Happy days

Hooray!! I have now completed two ponchos for our Blankets and Sew On group at church. They're so much fun to do, so easy, and my current back-up project for car-knitting. (Too bad I forgot to take it along on my last road trip.)

The pattern is found in a great book "Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting" by Lorna Miser which I was lucky enough to see at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival this year. The fun part is deciding what remnant to use next. I think the next poncho will be in pastel shades....ooh la la.

I can still knit.

I forgot how to knit on Saturday. I traveled to Berkeley Springs, WV with my friend Gyselda and packed two projects to knit. I thought it'd be awesome to have someone else do the driving and had visions of knitting along while chatting merrily with my friend.

So I started to work on a ribbon scarf, but couldn't master the k1, yo twice action. Mind you, I had 4 inches of the scarf already knitted before I left home...my brain just wouldn't let me knit. So, I figured I'd work on the 2nd sock....bad idea. The last thing I tried was my hated shawl using Noro sock yarn. Not to disappoint me, the row count was off once again.

So...I'm home again and knitting my lovely scarf which never lets me down. Whew! I can still knit :)

PS: Berkeley Springs, WV is a great place to spend the day. Mineral springs, to soak in followed by a Swedish massage and then lunch in a yummy restaurant. Ahhhhhh.

Just because.

No reason for this post, except to wallow in NYC memories.  Just to make it a legit knitting entry, let it be known across the universe that I have started my first SOCK!!!!! OK, it's only out of knitting worsted using size 7 dpn, but I am really enjoying the progression as the wee sock grows to people size right before my eyes.  So far, so good and I am approaching the dreaded toe/kitchener stitch event.

Life is good.

Yard sales and dogs

I love books.  I tried to part with some of them at my daughter Jen's yard sale this morning.  I was lucky enough to take more books home than I sold.  There's a message there.

I did a very stupid thing while I was at Jen's.  Walked up to a car that had pulled up to ask whether we had any books to sell.  A barking Dachsund was in the back seat, and I decided to make friends by offering my hand, palm up, in friendship.  Got my very first dog bite (make that bites) as a result.  There are no lengths I won't go to when it comes to teaching my daughter a lesson in what you should never do.

Dear Jennifer was quick enough to write down the car's license plate number as the lady drove away after announcing to the world, "I told you he bites!" (She had not.) I shoulda known better, as the Beatle song goes.....

At least I can still knit!

The sheep who live down the street

I live in a suburban development, lots of people, lots of houses....and one nice fenced-in lot where Mr. Brubaker has kept sheep for the 23 years we've lived here.  When our kids were little, we'd walk down the street to see the sheep, perhaps to "talk" to them, ooh and ahhh, etc.

My kids are grown, I mentioned to my neighbor that it's be cool if I could get a bag of wool from Mr. B's sheep to spin and perhaps knit into something for posterity..... and the next thing I knew. he'd left a large bag of fiber au natural on my front porch.  In the meantime, I took my first spinning class and learned that not all sheep wool is created equal.  Some critters are raised for meat and some for their wool.  The meat breeds are pretty much unspinnable.  I'm afraid the guys down the street are children of the meat, rendering them (no pun intended) unworthy to spin.

I remain hopeful.  Stay tuned. :)