KNITTING

It seems a while since there's been an FO in the Knitting Dept. around here! I was on a roll over the weekend and finally sewed buttons on the girls' sweaters, so today there are two:

• Ravelry Project Page: Cockleshell Cardigans
  • Size 18-24 months for Virginia, Size 6-12 months for Malina
• Pattern: Cockleshell Cardigan by Amy Christoffers
• Yarn: Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash (color: Daffodil)
  
  • 4 skeins = 2 sweaters with just a bit left over
• Needles:  US 10
• Start to Finish:  April 24 - May 28, 2018

The color is off in these photos (I blame the floor), it's really more like this:

So bright & happy!

Are they not the most adorable little sweaters? Soft & squishy, too.

Mods: The pattern called for I-cord ties but, um, Nooooo. I opted for matching buttons and crocheted a loop to close.

Mistakes: I made one on the cuff of Gin's sweater, creating an actual cuff... I didn't realize it was a mistake until I started the other half and then had myself a little time trying to recreate that particular "design element"! I also misread (or didn't actually read) the directions and did the 3-needle bind-off to the inside instead of the outside on both sweaters. These things do not bother me in the least!

The kids will be over this evening, so possibly modeled shots forthcoming!!

UPDATE TO ADD:

Oh, they are the cutest!! We had supper together and Gin wouldn't take her sweater off, so... ketchup, chocolate milk, and a little Truffle Kerfuffle later... it's already landed it in the wash! (Came through wonderfully.)

I am still working on Summer Camp! It won't be traveling with me, though, so I'm readying to cast on my first WATER hat to bring along. Check out the Baby Cocktails forum on Ravelry for more info about Water for Flint project and knit-along.

READING

Well, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder has taken a back seat to The Thoughtful Dresser, which I've already renewed once (and may need to again) (reading has taken a back seat to almost everything else), but I'm getting into a bit more and enjoying it. Plus, there's some traveling ahead and it will be coming along.

I am listening to West Cork, which, it turns out, is actually an "Audible Audiobook - Original Recording." It's not an actual book -- never was, never will be! I think I nabbed it on a promotion or something... anyway, it says "audiobook" in the description, so I'm going with that. And it'll fill a Bingo square! I'll likely finish it on the plane tomorrow, so will be queuing up something else today!

Check out more from Kat & the Unravelers...

...or What I Did Over The Weekend!

First of all, it was 100°F or darn close to it all three days, so I didn't spend a lot of time outside.

To quickly recap the weekend: Ali & her family came over on Saturday night for a send-off barbecue for Maddy, who left for her summer camp job on Sunday morning. I'm not sure when we'll see Maddy next -- maybe July 4th-ish? And probably briefly before she heads to Oregon in late summer/early fall. Thankfully, she's found housing out there for the vintage season, so that's settled.

And she did a great job repainting the back porch -- ceiling, pillars, railing, window trim, and floor -- before she left!

Kate was away with friends for the weekend, returning Sunday evening. We moved the last load from the apartment into the storage unit that she's sharing with Maddy. And we bade her farewell on Monday morning as she began the drive to NYC/Brooklyn to install her curated show CONVEYOR for Greenpoint Open Studios this weekend; I'll meet up with her there on Thursday. She's still heading to the UK when she returns, but there have been and continue to be Changes and unchanges and rechanges... and stay tuned (because it's un-/re-/changing almost daily at this point!)

Kate's plants have come to live with us for a while!! It's like a jungle in there. 

_ _ _ _ _

OK. My main event of the weekend turned out to be finishing the Alabama Chanin Swing Skirt that I started last week!

I've been wearing the original more and more, and had been wanting to make another one for quite a while. My original thought was to try using one (or more) of the souvenir t-shirts I've picked up in the last year or so -- House of Blues (St. Louis), Country Music Hall of Fame (Nashville), FAME (Muscle Shoals) are vaguely what I had in mind. What caught my eye was a shirt from La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona! I'd never thought of it in terms of a skirt before, but it was obviously dying to be one.

Naturally, I didn't take a "before" photo, but that's basically the front of the shirt on one of the skirt's front panels, and the back became the other front panel. I always buy the largest size that I can, but this one wasn't very big and it was an off-center design, so I made the most of it -- you can see that I left the hem intact. For embellishment, I've only embroidered around the outline of the cathedral's towers using black thread.

I found a gray men's 2X long-sleeve t-shirt in the stash (yes! there's a t-shirt stash) to use for the bottom layer (that Barcelona shirt being slightly lighter in weight than I prefer and, also, I'm just a bit more comfortable with two layers). I cut the front skirt panels from the front of the shirt and the sleeves were shaped almost perfectly but just a tad too short (due to armhole shaping) to be the other two panels... it was oh so close! I decided to do some piecing and make it work!

I basically made a yoke using remaining fabric from the front & back. Another black t-shirt from the stash was cut for the top layer and I suppose I could have left that piece intact, but decided to stitch & cut to expose my Frankenstein work!

Then I had the bright idea to add side seam pockets! I love pockets, don't you? I used the pair of pants I was wearing to get the placement right.

I got a little tripped up because of "felling" the pocket seams, and ended up felling an entire side seam to the front of the skirt because of the way the pocket was inserted (ideally, seams should be felled to the back). I wasn't gonna let that bother me.

After the pockets & seams were sewn and felled, it was time for waistband elastic! I really love Alabama Chanin's fold-over elastic, which I attached with a nice stretchy herringbone stitch. I used the same method on my first Swing Skirt.

Voila! It's a skirt!

On Monday morning, I realized (again, for the n^th time in almost 60 years) that as much as I really do love a nice side-seam pocket, it definitely does not love me/my figure in a garment such as this.

So I took them out! It was not as painful as it sounds -- one nice thing about hand stitching is that the stitches are BIG, and I didn't even have to rip the entire seam. Once the seams were re-sewn and properly felled (to the back!), I was much happier with the fit.

And I'm wearing it today!!

Oh yeah, I gave myself a pedi yesterday for the first time in forever!

A favorite detail is this patch that was stitched to the front of the original t-shirt -- with all the threads hanging out, just like that -- and I just had to keep it! I love this skirt and will certainly be making more.

_ _ _ _ _

You can learn to make your own Swing Skirt from Natalie Chanin herself on Craftsy:

Natalie currently has two other courses available on Craftsy: The New Embroidery: Simple Geometry, Beautiful Stitches and Creative Embellishments. And she's a fabulous teacher!

Two months old!! Prepare for photo overload!

I had a little one-to-one time with Malina last night for the very first time! The girls went out for dinner & drinks to celebrate their (last month's) birthdays together before they soon begin to scatter.

In her mama's arms, cooing at Aunt Kate!

This part doesn't look so gingery. Still, adorbs.

Sleepy snugs!

I am looking forward to another 3-day weekend! At the very least, I'd like to finish the "La Sagrada Familia" Alabama Chanin Swing Skirt over the next few days and, hopefully, do a little (early morning) gardening. It's gonna be HOT HOT HOT -- 90F or more all three days! I'm looking forward to the shortest of work weeks next week -- only Tuesday & Wednesday -- as I'm winging to NYC on Thursday. I'm excited about spending a day or so on my own in Brooklyn and another in Jersey. It'll be a quick but super-fun trip!

Thea Colman released a new pattern a couple of days ago... WATER is a beautiful cabled hat that she designed to help support efforts to fix the problem in Flint, MI, which has unbelievably been going on without resolution for YEARS.

I just can't even comprehend that... as a mother, a grandmother... a human being!

Thea writes:

This is WATER, the latest in a series of designs I’ve put out that uses my needles and my voice to try and fix what I can out in the world.

ALL the proceeds from WATER will go to Flint, Michigan, where they are on year four without clean water, due to lead in the pipes and the inaction of the authorities to fix the problem.

There’s a fantastic 11-year-old little girl there named Mari Copeny, who also goes by the name LittleMissFlint. She’s done more as an activist in the past four years than most of us will do in a lifetime. Google her and you'll be amazed. She's adorable and focused and tireless, and with the support of her family she is making a difference.

Mari has made speeches, met with politicians, has social media presence, and uses her voice and rising profile to raise awareness and funds for the people in Flint. She’s raised money for water bottles as well as things that make life for the kids in her community (where 60% live in poverty) better - backpacks and movie tickets and books.

As the media circus in the US intensifies, I want Mari and the people of Flint to know that their town isn’t forgotten, and do what we can. I want to keep encouraging this kid to fight and speak and I want to show her it's working.  Even if the problem isn't fixed, her efforts are working and we hear her, right?

So all my proceeds are going to this Go Fund Me that raises $$ for bottles and backpacks. In addition, North Light Fibers is donating my design fee, and my lovely tech editor Sandy has asked me to donate her tech editing fee.

The hat itself is my favorite kind of design -- some fun cables.  These combine open cables and twists, and feature a bit of texture. The crown of the hat is worked with a combination of decreases and cables that makes a striking pattern that reminds me of large drops of water, an added bonus to the theme of things here.

All the information is on the Ravelry page, and the PDF is $7.00.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THESE IMAGES AND THE STORY on your social media, with your friends, or at your knitting shop. I’m not trying to make any cash myself off this one - but the more you spread the word, the more we help this kid help her community. xo

Within little more than 24 hours, $2200 was raised for Flint and, as of this morning, that figure had risen to $3000.

Thea is hoping that activity over the holiday weekend can push it to $5ooo!

CAN YOU HELP?

I stopped by my LYS on the way home from work on Friday to find some buttons for the girls' sweaters.

I can't believe I still haven't sewn them on! It was a very busy weekend with lots of distractions and many things buzzing 'round my brain. I'll buckle down and get that done because, believe it or not, it has been sweater weather the past few days.

On Friday evening, Kate & I stopped in to see Cristian Andersson's installation & performance piece, Scriptorium (some background here).

There was more bad news on Friday and, combined with Cristian's reading of the news, the piece by Annie Leue that we'd seen at the SAIC Student Show not even a week earlier came immediately to mind, prompting the post above. We did not see/hear Cristian's entire performance, but he later made a moving reply to my post on IG (click through for all the photos/comments).

Nothing against Harry & Meghan, but I just couldn't muster much enthusiasm for the wedding. I was happy to see a recap or two and some photos and, in hindsight, I probably would have enjoyed it... but not as much as my mother would have, and perhaps that was another reason for my lack of interest.

Instead, I had a fantastic day with Junah & Ginny on Saturday!

They brought over some new bikes to leave at my house and we rode around the 'hood to check on things... the remainder of the sewer/water work on a few streets over, the old water feature at a park a couple blocks away that's been on the docket for a (someday) re-do, the sad condition of sidewalks and settling earth due to the above sewer/water work that took place on our street last year. I called the City Engineer yesterday (again) and am awaiting a return call about when it'll all be fixed. They came up and put some safety barriers in a couple of places a few weeks ago, but even those are being swallowed up as things continue to deteriorate. It's not a good situation!

Ali came over with all the kids on Sunday, too, and we had a nice impromptu dinner together with Kate & Maddy.

This little one! She's wearing the Elwood cardigan that I made for Gin a couple of years ago -- it's a little big for her, but look at that cute pudgy rolled-up sleeve.

I think she's looking more and more "gingery" every time I see her! What do you think?

During a little chat with Ann in Spain on Sunday, I also talked with Addison for a bit and he sweetly asked about the baby. I told him that we're just beginning to see the hint of a smile now and then, but by the time they're here in July she'll be smiling ear-to-ear.

Work on the kids' clubhouse continues... there a door manufacturing operation in our basement over the weekend. The doorknob came from "the bucket o' knobs" that Rusty's collected/saved over the years. I think it'll soon be finished!

I discovered a couple of new-to-me beers:

The Gnam Gnam was very good. Had I known beforehand that it had mango I wouldn't have tried it, but I couldn't even tell... I did get a hit of the Thai chili and it was perfect! I also enjoyed the Lager of the Lakes -- more than I thought I would, actually. Also, the design of both of those cans is pretty spectacular!

Due to coworker scheduling, I had the day off yesterday instead of my usual Wednesday and noticed that it was VICTORIA DAY, so of course!!

I had a long overdue chiropractic adjustment yesterday and a long discussion with her about my tendonitis, which has become a sometimes very uncomfortable/painful shoulder situation, and between the adjustment and a couple of awareness things... it's feeling better today. Here's hoping for continued improvement!

I've had the itch to make another Alabama Chanin Swing Skirt and pawing through my stash of t-shirts, souvenir & otherwise, I came across one that I bought last year at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and it was perfect!  The embellishment could go either way because, y'know, GAUDI, but I'm keeping it simple... running stitch in black thread to outline each of the cathedral towers. I can always add more stitching later... at times it screams for beads!

Thanks for all the great comments about my patch job yesterday! It was a very methodical process and fun to learn. I neglected to mention that I have a few copies of that issue of Making (and some of the others) in the shop and would be happy to send them out into the world -- $24 (+ tax if in WI) + flat $5 shipping. Let me know if you're interested! (Someday I'll get the online commerce thing going.)

I had Junah & Ginny for a large part of the day on Saturday while Ali ran some errands, but managed to get organized and accomplish a few things before & after they were here.

Though I've been wearing it with no problems, there have been two small holes in my Alabama Chanin Anna's Garden Swing Skirt almost from the moment I first pulled it on. The stitching may have been a bit tight on one of the applique pieces because the holes were on either side of just that one piece. Fixed!

An often-worn black sweater from J.Jill had some holes in seam lines, so I stitched & reinforced them. Fixed!

The lightweight brown cardigan is also from J.Jill and was my mom's. It had a tiny little hole in a really weird spot (right between the boob and armpit area -- possibly snagged on a purse strap/buckle?). It's apparently taken me almost four years to figure out how to fix it. I just stitched it up with some brown thread after determining that it's really not a highly visible area... but would be very noticeable if I did anything more than that! Fixed!

Not shown, a long wool Eileen Fisher coat that Kate snagged on super-duper clearance a few years ago. There were some holes in seams, a big hole in the butt area, and some small holes in one of the pockets... and it needed washing. Fixed!

Then it was time for The Big One. Another J.Jill sweater that I've had & worn for at least a couple of years. I put it on the other day and thought to myself that the elbows were looking a little thin and, sure enough, by noon there was a hole in one of them!

There's a great article by Bristol Ivy in the latest issue of Making, No. 5 / COLOR about a few different methods for mending knits, and a woven patch seemed the way to go for my project.

I roughly marked the area with pins, stuck a little ham in the sleeve (for contrast as much as anything else), and started weaving. First, to establish the perimeter...

Then back and forth horizontally (these are not technical terms!). I love the idea of "visible mending," so chose a yarn with a little personality -- a bit of a Madelinetosh Unicorn Tail that I dug out of the leftovers.

I wasn't far into the vertical stage of weaving when I realized that the patch was not going to be a dense fabric... the original fabric is more of a mesh, but that won't work for the patch.

So I eyeballed it and wove some more yarn in vertically, until it felt & looked right -- not quite twice as many.

Then I wove in all the ends. That's the back side, above. WEAVING!

During this process, I thought of "Ruth" a million times. I never met Ruth, but when I was little and we'd go to my Grandparents' house, we'd drive through a little town called New London and I'd always spot/look for a sign that said "REWEAVING by Ruth." It was a fascinating concept!

Though far from perfect, I am really happy with how it turned out, and I learned a lot. I'm wearing my patched sweater today (because it makes me happy... and it's chilly!), but I'll soon be patching the other elbow -- I'd like to do it before there's an actual hole -- and maybe trying another method/variation and possibly color.

*FRIDAY!

*A 3-DAY WEEKEND!

*REALLY & TRULY NICE OUTSIDE!

This guy is so much happier now that it's nice enough to be outside most of the time! (As are we all, I suppose.)

Do you have anything going on this weekend?

I'll have the kiddos for a while tomorrow morning, in varying combos of 2 and 3 while Ali runs some errands.

The only other thing "written in pen" on my calendar is an appointment with the chiropractor on Monday. I'd been going regularly, but slipped off that schedule quite a while ago and I think it's time to get back on track.

There are a few things on my list that I could work on...

And I'll definitely be putting the finishing touches on two little matching sweaters for two sweet little girls -- I'll be stopping to choose buttons on my way home today!

Joining Carole and friends this week for Three on Thursday...

1 - Knitting

I started a new knitting project on the way to Chicago last Thursday.

It's a new Summer Camp (pattern by Laura Aylor) and, as I snapped a photo in the car, I noticed that I was wearing the first one that I made. That shawl and my 2016 Rhinebeck Shawl (Close to You by Justyna Lorkowska) were probably my most-worn shawls last winter (they both "go with everything") and I've wanted to make them both again.

Coming along!

I'm using yarn that I dyed a few months ago and I'm pretty happy with it so far.

My elbow/shoulder/arm are still balking at me now and then, so I'm trying to take it easy (figuring out my next step with this lingering situation).

2 - Wine

It occurred to me this morning, while replying to a comment/email from Mary, that perhaps I've neglected telling you about the amazing wineries that Maddy's worked/will be working for! She has worked the past couple of vintage seasons for Wither Hills in New Zealand and also for Loveblock Wines (the winemaker formerly of Kim Crawford Wines); this fall she'll be working for Kendall Jackson in Oregon, and she's pretty certain that she'll be similarly working in Australia next year (exact winery TBD).

She brought a bottle of Loveblock home with her (because she didn't think it was available here) and we shared it on Thursday night at our hotel. I'm pretty sure the staff in the liquor department at our local grocery store thought she was a little off her rocker on Saturday when she VERY EXCITEDLY showed us that she'd found some on the shelf there!! Isn't the label pretty?

3 - Customer Service

I've tried in vain to locate the misplaced shoulder strap for the charcoal gray Baggallini* Medium Avenue Tote Bag that I bought last year. I don't know what I did with it, and had to resort to using the red strap from another bag when in NYC in March. I finally resorted to reaching out to customer service last week and :08 later I had a reply email informing me that my replacement strap would arrive in 5-10 business days. At no charge. Not even shipping. Yahoo!! I'll be ready, with matching bag/strap, for the next trip to NYC in two weeks!

*FYI, and per the disclosure that appears on the sidebar of every page, I post ads and affiliate links here on occasion, mostly from Amazon and Craftsy (within posts, at the bottom of posts, and also in the sidebar), from which I earn a percentage of any resulting sales if you click through, and that money pretty much covers the annual cost of having this blog/domain. Baggallini is not one of them (nor the wineries) (ha!) (though I realize now that they may now show up!)... anyway, they don't know me from Adam and I'm not compensated for this endorsement whatsoever; I just want to share my experience with their fabulous customer service! (It is so rare... and, really, it made my day!)

Cheers! The gang's all here!!

Kate & I motored to Chicago on Thursday to pick up Madeleine -- originally due at 11:59 pm, she missed a connection before even leaving NZ and yet somehow arrived almost 6 hours early! Thankfully, we were already down there and she didn't have to wait too long. But that's a trip/story for another day! The gist of it is, Maddy's home!

I made it a point to grab my camera and take some photos! Rusty, too!

We even tried recreating a few old photos, some with more success...

...than others!

There's a photo (which I can't find at the moment) of my sisters & I successfully holding our mother in the manner that you can see attempted above. My brother was there, too, but it was after his traumatic car accident and there's no way he could risk it. Anyway, the girls suggested we try it... I never got my right foot off the ground and the only way this might have even remotely worked is if there was no laughing! As it is, it's a pretty awesome photograph and I think I like it even better.

Maddy met Malina for the first time!

Seven weeks old, she's really starting to fill out!

The big kids have discovered some of my shawls!

We had a terrific get together yesterday. A hot dog roast, brats on the grill, this year's favorite salad, along with a few from the deli, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert!

I got a bottle of new-to-me gin to try and some really great cards. It was just about as perfect as a day can be.

In early March, Ali sent me a link from Missouri Star Quilt Co. to a quilt that she ran across and really liked. I did a little research and discovered that it was a Modern Background Colorbox Fog Cheater Quilt Panel by Zen Chic for Moda Fabrics.

That is a mouthful. But "CHEATER QUILT PANEL" stood out to me. I had never heard that term before and I was intrigued! I liked the design, too and thought it would be cute for the baby, plus the design seemed perfect for trying out some hand quilting.

I'd have preferred to buy the materials locally and I tried, but more than one local quilt shop turned up their nose, with remarks, at my inquiring about the availability of this panel. Is that from Pinterest? Do you know how many designs there are? We can't possibly carry them all...

Um. OK. Sorry? Obviously, they weren't interested in pursuing any further to help me out or in a special order.

So, naturally, I ordered it online!

I also ordered cotton batting and backing fabric, though that turned out to be the wrong color -- which is the downside of ordering online. I consulted with Ali & her friend Kristin and even though they thought it would be "okay," ugh... I just couldn't do it! It was just too bright. So, I ordered more. It was a little easier to determine the subtleties of coordinating fabric colors at Fat Quarter Shop and I spent a lot of time consulting both websites to find one that I really liked.

I was nervous that the backing wasn't going to be wide enough, so added that little strip of batik... turns out I needn't have worried.

Waiting for the new & improved backing fabric to arrive gave me time to take the "cheater" panel to Joann's to pick out some colorful thread. I chose five colors of Gütermann 100% Cotton Quilting Thread.

I may not have cut & pieced it, but I made my first whole cloth quilt... and I did it by hand! Except for the binding -- I made my own bias tape and bound the quilt by machine. It took about 6 weeks, start to finish. I sort of free-styled the individual motifs, working each one pretty much the same... but different. I think it works. The back isn't quite as gorgeous as the front, but it's okay and I think it works, too.

I tired of it near the end, mainly because there are SO.MANY.OTHER.THINGS and SPRING!!

It really was a lot of fun, I learned a lot, and I have much more confidence now to tackle & finish the vintage (?) log cabin piece that I inherited from my mom.

Do we need any more photos?? Haha. Sorry, I got a little carried away...

CHECK: Finish Malina's quilt!

The goal was to finish on the weekend, but I put my head down and did it on Saturday -- washed, dried & delivered! I'll do a separate post about it (there are some more photos on Instagram if you're interested).

Doesn't she look thrilled? That photo is actually from Sunday afternoon... but I'm sure that she was! Also, no doubt thrilled that she's wearing a bonnet & outfit sewn by her mama and the Garter Yoke Cardi that I made for Junah.

I am thrilled that I have a clean slate of a work table!

CHECK: My first bicycle event of the season -- a 20-mile ride to benefit a local charter school.

It was far from pretty, but I got it done... a little over 22 miles altogether (I also biked to & from the event) in just over 2 hours.

My average speed was about 9.6 mph, highest was just over 30, and I climbed 444' (some of it on foot).

It was a BEAUTIFUL day -- not too hot & not too cold -- and I rode on a few roads new to me. I have a little color on my face and a funny farmer tan on my forearms because my sleeves were pushed up a bit.

I wanted to get the indigo seeds started but didn't. It was too late to go get soil when I discovered that I didn't have any... or maybe I was just pooped. Now I think I might wait until next weekend because I'll be gone for a few days and won't be able to keep an eye on them. I'm hoping it won't be too late a start!

Just have to share that Junah, one-and-a-half years old in the nearly 3-year-old photo above, was wearing this Captain America Romper on Saturday! Ali said that it's what he wanted to wear!! (And I love that... it's pretty much how it worked most days when I was in charge.) Obviously, he couldn't fasten the crotch snaps, so it just looked like a weird inverted shirttail... with snaps! It was adorable.

In other words, what's happening this spring/summer! What began as a normal "what's happening right now" post became a fairly detailed and very helpful list of What I Know Right Now. Also, a couple of hopes & dreams... things I'd like to accomplish.

MAY

Macro May... and Macramé! I think "macramé" almost every time I say "Macro May," but now I'm actually developing a plan to do some! I've always loved making those knots and now it's cool again -- inspiring, even. I have an idea to make window coverings for our bedroom.

My first bicycle event of the season is this Sunday -- a 20-mile ride to benefit a local charter school. I am doing it alone. I'd rather not do it alone, but it's that or not at all... and I really have to JUST DO IT!

We're picking up Maddy in a week (squee!), and spending a day or so in/around Chicago before heading back...

And then it's Mothers Day!

Maddy takes off for her summer camp job just about two weeks later. Thankfully, the camp job is way closer than her vineyard job (haha), and I'm hopeful for a couple of summertime visits.

On the very last day of May, I'm heading to NYC again!

There are also a couple of "unclaimed" 3-day weekends in May due to work schedule/holiday, and overall I plan to:

• Finish Malina's quilt (I'm putting my head down and aiming for a finish this weekend)
• Start indigo plants (also must be done this weekend)
• Prep for rummage sale
• Sew something(s) -- a dress and/or top for the girls and/or me
• Dye something(s)!

JUNE

Kate has curated a show, CONVEYOR, for Greenpoint Open Studios and I'll be joining her there for a few days. She will be busy much of the time with set up, so I'll be on my own for a bit. I plan to meet up with a friend or two, and maybe even take in a show.

Shortly after that, and after Kate returns from NYC (she's driving), I head to Chicago again to deliver her to the airport to see her off as she departs for a month in the UK.

Another possible bicycle event - to benefit a local fire department!

The local farmers market starts up again and Ali will man the Coffee Camper; I imagine I'll have a few Saturday mornings with Gin & Jün.

There is an entire week in the middle of the month when I'll be working every day (I usually work four long days and LOVE my mid-week day off).

CSA deliveries begin mid-month and I'm really looking forward to that!

I am planning to get to work finishing the mosaic tables that Rusty & I built a year ago (detail of dilapidated & rotting original shown above).

And also continue prep for the rummage sale.

JULY

I will be going to Chicago for my monthly visit to pick up Kate at the airport.

There's a rummage sale in the works!

And Kate's maybe gonna re-paint my kitchen walls sometime in July. Before she moves to Denver!

Ann & family arrive from Spain for their summer visit (July 14-August 21), and that means Auntie Camp on the horizon! We're just beginning to sync calendars & make plans, so I don't know exactly when -- it's actually more like to happen in August. That means INDIGO. Maybe tie dye again? Weaving? I'd like to involve Junah, and maybe the kids of one of my coworkers (they've all met before).

And also a possible bicycle ride.

AUGUST

Shhhhhh. At this point, August is a pretty clean slate, other than probably Auntie Camp, Addy's birthday, and his family's return to Spain shortly thereafter. This will very likely fill in a bit -- and may include another trip to (where else?) Chicago!! Annie has hinted at it... because, you know, it will have been a whole month since I was there!

SEPTEMBER

September is looking quite free & open! There is another possible bicycling event and I might tie that into a long weekend away with Rusty.

Just like last summer, this one will certainly have distractions and last-minute changes/additions. I'm hoping to find a better rhythm this year and not veer too far off (of my very loose) course.

Joining Carole and friends this week for Three on Thursday...

ONE

For a day or two, I was convinced that she was going to be 3, but no...

Time seems to be racing, but thankfully it's not racing THAT fast... and yesterday we helped our little Ginny celebrate her 2nd birthday!!

Before cake -- a really yummy oatmeal-banana-chocolate chip cake!

After cake... and ice cream!

I put together the little doll bed that I bought at IKEA a few months ago and wrapped it up, along with a sweet little summer outfit.

She cracked us all up when she immediately "got into" that bed. Soon enough, she was putting her baby to bed.

TWO

Rusty has continued work on their backyard playhouse this week.

He is very patient!! The walls are framed, the roof underlayment is down, and windows chosen and configured.

THREE

Just because...

Other Grandma was coaxing coos and maybe even a little smile from Malina! In that last photo, it's all eyes for Mama, though. 

KNITTING

So, I did really well with the simultaneous knitting and socializing with the book club gang on Friday night -- even doing increases at regular intervals without screwing up.

Saturday was a WAY different story, and perhaps what you might expect when a day begins with a cherry mimosa at breakfast and carries on with a distillery/brewery/winery tour! I found a mistake and when I thought I'd figured out what happened and how to fix it, I only screwed it up more. Way more! Let's just say there were some "wonky" eyelets on that edging by the time I came to my senses and just put it away.

So, I ripped back the problem area on Monday night and re-knit. I worked the 3-needle bind-off on Tuesday night, and gave it a soak and pinned it out on Wednesday.

Cockleshell Cardigan

My gauge/measurements are spot-on for the size I made, though I'm using a slightly heavier yarn. I LOVE IT! This one (largest size) will be for Gin, and I've cast on another (second-smallest size) for Malina.

SEWING

I have about half of the hand-quilting yet to do on Malina's quilt... it is getting a little tedious and I've contemplated ways to make it less so (i.e., not do as much), but I've decided to bite the bullet and JUST DO IT (correctly) (or at least as originally intended). I've 30-ish little squares to go... each is randomly quilted with one length of thread. Ready, Set, Go!

READING

Audio: I finished listening to Unfu*k Yourself on the way up to Door County on Friday. I figured that would happen, so had downloaded Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning by Leslie Odom, Jr., to be ready. I would listen to Leslie Odom, Jr., read just about anything. Even so, I really enjoyed the content of this book, too; some interesting wisdom and ideas to ponder.

Pages: Nothing has changed here: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder is still on my nightstand, but so too is The Thoughtful Dresser.

Check out more from Kat & the Unravelers...

It was nice to get home on Sunday early enough that I had time to get a few things done (after my nap) and take a walk through the yard.

It's just amazing to remember that just two weeks ago we'd been paralyzed by a blizzard for the better part of a weekend and left with 2' of snow on the ground -- the remains of which are still melting at the end of my street, even after nearly 80°F yesterday!

Remember that time when Rusty wrote a book about building clubhouses?

It's coming to life...

They're using the step-by-step guide found in Keep Out! Build Your Own Backyard Clubhouse to build a clubhouse in the kids' backyard!

I'm not sure how this scenario came about, but that's Jün and the neighbor girl sleeping... and waiting for SANTA!!

Must be all the snow.