Superbulky Grandpa

While I was posting my last blog entry, my husband was on the phone booking a cruise for our anniversary.  Later this year we will celebrate 28 years of marriage by taking a cruise from NYC up through New England, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  I hope the fall colors are out and we get to see the Aurora Borealis.  Thinking about the weather that we might encounter on the cruise, I decided I needed to make a special sweater for the trip.  Superbulky Grandpa had recently popped up in Ravelry so I gave it a look.  It seemed perfect for what I wanted, something to throw over a top and add a scarf if necessary.

Later in the day I went out to run some errands and stopped in the store to buy some yarn.  That evening I knit a gauge swatch.  The curious thing about the pattern is that it lists two different gauges.  Based upon the finished bust measurements, I should make the XL, but since my gauge matched the tighter gauge I decided I needed to do a little math to see if it would work out.  According to my calculations I decided I needed to knit the XXL.   Since this is a top down sweater, I figure I won't have long until I know if this was the right decision or not.

While I was out running errands that day, I also stopped into my favorite LYS.  The shop owner asked me if I would like a temporary part-time job to help her get ready for a special event she is having in June.  Of course I said "Yes!"  I have been helping her and her staff hank and tag hundreds of skeins of Manos.  Not surprisingly, I have loved every minute of my time there.  It is yarn heaven!!

May Didn't Get the Memo

April showers bring May flowers.

Yeah!  Right!  Sure!  When the showers don't stop at the end of April, they bring cold, damp, dreary May.  That's how the weather has been the first week of May in Ohio.  I am being a bit dramatic.  I do have flowers.  But I'm not sure if they will survive.  The weatherman mentioned the possibility of frost tonight.  And I may have jumped the gun and planted my tomatoes and peppers outside already.  Keeping my fingers crossed that they all make it through the night.

The dreary weather has been perfect for getting some sewing done, along with the fact that Blake is now home for the summer and has been borrowing my car quite a bit.  Last Saturday I worked on a few quilting projects.

First, I made the April and May blocks for my groups' Block of the Month.   The patterns come in two sizes, crib and twin, so I decided that I'd do one of each.  The April block is a four-patch and the May is a modified nine-patch.

The crib size quilt is going to be made out of pastels.

The twin size is going to be made out of bold colors.

After those were complete, I pulled out the pieces for Blake's quilt, which I never finished.  I now have the top complete and have to decide about the quilting.  I can't decide if I want to do it myself or contract it out.  My hesitation with doing it myself is because I seem to always have trouble with yarn tension.  I want the quilting to be stippling, but I have never mastered that technique.

He heads back to school in August.  I'll give myself this month of May to think about what I want to do.  Maybe I'll muster up some courage.

April Showers

Yesterday was a cold and dreary day.  Typical weather one would expect for April.  I spent most of the afternoon snuggled on the couch watching a few episodes of a mystery series my friend told me about.  The series is called Miss Fisher's Mysteries.  It is an Australian production set in the 1920s.  If you liked Downton Abby this might appeal to you.

I had Drachenfels with me and managed to get a few more rows done.  I am finished with the grey yarn (color A) and am now alternating the green (color C) and magenta (color B)  The rows are still growing longer with each garter ridge, so progress has slowed considerably.

My daughter's variegated jade plant continues to improve.  It loves soaking up the sunshine.  If/when I give it back to my daughter, she will have to promise to keep it in the sun.

Patient Update

The patient is improving.  New leaves are growing on both stems.  It is safe to assume that both have rooted and happy in their new environment.

They have been basking in what little sun we've had lately.  April has been truly living up to its reputation as a rainy month.

Taxes also go hand-in-hand with April.  Since this was my first year filing as self-employed, we had an accountant prepare things this year.  She sent back a large packet of papers to review, sign and return.  I spent an evening at my new desk looking over the paperwork and writing some very painful checks.  To be honest, I could have avoided some of the pain if I hadn't been forgetful.  I missed one of my estimated payments to the IRS.  That won't happen again.  Reminders have been put in my calendar.

What little time I have had for crafts lately have been spent on quilting.  Last Saturday I spent the day at an event to sew quilt tops for the James Stitching Sisters.  The Stitching Sisters are a non-profit group that provides quilts to women going through chemotherapy at the OSU James Cancer Hospital.  Throughout the year, quilt packets are prepared which include instructions and all the fabric needed to make a top and back for a quilt.  Once a year they hold a day long sew in.  This year over 200 people gathered to spend the day sewing quilt tops.  Other volunteers take the tops to quilt and bind.  I completed one top at the event and took home 4 packets to do on my own time.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the top I made.

I do have a picture, though, of another quilt I finished.  This one is for my own quilt group.  We call ourselves the Meandering Quilters.  We donate our quilts to Children's Hospital, the local homeless shelter and Wounded Warriors.

The fabric in the blocks came from Japan.  My brother-in-law gave me the fabric while he was cleaning out his house about the time he and my sister were married.  He had been in the Marines.  The fabric had been purchased by his first wife during one of his deployments in Japan.  Since this has a Marine connection, I am going to specify that this quilt go to Wounded Warriors.  Hopefully a veteran that either served in Japan or has a personal connection with Japan can enjoy it.