Another Project Finished

Baby's First Jacket, made from Regia Sock Yarn bought at Knit and Knibble in Tampa, FL. I got the buttons at The Custom Shop in Kennebunk, ME. I'm working on a second version of this pattern using Classic Elite Alpaca Sock.

Busy, busy, busy

I've been working on a number of baby items to use up stash. I took lots of yarn on vacation with me and started one project after another. I've finished a few and am continuing to work on others. It's been very gratifying.

The first completed sweater was my version of Fawn Pea's Super Natural Stripes. Mine is not natural in color or in yarn. It's three shades of Caron Simply Soft. I finished it while we were in the Adirondacks and donated it to the auction for the Adirondack Scholarship Foundation. I'm told the final bid was $25. I hope someone's baby enjoys it.


Next I used more Caron Simply Soft (can you tell I have a lot of it in my stash?) to make my third version of Reynolds Cardigan for Baby. This is a lovely little pattern, knit from the bottom up all in one piece so there is very little seaming. I love the lacy detail around the yoke.


I made another soaker out of left over yarn from the Oriental Lily Dress. I love the color combination. I plan to use it as a sample at the 15th Annual NJ Sheep and Fiber Festival on September 12 and 13. A knitting friend has reserved a booth and invited other group members to display their work. I've put together a portfolio of soaker and skirty photos and will see if there is any demand for custom work.

This is another Fawn Pea pattern called Mossy Jacket. I've made it with Lockhart yarn and accented it with Cascade Ecological Wool. This was another easy knit, from the top down. It's a heavier weight than the other sweaters and would make a nice gift for a baby to wear in the winter.

This one is from the pattern, Kindred Knits Yoked Cardi. I made some modifications including knitting the button band right into the jacket rather than adding it later and turned the finished jacket in side out. I decided the handpainted yarn looked too busy with the ribs on the right side. I also shortened the sleeves for two reasons. I was concerned I would run out of yarn and in the six month size I think the sleeves are too wide the way the pattern is written. I think it would look very cute over a little long sleeve turtleneck, don't you?

I've got three others in process. Two are knit in sock yarn which makes for slower going and the third is Fawn Pea's Organic Guernsey made in very old worsted wool that was gifted to me by a fellow member of FUSP. I'll post photos of them as soon as they are finished.

It's been a while

Barn with the original sign at the entrance to Little Lyford Pond Camps

It's been nearly a month since I last posted. We've been traveling since August 19 and some of the places we've stayed have had no internet access. At other spots we've been so busy I haven't had a chance to post.

Right now we're at Ferry Beach, a UU camp on the coast of Maine. Dick is a vacationer and I'm taking a course on Aging and Saging. Mostly we're discussing the inevitability of death and how to prepare for it. It sounds depressing, but it's actually been very interesting. There are about 20 of us in the discussion group and the leader, a retired UU minister, is very well informed and skilled at group facilitation. The course is scheduled for the mornings and the afternoons are free to spend at the beach or relax on the porch. I've been doing a lot of knitting both during the discussions and in the afternoons. I haven't finished any projects but I've made a lot of progress on some baby sweaters. I'll be posting photos in the next day or so.

Last week we were at Little Lyford Pond Camps, a relatively new AMC property about 15 miles north of Greenville, ME, in the 100 mile wilderness near the Appalachian Trail. It's a former fishing and hunting camp deep in on logging company property.

Our cabin, Red Quill, was one of the newest on the property. We were told it had been a falling down shed that was carefully rehabbed by the AMC carpenter. It was furnished with two beds, a table and chairs, a small sink with cold water, propane lamps for reading and a wood stove that proved very useful when the temperature dropped precipitously over night.

Breakfast and dinner were served family style in the dining room. After breakfast each day the staff set out a buffet of lunch fixings which we used to prepare trail lunches. Each day Dick and I went on a hike and then spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in the sunshine or on the screened porch near the camp library. Although we did not use them, the camp provides canoes on all of the nearby ponds. Guests can hike or mountain bike to a pond and then take a canoe trip.


The first few days of our travels were spent at Poko-Moonshine Camp in the Adirondacks of New York State. We had a mini reunion there. Chuck, Sara, their four children and Jackie joined us. Counselors provided activities for the children and there was plenty for the adults to do as well. Chuck and Molly climbed four mountains to earn Poko patches. Carl, Becca and Katie rode horses. Dick and Molly took a mountain bike ride. There were also opportunities for swimming, boating, archery and arts and crafts. I'm hoping a family reunion at Poko will be a yearly event and that next year Chris and Becky will join us with the twins. Joshua, Raquel and Twigg would be most welcome as well.

Finally Finished

Linny in the Oriental Lily Dress

Oriental Lily is a free internet pattern. It was an easy knit. It called for a DK weight yarn but I had the Berroco Geode, a light worsted, in stash and it really knit up nicely. I would think of it as a winter dress, but the weather in Arcata is cool, even in August, and you can see Linny seems very comfortable wearing it for the farmers market on the Plaza.

Perry in Carlos aka Growling Dog Sweater

I started the growling dog sweater in May of 2008 intending to finish it before Perry turned one. Fortunately it's big enough because he's pretty close to turning two now. The pattern is called Carlos and is from the Berroco Design Team. It's knit in Berroco Comfort DK, a soft acrylic yarn.

Doggy

Facebook has an application called Foo Pets. Members can choose a cyber pet to care for. I have a chocolate lab named Bupkis. Foo Pets have to be fed, watered and played with on a regular basis the same as a real pet. I'm touched by the facial expressions. You can see above that Bupkis is hungry and thirsty.

When I was in California in late May I introduced the grandchildren to Bupkis. Perry, in particular, became quite attached. Everytime he saw my laptop he would ask for "Doggy." After a two month intervel, I was quite surprised that he remembered. As soon as he saw my computer, he asked for the dog.

We've been feeding Bupkis every morning and every evening since I arrived. Here's a photo of the three of us watching the cyber dog eat, drink and catch the frisbee.


When we've finished playing with her, we pet her and then watch her settle down for a nap. The children understand that she is sleeping and they are very willing for me to close the window.

Arcata Marsh

This morning we awoke to light drizzle. After a good breakfast we set off on our bikes (with Linny and Perry in the trailer being towed by their mother) to the Arcata Marsh. The city uses treated waste water in over 300 acres of created wetlands to provide a habitat for wildlife, particularly migrating birds. The property used to be a landfill. There are walking and bicycle paths and an interpretive center.


By the time we had completed the two mile bike ride the drizzle had stopped. While the sun never fully broke through the clouds, it became bright enough for sun glasses and warm enough to walk in shirt sleeves. Perry and Linny walked quite a way along the gravel paths and were quite interested in the various birds we saw. When they finally tired their parents hoisted them into back packs.



We made a stop at the interpretive center where there were kid friendly activities and much needed rest rooms.

There were wild blackberries and a wide variety of wild flowers along the trails. Here are some of my first flower closeups:

Queen Anne's Lace

Bull Thistle

Bull Thistle

Everlasting Pea

Everlasting Pea

There were lots of wild blackberries. You can see from the green ones pictured here that taking a walk in the Arcata Marsh in a week or two will be a delicious adventure.

Here are some that were already ripe and quite tasty.

Traveling

The alarm went off at 4:45 AM. It’s my mother’s alarm clock, one I purchased for her after my father died and she had trouble waking up. For years, he was her alarm clock, never allowing her to sleep much past 7 AM. Once he was gone she began to have real trouble getting up at all. Part of that, I believe, was depression. On the other hand, she may have always wanted to sleep later than 7 but was aware my father needed her company.

My mom had trouble hearing a conventional alarm clock, something I’m very familiar with. Once I take my hearing aids out at bedtime, the world is a very quiet place. So, I bought her a clock aptly named “Sonic Boom.” I’m not sure she ever used it and as we were clearing out her apartment last June, I claimed it.

I’m invariably awake every morning by 6 AM at the latest. Most days I’m up having my coffee before 5:30. Today, in order to make a 6:30 plane to California, I had to be up at 4:45 AM. Having to be up that early always causes some anxiety. I usually don’t hear the regular alarm clock. I can rely on Dick, but I thought it would be an opportunity to try the Sonic Boom to see how effective it is. The alarm clock not only has a very loud alarm; it also connects to the bedside light, causing it to flash off and on at the selected time.

I am happy to report the clock worked well. The alarm sounded and the light flashed. It woke me up. I don’t know if it also awoke our upstairs neighbor. It was pretty loud if I heard it without my hearing aids.

The flight from Newark to San Francisco left on time in spite of heavy rain. I think it was the first time I’ve been on a large plane flown by a woman. The flight was uneventful and arrived in SF on time. I had a window seat and once we were out of the cloudy, wet New York area, the views were amazing. It’s so interesting to see how the landscape changes as you travel west across the continent.

I’m now waiting for the connecting flight to Eureka/Arcata. I had hoped to post live, but the free local wi-fi does not seem to be working and T-Mobile put me through such an ordeal to get a one hour pass that I gave up. Every time I filled out the form, it was rejected for some minor reason. T-Mobile then totally cleared the form expecting me to start over. Even with auto fill, it just wasn’t worth the trouble.

When I wasn’t looking out the window, I was working on knitting projects. I took some progress pictures in the airport. Carlos is so close to being finished:

And, Laughing Carrots is really coming along:

My goal is to finish those two and Oriental Lily before it’s time to fly home.