Summer Flies

The July KAL for the Beginning Lace Knitters group on Ravelry was Summer Flies, a worsted weight shawlette. Given all the other knitting I have on my to-do list, I (as usual) wasn't going to participate this month. But, I couldn't resist. I have some Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in my stash, and cast on on the way to Buffalo for the 4th of July. I worked on it again on the way home from Buffalo and started the bind off 2 days later. 2 days after that, I finished binding off. (Picot bind offs of 400 stitches take a long time.)

I blocked it last week, and finally got around to taking pictures the other days. What do you think?

(I have a better post-blocking picture, but blogger keeps turning it around).

Little girl was thrilled to model for me:

(And she just happened to be wearing her tank top made from the same yarn).

I really enjoyed knitting this. A number of people in the KAL have started a second one, but I'm fighting that urge. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy it as much the second time around, and my have-to list isn't getting any smaller.

This week, I'm working on a log cabin style pillow for a friend. She brought her mom some fabric to make her curtains, and her mom happened to have coordinating yarn in her stash. The yarn got brought to me, and I'll hoping to finish the pillow the first week of August. There will be no working on it next week, because we're going vacation!

On Saturday, we're driving to the Adirondacks to spend a week with my parents, do some hiking and canoeing, and start the kids on a long family tradition of visiting forts on vacation. (We'll be going to Fort Ticonderoga. We could also go to Fort William Henry, but I think that's too much fort for one week at this stage of their fort visiting career.)

Unfortunately, we have to take two cars because my husband has to work on Thursday night. That's about 10 hours (5 hours there and back) of knitting time lost to driving. :(

Happy knitting!

25 Things I've Learned As A Parent

I saw this on a blog I read, and thought I'd play along.

1. Lunch rarely gets more easy than PB&J.

2. Poop becomes far more important that one could ever dream.

3. Kids need WAY less stuff than the registry at Babies 'R Us would have you believe.

4. Kids accumulate stuff at an astounding rate.

5. Chores can be taught really early. If the kid can walk, he can throw away his own diaper.

6. Never underestimate the power of counting.

7. Most days may start off with the thought "How can I exhaust them so they'll take a nap?"

8. As much as I love them, God loves them even more.

9. Praying for their safety becomes as natural and often as breathing.

10. Eventually, listening to the baby say "Mama" becomes tiresome.

11. Nothing is better than the sweaty baby smell after a nap in warm weather.

12. Sometimes, the baby sleeps in your bed just because you want her there.

13. When it's 9 p.m., and you put your son to bed 2 hours ago, and he comes into the living room to tell you about the moon, you go out on the porch and look at the moon with him.

14. Caffeine can get you through a lot.

15. Sometimes, it's really hard to be patient.

16. It's healthy and normal to do things without your children attached to you.

17. A pedicure can go a long way in boosting morale.

18. You understand why your mom gave you two choices for dinner - Take it or leave it. And you give your kids the same choices.

19. Sometimes, it's okay to bribe your kids so you can do what you want to do (like browse in a yarn shop....)

20. Your spouse will never be able to keep up with all the nuances of your schedule with the kids.

21. The kids survive anyway.

22. Breakfast for dinner once in a while stretches the food budget.

23. Not all moms can leave their husbands to put the kids to bed. Try not to hold it against them.

24. I'm really blessed that my husband can be left at any time with the kids, and I hardly have to think about it.

25. There are never too many hugs and kisses.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a VERY busy week and a half at the Mommy's house. In the beginning of July, we drove to Buffalo for the Fourth of July weekend. Although we always have fun on the 4th - swimming in my brother's pool, cooking out with the whole family, and relaxing - it's really July 3rd that we love! Every year, the Buffalo Bisons play a baseball game on the 3rd, followed by a performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by fireworks. And for our family, all of that is followed by an early breakfast. The kids love being able to stay up so late, and I love passing on family traditions.

I started a worsted weight lace project in the car on the way to my parents. I knit on it some more on the way home.

We got home on Monday night, after stopping for a nice sit down dinner. Tuesday, I did laundry, unpacked all our stuff, and tried to get organized. Tuesday night our Bible Study hosted good friends who are missionaries in Africa. It was great to hear all about the work our friends are doing to bring the message of Christ's love to another culture.

Wednesday morning, we packed up the car again and headed to Cape Cod to visit with my brother-in-law and his wife (her family owns a cottage on the Cape). What a great time for the all of us! The cottage is about a minute from a private beach. The beach has a dock out in the water, and on that dock is a diving board and water slide! Needless to say, the kids (and the adults too!) had a blast jumping, sliding, and swimming. We spent the night at the cottage, and my husband and I got up extra early to enjoy coffee on the beach (him) and go for an early swim (me). We brought the kids back to the beach after breakfast, and then headed home after lunch.

We spent the next three days trying to get extra naps and resting. We were exhausted!

I started to bind off the lace project on Wednesday night. I finished on Friday night. Those picot bind offs can take a lot of extra time! I still have to weave in the ends and block the project, and then I'll tell you all about it.

We have two weeks at home, and then we'll be off for our vacation in the Adirondacks.

Hopefully, August will be more relaxing. And hopefully, we're building great memories for our kids.

Resolution Check-In

1. Knit more for myself. I finished Gail and I love it. I'm hoping to knit at least one, if not two, pairs of socks for myself this summer.

2. Knit 4 baby sweaters. I finished the smooshy sweater last week, so I'm right on target here.

3. Knit more lace. The exact goal was to knit something for myself and finish the Celtic Knot Stole. I finished Gail, but I'm hoping to start back up on the Celtic Knot Stole very soon!

4. Knit 3 Squares for the Great American Afghan. I started one, but then got distracted by my new secret project. I have a feeling this goal is getting unofficially dropped from the list.

5. Assemble Lovefest Squares. I look at them. I admire them. I think about blocking them. Really, there's no excuse for not making progress on this goal.