Settling in with a few photos

Welkom from The Netherlands!

As I have promised photos of finished objects for quite some time, I will finally deliver. I have photos for four projects that are done and hopefully I am not repeating myself. Here is the first:

Darling Daughter was happy to pose for me. She is modeling the Whippoorwill Shawl knit out of String Theory Caper in Cobalt and Fusion Lake. Great pattern to knit as a traveling project. Lots of stockinette when you are in a long stretch of pretty looking with a couple of pattern rows thrown in when you get bored or waiting. Got the yarn from The Loopy Ewe for their summer challenge called Camp Loopy. Go here to check it out for their is still time to play.

The second:

This is the Honeycomb Scarf. I spoke of winning this kit when I attended Maryland Sheep and Wool this past May. Bijou Basin Yak Farm had a contest via tweeting 'Yak Facts' and the first to their booth with the correct yak fact said received the surprise kit. It was INCREDIBLE! The kit was valued at $54.00. It came with the Honeycomb Scarf pattern, two skeins in your choice of color-ways of Bijou Spun Fingering, and a lovely gift box. (The gift box would be perfect if I would give it away, but since that ain't happening it was just a nice box.) The knit itself was really easy. It turned out to be a great mindless knit. It blocked beautifully. The only issue I had with it was the yarn dye was not set. So it bled. Like a stuffed pig. Finally after the umpteenth rinse, I gave up. Just need to be careful not to wear it when it is raining with a white shirt. Otherwise, GO BUY SOME OF THIS!! Great company. Great product.

The third:

This was originally started for a cousin's newest arrival. The problem ended up being they never sent a baby announcement. The only 'announcement' made was on Facebook. Now I have nothing against the big, black, worm hole that Facebook is. (I mean, really, who cares if you are in the bathroom? Or, seriously, I didn't like you in high school, what makes you think 20 years later I will like you any better?) Since he couldn't take the time out of his 'busy' schedule (this was their first, HELLO- I've three!) to pick up the phone and leave a message then I guess he didn't want a hand knit sweater. (Before you lecture, yes- I know the phone works two ways. But when you are having a baby the worst thing you want to get is the constant "is she here yet? Is she here yet? What do you mean she hasn't arrived yet? phone calls. ETIQUETTE, baby! It's a dying art.)

So, I found this sleeve finished in the bottom of a yarn basket and my friend threatened to unravel it. I paniked and said I already had one sleeve done I should go ahead a finish the whole thing. Right? (How seriously warped is that thinking? That's like saying, oh well, I have already run 1 mile, what's another 25?) So I finished the sweater and remembered that the dentist just had a baby. Perfect! A new baby to give it to. Needless to say, it was the BEST received gift I have ever given. I will DEFINITELY knit for them anytime. I received back the most beautiful hand written thank you card EVER!! The stationary was TOP-NOTCH! Classy, elegant, and just gorgeous. WOW! is really all I can say. It truly restored my faith in giving hand knit gifts to people. Now if I could just learn a bit of discernment on who to actually grace them with....

The fourth:

This lovely little shawlette is called Storm Clouds. Not sure why, but the name was very appropriate. It was for a fellow member of my ABF class. We called ourselves 'Suzi's Storm Surviving Sisters.' The color is just right for her blue eyes. I had this yarn in stash and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. When I went looking for projects via Ravelry that utilized this yarn, I came across the pattern. Perfect! The only problem was I thought I had more time to knit it up. I thought her birthday was in June. Actually, it was in May. Yikes! So I had to gift it while it was still on the needles. Oh well- she was a good sport and recognized that it really was the thought. (I think it helped that she knew the full story of all the junk that was occurring in my daily life with trying to relocate 5 people half way across the world.) Patience really is one of her virtues. Another person who truly was thrilled with a hand knit gift. I like those people best!

Well dear reader, if you are still with me, THANK YOU! I will go back and review past posts to see which projects have not been updated with photos to show you. We will be moving into our new home on Friday the 15th. It is a beautiful house and very large for Dutch standards. I have gone running three times since being here. And for it to be so flat, HA! I've done nothing but hills. That is alright, I think. What doesn't kill me will only make me faster....

Happy Knitting.

A New Time & A New Place

Everything is new again. Not only is it a new season for those in the US, it is also a new season for us as a family. You probably have wondered where I have been- literally and figuratively, it's because we moved again. Yes again. Only this time, we literally got out of dodge. I would like to joke to say that we were so frustrated with the state of affairs and the politics that we up and left, but in reality, we are still in the military and Dude took an assignment with NATO. So, we left the country. We have re-located to The Netherlands. Though my friends in my Sunday School class have said we moved to Neverland. I kinda like that much better. I really enjoy the movie Peter Pan and often think how nice it would be to never grow up. (Really meaning I am sick to death of always being the one in charge and carrying most of the responsibilities in running this household. This move showed the worst in me.) So, here I am in 'Neverland' and going to take full advantage of it.

I am already planning a trip back stateside to meet up with a friend to go to Hawaii in August and Australia in October and Florida in January. Silly, huh? But Dude will be at a job that allows for me to do more traveling and the kids will be in the same school on the same time so I don't have to worry about leaving them alone for extended periods.

I have gotten some knitting done. I did promise more photos but in the craziness have lost the camera. Not just the cord, but the whole device. I will just have to tell you about them.

The first is a gauntlet called "Handcharmers". I only have one done as I am trying to finish a KAL with The Loopy Ewe. For that, I am working on Whippoorwill. It is a shawl using two colors. I am done with the first section and hope to have the second section done this week. I am still working on Dude's sweater. I am immensely bored with it. Though it is at the point that I can divide for armholes, I am bored. (Really- I am quite frustrated with the intended owner and don't want to make him anything that I don't think he will appreciate. He already takes me for granted too much, why should I go out of my way to make him something? But, I am not ready to admit that to him yet. So I tell him I am bored with it.)

I also have some toys next up in the que to start and two more birthday presents. The birthdays are both in August so I am procrastinating on starting them. I should probably at least cast them on sooner than later so I am not putting myself under pressure. Yeah, I should. But I won't.

Back to the shawl that is for me. We are currently homeless. (I love saying that and watching people's expressions when they realize what I just said.) I have looked at 2.5 houses yesterday. Yes, we did arrive yesterday. We kept moving and slept wonderfully last night thank you very much! I say .5 because one person didn't show up to show us the inside so we looked through windows and around the outside. It only wetted my curiosity to see the inside only more. Two more tomorrow. Average person takes about 10 days to find a house. But we already knew I wasn't average.

Happy knitting.