Yarn Along

Long time, no blog!  I kind of took the summer off.  There wasn't a whole lot of knitting done and life became the "summer usual".  But now there is lots of stuff on the needles so let's chat.

I'm working on a version of the Campside Cardi.  I say "version" because the pattern does not have larger sizes (which annoys me sometimes, I have to tell ya).  So what I am doing is using the top of Less Is More and the bottom of Campside.  So I will have a Frankensweater of sorts.  I'm using some of my hand spun stash which is an alpaca/shetland wool blend.  I have had it for years and I'm thrilled to finally be using it.

Reading - there has been a lot of that going on this summer.  Right now I'm reading Casting About by Teri DuLong which is part of the Cedar Key series. Very light reading and I am enjoying it.

So what's on you needles these days?

Weekending

Lots of time outside is what the weekend was mostly about. There were times when we took shelter in the AC for a while only to return to the deck until the mosquitos chased us inside. I slept in both days which felt wonderful. Why does the heat knock me out?  I spent a lot of time crocheting, spinning, knitting and reading. We tools stock of how the plants are growing. They just thrive in this humidity. I heard the first cicada sing its song which made me sad. I remember my grandma saying that meant summer was half over. Not my summer!  I'm holding on as long as I can!

Yarn Along

It's Tour de Fleece time which means that while the wheels are turning on the bikes in the Tour de France my wheel is also spinning. And since my goal for this tour is to spin as much of that Shetland fleece as I can it may get boring folks. I have approximately 900 yards spun already. And most days are looking like the photo above. 

I'm reading "A Turn In The Road" by Debbie MacComber. I'm only 5 pages in so no opinion yet. 

So what are you reading and working on these days?

Ten on Tuesday

I pretty much summed up my very long weekend yesterday. In the spirit of Carole's Ten on Tuesday lets get into some detail. 

1. Spin for Tour de Fleece

2. Finished 2 books and started a new one

3. Caught up on podcasts

4. Watched a lot of fireworks!

5. Did some blanket knitting 

6. Cared for the patient - aka the hubby

7. Made an ice cream cake like my gramma used to do. With Saralee pound cake. Yummy!

8. Appreciated the generosity of neighbors. One does an amazing fireworks display every year which I am sure is not cheap. Another came over and mowed the lawn so hubby didn't have to worry about it while he recuperates. 

9. Looked through my collection of bags. Bags of all sorts. Let's just say that yarn and fiber are not my only stashes. 

10. Relaxed. 

Weekending

The weekend was not the weekend we had planned. You know what they say about plans though.....

So hubby woke up at 5 AM Thursday morning saying he didn't feel good at all. As a matter of fact he felt so bad that an ambulance ride was called for. After a few days at the hospital he was diagnosed with an ulcer - one that was bleeding so bad a blood transfusion was almost necessary. He was discharged late on Friday with meds and some dietary restrictions and we were ready for a quiet weekend at home. And so we did just that. 

While he rested I started my Tour de Fleece project which is continuing to spin on my Sherland fleece. I worked on a sock that I started in the hospital. We relaxed a lot, enjoyed a Cotton Candy flavored slushy, knit some more and read. 

How was your weekend?

Yarn Along

Last week I found a blanket made of hand spun scraps while on Ravelry. Needless to say I started one. I don't have nearly as many hand spun scraps as I thought I did. Hmmmm....  I'll be spending some time in the yarn room organizing this weekend. There has to be some hiding. 

I'm finishing up "Hannah's List."  This is my least favorite of the series so far. In the meantime I got a happy email yesterday from the library saying "A Man Called Ove" was available for download. So I'm listening to that and enjoying the old guy. 

What are you reading and creating these days?

Vacation Finale

Our last stop was the sleepy little island of Grand Turk.  What a cute place.  We took a tour of the island on a trolley which was great and very informative.  This place right here is one of the upscale Inns.  If you are looking for a place to just relax and get away from it all, this would be the island.  

I could imagine owning this little shop.  I imagine I could sell yarn and some souvenirs.

This place has the best conch fritters.  It's where the locals go.  

We got an order to go and enjoyed while on the trolley.  Our driver was awesome.  

This is what the water looked like.  I just love that shade of blue.

Now get this - there are wild donkeys and horses roaming the island.  Even a few goats.  We drove by one house that had about 10 horses just hanging out in the backyard.  No fence.  No lines.  Just wandering free.  We made a stop  near the lighthouse where the donkeys congregate in the afternoon. Nicole wanted to bring this sweetie home but didn't think he would get through customs. 

He was real sweet though. He would come over and nudge your hand so you would pet him.

Of course there were plenty of shops. The best part was the beach.  I stayed in the water for hours. Huge fish would swim past us.  I had a mini heart attack at first but realized they were harmless.  It's just strange to share the water with tropical fish. 

So that was vacation.  We came home feeling wonderful.  And started researching the next one.