Strawberry Season

Ed and I got up early this morning and headed out to a Pick-Your-Own farm.  We were able to get over 5 pounds of strawberries, bit it wasn't easy.  The farmer said that strawberries need about an inch of rain a week to do well.  We haven't gotten nearly enough and it is now terribly hot.  What little rain we've had the past day or so will evaporate before the plants can absorb the water.

I hope to get some freezer jam and a pie out of this.  My challenge is Ed.  He is currently standing at the sink eating straight from the basket.

On the knitting front, I'm nearing the end of one of my Pay It Forward projects.  I don't know if the remaining ball will be enough yarn.  I have another skein but I really don't want to splice near the edge.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

This really has been an easy pattern and is very adaptable.  You knit the edging and then pick up stitches along the long edge.  Short rows give it a curved shape.  I figure I could use different lace edgings and make others like this.  It is an easy take-along pattern.

The Merry Month of May

My baby went to prom.  Doesn't he look handsome.

That smile is priceless.  He tried finding a date but was turned down by one girl and then found out another girl he was going to ask was going already.  Since he is only a junior, he decided he'd wait until senior year.  Three days before prom, a girl from one of his classes asked if he was going.  She said she was going by herself and wondered if he wanted to be her date.  We scrambled to get his tux.  Actually it is just suit with a tuxedo shirt, bow tie and pocket square.  I think we pulled it off nicely.

He's growing into a nice young man.  He asked me the other week if we could put in a garden.  Yesterday after a trip to the garden store, we got to work.  The soil was turned.  (I really wish I had a rototiller when I do that!)  We worked several bags of compost into the soil then got to work planting tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, sugar snap peas and strawberries.  Now as long as we can keep the rabbits away, we should have a good crop of vegetables later this summer.

Saturday I went with a friend to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival.  The vendor area was bigger than ever.  It was hard restraining myself but I managed fairly well.  I tried to only get things I wouldn't find easily elsewhere.  I bought 3 patterns, alpaca yarn to make one of them, handmade soaps, hemp roving and yak roving.  

Making progress on the socks.  One is finished and the other one is started.  These will probably be gifted to Trisha because the leg is too narrow for me.

I'm also working on a scarf.  This is for a "pay forward" project on Facebook.  I owe three people gifts sometime this year.  This will be one of them.

Unscheduled Lazy Day

Now that the shawl is complete and delivered, the next few knitting projects are for me, maybe.  I started a pair of socks.   I'm using this pattern from Knitty.  The pattern is interesting without being complicated.  It is allowing me to practice a travelling stitch technique I learned a few years ago.  I'm crossing the stitches without using a cable needle.  It makes the knitting much faster.  It is my intention that these are for me, but if they end up being snug, and I'm beginning to think they will, I'll give them to one of my daughters.  Their feet are smaller than mine.  If that happens, I'll make myself a pair, but use a larger needle.

Speaking of needles, I am using a set of Karbonz double-pointed needles for this project.  I love them!!!  I bought them last fall at Fiber Optics in Milford, Ohio.  The brick and mortar shop opened last fall.  It is a really lovely store with all kinds of fabulous yarns and fibers.  Recognizing that there are many spinners out there, the shop has a wide selection of dyed and undyed fiber.  The center of the shop features clear drawers of different fibers to buy by the ounce.  Some of the fibers are so dreamy I wish I could shrink myself and jump inside of the drawer.

Today was supposed to be a travel day for me.  I was scheduled to visit my mom again, but something came up at home which changed my plans.  So now I have an entire day at home with no particular plans. It is cold and rainy outside.  I guess I'll just have to suffer through a day of sitting inside, knitting, spinning and watching movies.  [How dreadful!! ( ;-p)]  I guess I better be off to start my lazy day.  Yippee!!

It's a Wrap

Pun intended.  It's a wrap.  It's a shawl.  It's finished.

The knitting was over last weekend.  I think I wove in the ends last Sunday evening.

I had to wait until my daughter Kristin went back to college to block it.  Her bedroom is the best for blocking large items.

It is very drapey and light.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Finished measurements are 72 in x 24 in.  The definition of the stitches really thrill me.  It is now all boxed up and ready to take to the recipient.  I've really enjoyed this project, much more than I thought I would.  

Now on to other projects.  Something for me is in order.

Now that the weather is getting better, I'll probably be outside more.  Unless it is raining.  This past week was filled with an incredible amount of rain and thunderstorms.  This rainbow was from Thursday night.  We could use a little sun now to dry things out.

Part of my day today was spent at a quilting event.  A local organization provides quilts for patients at the Ohio State James Cancer Hospital.  Several friends and I spend the day sewing.  Here is the one quilt top I finished.  I have another mostly done.  It was a lot of fun.  You would think after a full day of sewing, I'd be sick of it.  Nope! It just made me want to do more sewing.

Too bad I have a day job and housework to do.