Decisions, decisions

After much petting and drooling over lovely yarn, I have finally made my decision on what to keep and what to contribute to The Stash.

My score:

Four skeins of Nature Spun sportweight, 2 skeins Lang Merino Color sock yarn, 3 skeins Cascade 220, 2 skeins Wildfoote sock yarn, and one yummy skein of Noro.

My contribution:

Four skeins of wool/alpaca sportweight, 1 skein Bartlettyarns 2ply, 2 skeins Peace Fleece, 2 skeins handpainted worsted weight merino wool, 2 skeins Kroy self-patterning sock yarn, and a "Girl's Best Friend" sock kit. This last is my own sock design, and I haven't even put it in my eBay store yet. A special sneak preview for my fellow members in The Sisterhood. :)

This has been so much fun; I really enjoyed looking at all the different yarns. A couple of the yarns I chose are ones I have been wanting to try, and haven't had a chance yet. I can hardly wait to start knitting!

Treasure Trove

A while back, I mentioned that I had joined the Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash. Well, I am now in possession of The Stash. All I can say is, Wow! Treasure trove is the only way to describe it. Laceweight, fingering, worsted, bulky; wool, mohair, silk, alpaca, cotton--it's all here! I'm busily going through everything, trying not to drool on anything, and deciding what to take out and what to put in. Such a lovely quandary. I'll be sure to share pics of my score once I finish deciding!

The curse is lifted!

I finally finished these socks - took me four tries to get the second one right (I'm not counting the time I cast on 34 stitches instead of 36, since I discovered that mistake before I finished the first round). These are for CIC, natch, made of hand dyed yarn. I used a patridge eye heel with garter edge, and the gusset decreases are p2tog, all of which I got from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I am so relieved to finally have these done and off my conscience! I haven't decided yet what yarn to use for the next pair of socks. I think I have some dark red variegated yarn tucked away somewhere; maybe that will be next. Hmmm...should I toss in some kind of stitch pattern? I rather enjoy the mindlessness of doing plain stockinette. I may just start knitting and see what happens.

My weekend

The b/f decided it was time to re-side the shed, so this is what Saturday looked like:

The b/f is doing all the work that requires know-how & power tools. I'm doing the painting, and let me tell you, painters earn every penny they charge. That roller and brush may not be very heavy, but after wielding it all day long, accompanied with deep knee bends and tall stretches, I'm exhausted! Sunday should have been more of the same, but luckily for me, the rain came Saturday night. (Lost the satellite signal right in the middle of Hidalgo, but it's a small price to pay. I can catch the rest of the movie some other day.) Last I heard, the weather-guessers said we might have a few thundershowers here and there. Instead, we got rain all night and half of Sunday. Fortunately, no damage done; everything that could be damaged by rain was moved into the garage before the clouds arrived. Next weekend: more painting (weather permitting).

Thanks to the weather, I did get a little knitting time in. I decided to try my Cuffed Ankle Socks in Sockotta, see how I like it. On the left is my umpteenth try to finish this pair; I gave up in disgust back in January. It's time for the CIC Summer Sock Extravaganza, so I decided to give it another go. It took me three tries to get the right number cast on; why am I having so much trouble counting to 36?

I'll leave you with a picture of my first rose. I planted two Peace roses in the backyard this year, and the first bloom is just opening. Ah, Peace.

First 'mater

First little tomato has appeared in my garden. So exciting! Now begins the attempt to foil the birds' efforts to eat the tomato before I do. Last year the birds ate more tomatoes than I did. I don't mind sharing, but there has to be a limit.


OTN: A vest for CIC (about 2/3 done), and socks for me. I got a little eager to finish the sock, and started the toe too soon. I could wear it, but it would always feel a little tight. So, off to the frog pond we go. Add a few more rounds, and redo the toe. I love this yarn; it's a scrumptious wool/alpaca blend. Sooooo soft, and a little fuzzy, but still with plenty elasticity for socks. This yarn is definitely going to show up in my eBay store soon.

Since the weather is a little warm for wool socks, I'm going to try a cotton/wool blend soon. Wool is more fun to knit with, but right now cotton is going to be more fun to wear. :)

Can you see her?

While working under one of our trees, the b/f was receiving a terrific scolding from a nearby bird. After a bit of looking, he saw this:

We both had to find out if it was an active nest, so we climbed the tree (one at a time), and took a peek (being careful not to disturb anything). Five robin's eggs! (Sorry, no pic; I was holding on with both hands).

We finished up our work and got all our stuff out of the way; a while later, we tiptoed back and saw:

Mama Robin back on the nest! You can just see her head showing above the nest on the right.

I'm looking forward to watching the parents teach the young'uns how to forage. That is a common summertime sight out my kitchen window.