We Go Together

The last days of school has past and summer vacation is finally here. This time of year always makes me think of the carnival scene in Grease (the movie) where the whole cast is singing We Go Together. We have been spending most of our time enjoying the beautiful weather outside with trips to the beach, pool and park.

Top Chef at work: on the menu: fish pie with a side of escargots

So there has not been a lot of opportunities for knitting except late at night. I decided a few weeks ago to kick off the summer by knitting a new sweater. Since I just finished the Grapevine pullover (FO pictures coming soon) by Heidi Kirrmaier and am very happy with the results, I decided to cast on for her Vitamin D cardigan. It has been a fun knit so far.

 

a refreshing drink or two or three helped immensely with the swatching

Hope everyone is having a great week! Check out WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS for inspiring summertime projects.

FO: Turmeric

There are some projects that made me regret finishing them because the process was so enjoyable and I loved knowing that they were in my knitting bag waiting to be worked on. Well, this wasn't one of them. I did a song and dance when I finished Turmeric, which is a wonderfully written pattern by the ultra talented and stylish Veera Valimaki. The yarn (madelinetosh Tosh Sock) was also a pleasure to knit with. So what was the problem? Me, of course! Or to be more precise, my lazy tendencies. I started out knitting the extra small size, but since my gauge was off, instead of ripping back, I fudged the numbers a bit which resulted in a larger than desired garment. Also, since I didn't wash and block my gauge swatch, I was caught off guard by how much the fabric grew after washing. The neckline ended up being a little too reminiscent of Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. And all this could have been avoided if only I had made a proper gauge swatch. Lesson learned! But at least it's wearable and the button is cute.

I might give it to my little sister....she's a better dancer.

Head on over to the weekly FO Friday party at TAMI'S AMIS.

A Room with a View

My to do list:
1) scrub the bathtub
2) scrub the oven
3) scrub the kitchen sink
4) scrub finish the second sleeve on my Grapevine

Can you guess which of the above might get done today? Here's a clue:

the room

the view

the closeup

And if I'm not totally exhausted after that, I might knit a few more rows of this:

stripe study

I'll save # 1 - 3 for the hubby.

Go check out WIP Wednesday with Tami's Amis. Lots of cool projects from the coolest bloggers around.

A Day in the Life

I am very excited to be participating in "A Day in the Life".  Come and share the day with some interesting people from all over the world by typing DITL6611 into your search engine of choice or by visiting The Blog Hub group on ravelry. This post is brought to you from Kent Island on Maryland's eastern shore.

Since my week is usually divided into four days of rest and three days in a row of long 12 hour shifts, I decided that it would be more interesting to post about a typical day off rather than a work day. During the school year, my morning starts off by getting the little guy ready and on the bus by 8:30am. This usually involves a daily debate over what he's going to wear (he's a "t-shirt and shorts in the midst of winter" kind of boy) and whether he can sneak toys into his schoolbag (the answer always being "no way").

After the send off, a large caffeinated beverage accompanied by a plate of something sweet is always a welcomed treat.

I love to ease into the day by knitting a little and catching up on some blogs. Around mid-morning, I attempt to do some housecleaning and laundry for an hour or so. After that, if I am feeling particularly energetic that day, I might go for a walk on one of the nature trails that runs behind my house. We are very lucky to live in a place with many walking and biking trails as my fitness obsessed husband always points out to me (in a nagging tone).

the hubby on his skateboard

Or if it's a lazy kind of day, I might head down the road to our local beach and find a nice spot to sit and knit in the sun.

Then I fix myself a little lunch, usually a salad and sandwich or a big bowl of ramen.

instant ramen dressed up with poached eggs and veggies

While eating, I plan out what to make for dinner and write up a grocery list if needed. Then I'm off to do some errands and the grocery shopping. Now is a good time to confess that my pulse starts to race and my stomach starts to rumble whenever I walk into my favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's in Annapolis.

That's why I wait until after lunch to go, otherwise our food budget would be in grave danger. Not to mention the limited storage space in my car.

Then it's time to head home with the loot and to start preparing for dinner before the little guy comes back from school at 4pm.

mural painting of our house

If I'm lucky, there might be time to sneak in some knitting and a tea break in the library which is my most favorite room.

After 4pm, it's a whirlwind of after school snack, dinner, homework, and going to the park.

a typical weeknight's dinner: orange chicken, vegetables and rice

inside the playground slide

We like to unwind in the evenings by playing in the playroom with the little guy...

...and watching movies, surfing the web, reading or listening to music. I try to fit in some knitting, too.

stripe study shawl

So there you have it, a typical day off. Thanks for coming along!

Historic Post Office in Stevensville Maryland Circa 1877, a photo by litlesam on Flickr.

Try not to blink or you might miss my hometown of Stevensville, Maryland on Kent Island. For more pictures of the historic buildings around town, click on the above photo.

FO: Ribbed Lace Bolero

Ribbed Lace Bolero

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it took me close to a year to finish this one. That is what comes of juggling so many projects at once. Now that it is finished, I can understand why this is such a popular pattern. Fun and easy construction: it is basically a rectangle that turns into a bolero with the addition of two seams. Universally flattering: the finished garment is very wearable, looks good on a lot of body types and goes well with simple t-shirts and tanks.

Preparing for Summer

The weather here has been in the 90's, hot and muggy. Summertime has arrived! We are making preparations for when school lets out in a few weeks.

Sand toys at the ready

Some beach reading material (my current obsession)

A new clubhouse in need of "paint"

Plymouth Covington in silver

Taking a short break from my current WIP's by swatching for a new summer sweater. Since this cardigan involves an allover lace pattern, I am going to play it safe by washing and blocking out the swatch. It's always so exciting to start on a new project but nothing is more boring than knitting gauge swatches. In the past, I have sometimes gotten away with knitting a few rudimentary inches, measuring for gauge while the stitches were still on the needles and going up or down in needle sizes based on a hunch. It was nothing but pure luck that the finished garments actually fit. Now that I've been burned a few times, especially when it came to row gauge which I never used to bother with, taking proper gauge measurements is a necessary step. And who knows, these dull swatches may even end up as useful objects themselves, as shown here.

Now for something more exciting: new buttons from one of my favorite etsy shops.

Fiona Macneil buttons

 Also, check out these wonderful blogs participating in WIP Wednesday with TAMI'S AMIS.