finished with the unpacking and laundry and almost back in our normal time zone after 10 busy days in Chicago.  The very first day we were there, Jill and I met Kathy for a fun lunch.  After that we were really busy with the kids, so busy we don't have many photos. I did get in a little knitting time though and finished my Undine socks without running out of either color of leftover yarn!

On Saturday, Michael was back home from his business trip, and we spent the afternoon at the Farm Heritage Festival in Wauconda. We had a good time looking at all the exhibits and watching the border collies herd sheep.  Michael and the kids rode their bikes almost all the way home on the wonderful trails that are sprinkled throughout this part of Illinois.

Sunday evening we only saw a tiny bit of the lunar eclipse before the skies clouded over.

Our stay just flew by: we helped out in kindergarten, watched swimming lessons, attended church, did a lot of carpooling and cooking as well as mending, stitching with Sophia, reading with Daniel and helping David with his 5th grade math homework.

Our flight home got off to a rocky start with an hour and a half of standing in the security line and another hour delay while a mechanical problem was fixed.  (It was, however, way more comfortable than the flight there where the seats were 10 inches apart!) It had been ages since we flew in clear skies during daylight, and Dick got some interesting photos out the window.

We think we spotted some forest fires.

There's  little bit of snow on what Dick believes is Glacier Peak.

Can you spot the Space Needle?  If you look really closely, you can also see the water tower that is down the block from our younger daughter's house!

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And here we are back home, and it's October first.  Where did this year go???  Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? Check out Patchwork Times to see what others are knitting!

Done, Done, Done!

A couple more projects are off the needles just in time to be hand delivered. This matches up with a smaller version that was finished for Cousin Stella a while ago. The ruffles are a different color, and it has kitty buttons instead of a dog. Sure hope it fits!

Strangely my last several projects have involved the feather and fan stitch pattern.  I just finished this Nami cowl; the pattern came with a Bento Box kit from Jimmy Beans yarn.  It included 15 yards of 12 different Berroco yarns, and I liked the sample of Briza so much that I ordered enough for a sweater.  Hope to finish it in time for winter. (This one!) It intrigued me how the two ends fit perfectly together, and I've got my fingers crossed that it will go well with DD's winter coat. This pattern would be perfect for using up odds and ends of yarn, so I need to remember that!

Speaking of cowls, fall has definitely come to our part of the world.  Not only are there shorter days and all sorts of spiders everywhere, we are now finding giant toadstools that seem to appear over night. 

My little gnome approves.

And this tiny fairy left me a note saying, "Get going on those winter projects!"  I guess it IS time, isn't it?  Check out Patchwork Times to see what others are making.

It's Beginning to Feel Like Fall!

We are slowlly getting back into our fall routine.  Our choir sang for the first time since June, we've taked a few nice drives, and we've had fun with our local grandkids. After a recent rain, we drove out to see Snoqualmie Falls and were rewarded with a rainbow on the way home!

We walked a little ways down the trail, and I convinced Dick to let me take his picture. Isn't that an interesting log?

The little bit of rain gave way to a nice rainbow. Can you see it hiding in the clouds?

This weekend we walked with Max and Stella down to the Magnolia Farmer's Market. We bought some bread and peaches before stopping at the park nearby

They both had great fun on the equipment, especially this slide.

No trip to the playground is complete without playing in the sand and 

running through the tunnels.  After they were done playing, we trudged back home up some significent hills.  I hope they slept well that afternoon.  We were sure tired!

The day before we took a fun road trip to Port Gamble. It's such a pretty town, and it has a great yarn shop and a really nice quilt shop.  All of the buildings are well kept up, just like this one.

And for me,  car trips also mean knitting time.  The Multnomah shawl is done; it was so much fun to use this gradient yarn!

Hope your week was as nice as ours!

A Few Finishes and Still Celebrating!

Gosh, here it is, closing in on the end of August with just about all the birthday and anniversary celebrations behind us.  We had a short visit with friends from Colorado and then celebrated our REAL anniversary locally because we couldn't find a cat sitter. No matter.  Our kids arranged for some chocolate dipped strawberries and 2 glasses of champagne to be delivered to our door. How nice of them!  We had a great time reminiscing about our life together over the past fifty years.  It's gone by so fast! We started out as two, and now there are twelve of us. Amazing!  And we all get along! All I can say is, "Wow!" Because we had planned to be away at a place without many restaurant choices, Dick had arranged for dinner at the Space Needle the week before. It was a cloudy day, but we still had great views of our city. (The restaurant revolves while you eat, so it's rather like watching an ever-changing movie.) Fun place for special occasions!

Meanwhile, there's been some knitting happening.  I finally finished Kiribati which I started last summer and put away when it got cold. (Thanks, Mere for the pattern link!)  Now I have to figure out what to wear it with!

It has interesting details on the side seam:

I also made a washcloth thanks to Dee's inspiration:  (Isn't her new kitty cute?)

And a replacement sample for  my volunteering.  The earlier one disappeared!

It's taken me two other tries to find yarn for the Undine KAL. I finally dove into my stash of leftovers and will be holding my breath until it's done.  I also decided to make the socks as written.  We'll see whether I like them this way or not.

 Enjoy the weekend.  We are supposed to have rain.......finally.  I hope it helps with the wildfires!  Be sure to check out Patchwork Times for some knitting inspiration!

Three Finishes Plus!

Whew, it's been a couple of busy weeks that involved some unexpected excitement, including getting used to our new car. It's been fun and a little crazy.  Dick had been doing research for quite a while "just in case," so we now have a new Toyoto Camry and just in time for our 50th Anniversary!  It's silver, not gold, but that's just fine.

We also spent a day helping a friend who just had rotor cuff surgery on her right shoulder, and I was able to get some knitting projects finished in time for several August birthdays.

This is en route to the Midwest for the GD that is turning 8.  How she got to be that old so quickly is a mystery!

The pattern for this gave me fits, but it's done and ready to wrap up for the Little Miss who turns 2 tomorrow! She loves dogs, and I just couldn't resist the button.

The next time I make this bag, I will use bigger needles, but it is supposed to stretch, and hopefully it will. (It's for a friend.)

August is a month full of celebrations in our family, with birthdays, anniversaries happening weekly! Nope, it's never boring in August (or any other month either)!  Hope your week is going well. Check Patchwork Times for some knitting inspiration!

Almost to the End......

Just a few more rows, and I'll be finished with this project! I used what was left from Stella's sweater and a multi-colored version of Bamboo Pop called Lollipop to make another one for Sophia.  I have just a few more rows to do, the ends to sew in and 3 buttons to attach, and it will be done.  It takes a lot longer to knit for an almost eight year old than for an almost two year old, that's for sure!

My sister sent this photo yesterday.  Ted caught a 5 pound walleye. They said it was delicious!  He looks pretty pleased, doesn't he?

And hurrah, the deer hasn't discovered the new blossom on my crocosmia!  Yet.....

Things here are getting back to normal after our exciting, crazy time away, and we are enjoying geting used to our new car.  Should have taken a photo, but maybe we will by next week.  Have a good weekend! And don't forget to check out Patchwork Times to see what's on everyone else's needles.