gaia shoulder hug

This shawl was the perfect summer knitting.  It was portable and required very little brain power on my part.  (Which is good for when you drop off to sleep while knitting poolside.)  It was designed with Noro sock yarn in mind and as the yarn color changes, you switch from stockinette to reverse stockinette with an eyelet transition row.

The entire shawl ends up being reversible which is fabulous.  I loved the name of it ~ Gaia Shoulder Hug.  The thought of being able to give it as a hug sold me right away.  (although it's a free pattern)

 Maggie modeled it and I noticed a glimmer in her eye...she didn't want to give it back.  It's a good thing for me that I have another skein of yarn ready to go! 

Here's the knitty gritty:

Pattern: Gaia Shoulder Hug (ravelry link) by Anne Carroll Gilmour

Needles: size 6 (I went up a size from the pattern...only because I didn't have a 5!)

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock #221. I used 1 skein...and only had about 12 inches left!  I cut it a little close.  I wanted to get one more color transition completed.  whew!

(thanks to Maggie for modeling for me!)

summer savors, new starts

Lingering over early morning summer knitting....

and enjoying the fleeting views of summer. 

My savoring of summer seems to have been as short as the last week itself...I found myself so busy enjoying that I didn't do very well at sharing. (sorry!)  And then, all of a sudden I find myself at the end and the beginning....school starts tomorrow.  Have a wonderful end to your summer and a great beginning to the beauty that the next season brings.  (I'll be back with knitting soon!)

summer savor 1

Summertime finds me outside in the mornings drinking my coffee and having my quiet time. I love these moments. Molly often joins me...I think she was still waking up...that's quite a big yawn.

this is part of my summer savor series...feel free to join me as I relish the last few days of summer.

the last stretch

We're on our last official stretch of summer.  School starts in about a week and the machine of routine will get back into gear.  Some of us are excited for school to start.  Some of us are not quite there yet.  Hopefully in another 13 days we'll all be ready.  I've been getting us ready and mapping out our schedules and curriculum.  The bookshelves are loaded up and ready to go. 

It's going to be a great school year...it's going to be a great school year, it's going to be a great school year....(can you tell who's not quite ready yet?)

In other news, our painting project is well underway.  My honey, who is ever thoughtful and has my best interest at heart, hired a painter to come in and do the painting.  He didn't want me wiped out and tired going into the start of the school year.  Isn't he great?   So, while they're painting...I'm blogging.  Pretty good deal, huh?  Here's the color I chose...it's called Desert Tumbleweed by Sherwin Williams.  I'm really loving it.  The trim is Pacer White also by Sherwin Williams.  I'll show more pictures later when the drop cloths are all folded up and the rubble has cleared. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd wrap up summer by squeezing every last drop of goodness out of the season.  I'll post a photo each day (or so) with something I'm savoring as summer winds up.  Feel free to join me as I savor summer. 

an update and my denial

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my newly completed Vine Bolero....and thanks for the honesty.  Seriously, I do not want to look granny-ish in any way...I put the broach away and I will pull it out when I hit my 90th birthday.  Whew!  That was a close one.  I also changed out the buttons. The others were a bit too small and they kept coming un-done.  I like the new ones much better. 

We're knee deep in the middle of upheaval and change around here as I gear up to repaint a large portion of our house. (yes, school is a mere 3 weeks away and yes, I did a similar stunt last year and yes, I am obviously dense)  On Monday, I pulled the wallpaper down in the entry and hallway in a fit of sadness.  Kristyn and her family had been here visiting for a week and after their return home, I just couldn't handle their absence...so I did what anybody else would have done....I flung myself full force into a major redecorating project. 

Denial, it's working great.  Although it doesn't wipe out the fact that we do miss them terribly.We had such a wonderful time visiting and catching up.  It's always a great time when our two families get together.  There's never a dull moment! 

...but had I been thinking properly, I could have gotten some more mileage out of their visit if I had I given everyone paint brushes when they arrived. 

I'll keep you posted on my project....today I'm choosing colors!

vine bolero

While traveling home, somewhere along I-95 in South Carolina, I finished my Vine Bolero.   I know we weren't in Georgia as I did the driving through the state of Georgia and I swear I didn't knit a stitch while driving on I-95.   Besides, this sweater was a great knit to work on during lazy summer mornings after I'd had my coffee and before the crew got up and going. It wasn't hard, it just required some extra attention and concentration.

I had originally planned to knit on it during baseball games but the lace required a bit more concentration than baseball afforded.  This sweater was the first time I've knit lace using a lace chart.  I actually had to contact the designer for the chart symbol meanings.   Emily was great, she got back to me right away and never even made me feel like a ninny for not knowing what each symbol meant.  (Thanks Emily!)

Once I got going, I really enjoyed looking at the chart as opposed to reading the directions.  I was able to see the pattern a lot faster using the chart.   I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this sweater, it'll be great in restaurants where they've got the air conditioning blasting and I think I'll be able to wear it this fall as well. 

I highly recommend the Malabrigo Silky Merino.  It is so soft and it drapes really well.  I added the buttons and then tried it with a brooch...I'm not sure which I like better.  (If  I go with the brooch, I'll take the buttons off...hmmmm)

 I may get one of those shawl pins and try that as well.  As you can see, I've got plenty of options to work through.   No matter what, I'll be wearing this sweater a lot.   Although, according to my fashionista daughter, Mckenzie...I need a necklace.  Point taken.  I'll make sure I have on a necklace next time.  ahem.

So, here's the knitty gritty:

Pattern: Vine Bolero, by Emily Johnson

Needles: size 7
Size: Medium
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Sand (I used 3 ½ skeins)
Mods: None, except that I lengthened the arms by 2 inches and the body by 9 inches.

I do know that I won't be wearing it this weekend as the temps are well into the 100s...they say this is the hottest July on record for our area.  whew!  Wherever you are, I hope your weekend finds you cool and comfortable and hopefully with something fun on your needles! 

glimpses of vacation

The laundry is all caught up (as if that really happens), the mail has been opened and sorted, the dog loved and walked and reality has sunk in....vacation is over. Reality is such a cruel master...but thankfully we have memories in our minds and sand still in the bottom of our bags to remind us of vacation. We spent last week in Orlando, Florida with friends.  We had a wonderful time.  The entire week was chock full of activities and wonderful memories.  Here's a glimpse of the fun that we had ~

And...on top of all that fun, I finished a hand knit somewhere along I-95....I'll be back soon to share! 

be back soon!

we're soaking up the sun....

...and trying to squeeze every little drop out of our time away.

I'll be back some time next week! 

still not tired of it yet....

It's hot here this week.  (Temps in the 100s and heat indexes into the 115s!)  Way too hot to cook and heat up the house with the oven or stove.  These are great days for cold plate dinners.  My favorite cold plate meal has got to be a big leafy green salad with all the fixins.   I've been making this current salad for months now and I could eat it every day...seriously.  It's so good.  It's also a nice salad because you can tweak it with what you have on hand. You can mix it up so that you won't get tired of it even if you do happen to eat it every day for a week.  (trust me, I know!)  I've decided to call it the "still not tired salad".  Here are the building blocks, but feel free to add your favorites and make it yours. 

one bowl of leafy greens (romaine, iceberg, green leaf, baby leaf...whatever you have in the fridge)

shredded carrots
sliced cucumbers
crumbled blue cheese (although when I've been out, I've used shredded cheddar and that's been good)
craisins
sliced almonds
Good Seasons Italian dressing (I use the packets and make my own...I swear this dressing makes the salad...no substitutions here)

Feel free to add:

chopped broccoli
chopped cauliflower
chicken stripes or steak
grape tomatoes
sunflower seeds
or whatever your heart desires

Mix every thing together and dress the salad ahead of serving.  A dressed salad allows all those ingredients to get together and mingle, which results in great flavor.   Have fun and don't forget to share a couple of those baby carrots with your favorite pooch. 

Molly is always underfoot when she hears the salad shredder come out of the cupboard.  If you don't have a salad shredder (which I only have because my mom was cleaning out her kitchen) use a grater and grate your carrots.  Do you have a favorite summer cold plate meal that you love to make when the temperatures sky-rocket?  If so, please share, the forecast is looking like we're in for some sizzling summer weather. 

summer days...overflowing

I had dreams of long, lazy summer days filled with board games and swimming and reading books on the hammock.  In reality, our summer has been busier than I suspected.  We've been out and about running here and there.  There have been some quiet days but I've had to re-adjust my expectations to fit better with reality. And, as I reflect on the days that have flown by, I have to say that although it's been busy, it's been good!  In between all the busy-ness we've found time to:

{make new friends}

{enjoy new views}

{celebrate: Maggie auditioned and was cast in next year's production!}

{unearth hidden gems}

{dream about the bounty}

{hope for the future}

{wonder at the beauty}

{dry out}

{get reacquainted with old friends}

No matter what your dreams for summer involve I hope that your summer is full to the brim with fun and overflowing with good things!