A Friday list early and weekend plans

Hello!

I have actual plans for tomorrow, so I thought I would share them ahead of time. It’s not an actual list, though. Or if it is, it is a very short one.

This weekend is the Common Ground Fair, which is one of my favorite events of the year. I like it even more than the Maine Fiber Frolic, which says a lot. There is a lot of fiber and yarn and good food, but also a lot of other things, including amazing handcrafted things, everything under the sun about rural living.

Tomorrow, sister in law S and I are going fairly early, and will wander the grounds. My focus will be on yarn, of course, but I might get some seed garlic, and who knows what else? Fresh baked bread? Maple candy?

The plan is to leave there shortly after lunch and head to Waterville to Yardgoods. I want to get some more cascade yarn for my scrap blanket, and a stamp on my yarn cruise passport. S wants to look at the faux fur for her stuffed animals. Since we will be halfway there, it only makes sense to keep going.

My only concern is lingering COVID exhaustion. I warned S that there might be more rest breaks than usual…

Saturday is a return to normal. I will head to our local, seasonal, bakery for some bread, scones, and molasses ginger cookies. They will be permanently closing this fall, which makes me sad, but I will enjoy the last few weeks of yummy carbs.

From there, it is back to work. We are so close to the end on our big project! A will be staying in Millinocket for a few days to give what we hope is one final push. I will head up there after the bakery run and help with printing and stuffing. Assuming she gets to that point. If not, I will go up Sunday. We were there all last weekend, and made good progress, but not as much as we had hoped. There are just so many little bits left to do.

On the knitting front, I have been making good progress on things.

Bonjour/Hi is about halfway done. So easy and fun to knit! I am loving the two yarns held together deal. It’s a nice, light fabric that I think will be warm.

Cloud Cover is coming along, also. It is slow going, but nice and easy. I may look for some brighter colored tips for my interchangeables tomorrow, though. Knitting with navy yarn on dark green needles is hard in the evening.

I did several more squares on the scrap blanket this week, and finished up the first skein of the yarn I am using for the borders on the squares. It lasted for 104.5 squares. I started with 4 skeins of it, so one would think I was 1/4 of the way there. I am not so sure about that, so I will pick up another skein or two. I have the borders to think about, after all. 😉 I should measure the blanket and the bed and see how far along I really am… There is a current picture of the blanket on my Ravelry project page, here. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/salpal1/the-coziest-memory. I am enjoying the process of knitting it, and do think there will be more in my future.

That’s what my weekend looks like… what are you doing this weekend?

yes, I am alive

Just clearly not back in the groove of posting, though I have all good intentions!

I have had a quiet, productive summer. It has been hot, and we have brown tail moth caterpillars, so I have spent a lot of time in the house, being very grateful for the heat pump which keeps the temperature and humidity bearable. And I have been KNITTING. A lot! This summer I knit two complete sweaters, as well as some hats and cowls and other things that won’t get worn for a few more months. I haven’t knit any shawls, though, as I am not sure how they will fit into my wardrobe now that I am working mainly from home. In fact, I sorted through the immense pile of them and bagged up a whole lot to share with friends and family who might have a use for them. I took the bag to my niece’s wedding in PA in May, but it was hot, and none of my nieces were very excited at the thought of trying on knitwear. I will try again at the holidays.

One of the sweaters was exciting for me, as it involved steeking, which I have never tried before. Using the proper yarn, it is so very easy, and I won’t fear cutting my knitting ever again. The pattern is called Budding, and is a cute colorwork cardigan. I hope the link works so that you can see my project on Ravelry. If you don’t or can’t do Ravelry, I apologize. Let me know and I will send you a photo of it if you want to see it. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/salpal1/budding

My other sweater is a very plain wool raglan in sheep gray (greige!) that I intend to take the place of a sweatshirt in my wardrobe. I expect it will get plenty of wear. A friend nicknamed it my “sweatershirt”, and I am sticking with that name.

So now, my needles are mostly cleared off ,and so I am contemplating what to make next. I have the yarn for, and the need for, a navy cardigan. I spent a bit of time on Ravelry looking at the possibilities. I am enamored of Kate Davies’ Horology (https://www.shopkdd.com/horology-download) but not sure I want to knit it in navy. Will the beautiful cables show? I know that I will need to do some sleeve adjusting as my arms and those Kate designs for are differently shaped, but as it is raglan, those adjustments are easy. Right now, I think this pattern is on hold, waiting for a lighter colored yarn. But I really want to knit it, so it might happen before too long.

The other one I am looking at is Cloud Cover, by Heidi Kirrmaier. I already have the pattern, and will have to do the same sleeve adjustment, but as it is a much more plain sweater, the navy blue won’t detract from the pattern. I think this might be the winner this time.

The other thing I am going to cast on is a cape/cowl thing called Bonjour/Hi. it is sort of like the top half of a sweater. Not as long as a cape, really, but longer than a cowl. I have been looking for something a friend calls a “car cowl” – a bit of knitting that can easily go on and off and not interfere with the seatbelt. Good for when a winter jacket is too bulky (always!) but it is too cold to not wear something. So, she wears the bulky coat to and from the car, but puts on the knitted warmth while she is actually driving. It seems brilliant to me. And easier to manage than a shawl. Anyway, I have the yarn for this, and thought I would give it a try. I will hold one strand of fingering weight with one strand of mohair/silk. It should knit up as a DK weight. And I have been wanting to try this combination, so it seems the perfect opportunity. I will let you know how it goes.

Other than knitting, it has been a pretty quiet summer. I did spend a week with Mom at the Attean Lake Lodge in Jackman, Maine. It was so peaceful and quiet! It rained most of the time, so it was not the vacation we had planned, but we managed to get into the lake on our last full day there. And we both did a LOT of reading and knitting. It was a nice break from routine, and from the heat. We actually had a fire almost every night to take the chill off.

Since then, A and I have both dealt with Covid. She bounced back faster than I have. She was out of work for about a week but is back in the groove now. I feel OK, but am very tired when ever I try to do much of anything. I try to do one major thing every day, though, because I figure it has to help. And I am past the stage where getting showered and dressed is the major thing. But it might be doing a load of laundry… lol. Yesterday I did actual work for about an hour, but that was all my brain would allow. Today I did another hour, and still was able to sit at the computer and type this, so I am definitely improving. But I think I will go rest on the couch for a while now.

And I will try to post a little more frequently going forward. If you can believe that. 🙂

Enjoying a flexible schedule

This has been a very social week so far. Sunday, we had A’s sisters, brother in law, niece, nephew, my mom, and stepdad over to celebrate A’s birthday. (Yes, I managed, with A’s help, to have the house passably clean. This pandemic has not been good for housework!)

We had a nice time, it was good to see everyone. Mom was especially glad to see A’s sisters, since she hasn’t in more than 2 years.

Monday I worked a bit in the morning, and then drove to Portland to my sister’s, to see my niece E perform at her spring concert. It was very well done and professional, quite nice! You never know with these things what you are getting, but the Portland Symphony does a good job with the junior and youth orchestras. I would have liked to stay overnight, but I had an appointment in Ellsworth Tuesday morning, so I drove home after the concert; got home a little after midnight.

This is where the nice flexible part comes in. 🙂 After my appointment, I was so beat, I came home, had lunch and slept all afternoon. A luxury!

Today I am back at the computer, mostly working, but clearly not just working! I really am enjoying this phase of my work life. I get it done, but there is almost no schedule.

Friday I did manage to do everything on my list, which was nice. I worked on warping the loom, which seems to be going so very slowly, I am still not halfway done. I might have to focus on that sometime soon.

Over the weekend, I finished knitting a made-up cowl with the odds and ends of several malabrigo leftovers. No photo yet, it needs blocking. I had more than I thought, so it is tall, but I like it. Basically, I did seed stitch with the heavier yarn (rios) and linen stitch with the lighter yarns (arroyo) so the difference in weight would seem to be intentional. 😉 And I love how linen stitch blends the colors. The colors I used were bobby blue, cameleon, anniversario, and fuscia. It could have been very loud and awful, but I think it works. When I get a photo you can see if I got it right.

Well, I should go back to work now, I don’t want to fall behind. Lol!

Friday 4/22 list

I realized I never updated you on my list from a few weeks ago. I think I did everythingI wanted to from the list, though it took a few days. I always have such great ambitions for my Friday’s!

I will try to keep it under control today. A will be working from home, doing a zoom training, so that rules out vacuuming, yea!

I will start the morning with a few hours of data entry, if the internet allows it with the zoom thing happening. We bought a second laptop and monitor so that theoretically we can both work at the same time. we will test that right off.

I already did the laundry and some general tidying, so there won’t be a lot of housework on the list. But we have company coming on Sunday, so a few additional things need to get done before then. I will putter a bit and get them done.

I am back in the groove of knitting my Gramercy Park, so though I have another cowl on the needles, I no longer need to bribe myself to knit on the sweater. It is coming along, and though it might be a tight race, there is a chance that I will get it done in time for niece B’s wedding in one month. A slight chance… so I plan to work on that for an hour or so.

The dish towels are still not all the way on the loom, though I have done some work on that over the past few weeks, there is still more to do. Maybe I will get to it…

A’s truck is up in Bangor getting new tires and an alignment; we will have to pick it up at some point in the afternoon or Saturday morning. I should slip away and get her something nice for her birthday. If only I knew what that something is…

That’s it, a pretty reasonable list, I think. What are you doing today?

P. S. Here’s a little knitting photo for you… a cowl I finished last week.

The pattern is earthshine, and it is so fun to knit! And wear, too. It’s warm and stays put.

Mid-November

Is it just me or is this month being extra dreary? We are having all the weather, from snow to record-breaking warmth. But it still gets dark at 4 o’clock and light at almost 7. I think the lack of light is bothering me more than normal this year. And we won’t even talk about the election that seems to never end. Someone needs some big boy pants… (Well, except to relate this story. A friend of mine at work and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. We don’t understand how the other one could be so nice but so wrong. 🙂 A few days after the election, I popped into her office to say hi and make lunch plans. Another coworker said “How do you two do it? How can you be friends?” that surprised us, and we told him that there is more to life than politics. We agree on so many other things, we long ago made the decision that we would not let politics interfere. S0metimes it is hard, but we keep on trying. He said we should go on the road and teach people how to do it. We don’t think it can be taught, but only demonstrated. I wish more people would give it a shot.)

I did finish all three of the major projects on time; that felt really good. Two state grants, coordinating election day signature gathering, and helping to put together a staff appreciation event, all with deadlines in the same week. I can’t believe I still have hair on my head and coworkers who speak to me. I (almost) don’t even care if the grants get funded, they got out the door on time.

One highlight was spending the day on Wednesday with my SIL D. I think it has been many years since we had a quiet time together, with no big family event happening, and I really enjoyed it. I think she did, too. We met at Popham Fort in Phippsburg, a couple of hours drive for me. It was a nice enough day, though the wind picked up and it got chilly after lunch. But we were outside for abotu three hours, just chatting and catching up. I realized that we have known each other 40 years. It does not seem possible, but I confirmed it with her – she arrived at UCONN’s Storrs campus in the fall of 1980. I graduated in the spring of 81… seems like yesterday or a century ago. Anyway…

We did remember to do some knitting, though we got in the car (with masks) for that, after eating our lunches and watching our lettuce blow off the forks, we thought it would work better in a car. We were able to get her really comfortable with one color brioche, and when she is an expert at that, we will work on two color. 🙂 It turns out that someone who knits Eastern European by rote has a really hard time doing brioche. But we concentrated on doing her yarn overs in the opposite direction from what she was used to, and I showed her how to tell if a stitch is twisted or not. She really would prefer not to learn to knit western, so my task is to decipher it and see how to make it work.

Other than that, things are not very exciting here. That is good for the knitting, though!

One mitten is done, the second one is in good shape for getting done before Christmas, the lining is approaching the thumb split.

The baby blanket is done and blocked. The second dumpster is done.

I have knit a few inches on the Ocean Currents. But the big news is that I have finished the sweater! The sleeves are a little big/long, but I am fine with that. I have lost some weight since I started it and did all the math, so it is to be expected. But I think it is comfortable and works just fine.

I have refrained from casting anything much on, I want to finish the Estonian Lace scarf, and the last clue is out. I am about a third of the way through that, on track to finish by the end of the month, and get it blocked. I want to make more progress on Ocean Currents before I cast on something to distract me from it. When I get bored with it, I work on dumpster flames. I also got an order for a hat that technically is a charity hat. I donated one to a local fundraiser, and the coordinator asked me if I would knit another to donate, as she wanted to buy one. I said sure, so have cast that one on. But let me tell you, the yarn is loaded and ready to go for the Steel Creek sweater, and I am casting it on as soon as the hat and Estonian lace are done. Maybe even before that? I will try not to, but… And as soon as Ocean Currents is done, I am casting on that Nightshift.

I also got my yarn for the Gnome Advent MKAL, and that will start December 1. I was a little nervous choosing the Christmas colorway, but it is very pretty! Very like what I would have put together myself, if I had been in a store full of mini skeins. 🙂 I will not wait to finish something before casting that on, because it is a little project. I think. 🙂 I am very impressed by the service at Loopy Ewe, and the quality of the yarn in this kit. I will be checking them out when I need other yarns in the future.

That’s about it from here. I hope to have more finishes and cast ones to share with you soon!

Well, that was ambitious!

I took a look at my last post this morning, and it made me chuckle. Here’s how I did with it.

• Sleep late! At least until sunup. Check! I call this a win, we slept past sun up every one of the three mornings!
• Spin a bit. Fail! I did look at the wheel, and once or twice I intended to sit and spin, but got distracted and never came back to it. Thankfully, it isn’t going anywhere and it doesn’t spoil from lack of attention.
• Knit on my sweater. Check! I actually knit on this a lot this weekend. I finished both sleeves, ripped out the trim on the neck and started redoing it with a larger needle.
• Knit on the Estonian lace scarf . Check! I haven’t done a lot, but I did do a few rows on Friday.
• Knit some on the Ocean Currents wrap. Fail on Friday, but I did knit a little bit on this over the weekend. It is lovely and oh so very boring. I need to power through it and get rid of it.
• Go to the lumberyard with A to select the new decking. Check! We went, we talked to a guy who didn’t know much and wasn’t impressed at two older ladies doing their own decking; we took the books home, and OF COURSE we do not agree on a color. But we will get there eventually.
• Help her remove more of the deck boards that we so securely screwed in place ten years ago that they are hard to remove! Fail! A was too sore and tired from her Thursday adventures with the deck to want to do more last weekend, but she is planning on doing some this weekend, so if we can’t con someone else into helping her, then I will do it.
• If I have the energy, dye the rest of the Plymouth Galway. Fail! lol what was I thinking? That I would want to stand in front of a hot stove for hours? Yet, I really need to do it while I remember how I did the first batch. I want to knit it up this winter, so it gets moved to a list for this weekend.

I did do a bunch of other things this weekend, it wasn’t all sitting and knitting! Saturday I had a meeting in the late morning, starting our tax prep planning already., We have to figure out how to offer the service while never being with the client for more than 15 minutes, and how to work with volunteers in a way that everyone feels safe, but we are still efficient and build a team. With everyone having different levels of discomfort and when the voice from on high has not yet spoken about what we will be allowed to do, the meeting was hard to keep on track. But we started the conversation, and I managed to escape by 11:30.

Which left me with just enough time to get to Belfast to meet up with A and her sister L for a picnic in the park. We haven’t seen L since late spring when we did a driveway visit with her. She works in a grocery store, and has been really careful to isolate herself when not at work. But we realized that the good outdoor weather is nearly gone, so we got together, and A picked up sandwiches for us all. We visited for a couple of hours, until we got really cold. It was so nice to see her! The Whorls and Purls zoom knitting group had to meet without me, but I expect that they managed OK.

On the way home I stopped to do the dreaded grocery shopping in the “big” store. I have been boycotting our smaller store because of their unwillingness to enforce the COVID-19 rules. They have them, arrows on the floor, signs up. But shoppers and staff alike ignore the one way arrows, no one is required to wear a mask, and after complaining to the manager and filling out countless surveys, I decided I just was not going back until the tourists leave. The manager actually told me that they could not force people to wear masks. I said he could, the governor gave him that authority. He said “we aren’t going to tell people that they can’t get groceries if they don’t wear a mask.” I gave up on him, but wish I had thought of this at the time – if I went in with no shoes or no shirt, they would tell me I could not get groceries. How, exactly, is it different? It’s all about public health. So anyway, I now go 20-30 miles away to go to a larger store, with more room to pass safely if someone can’t go the right way in an aisle. (I do wonder how all of these people drive, don’t you? Do they not see one way signs?) I notice that there are a lot more masks in the other stores – all part of the same chain, so I think my store is just a rebel store.

Anyway… Sunday was a pajama day, I think we did dishes and laundry and that is it. That is how I got so much done on the sweater.

This week I am meeting my SIL D (outside, after work, I think we might freeze!) to try to teach her brioche. She knits eastern European, holds her needles and yarn continental. I knit combo, and I throw my yarn, so it should be an adventure. She has taken a class, but she and the teacher could not figure out how to alter things to accommodate the eastern European bit. I hope I can. However, it meant I first had to learn how to knit brioche! I did that with the help of a couple of you tube videos (I like Sweet Georgia’s the best, as she explains what it is she is doing, instead of just treating the whole thing like one big mystery. Just yarn over and slip and K2together. Magic.)

So that is another bit of knitting I did on Sunday – taught myself Brioche and cast on a hat. I haven’t raced through it, but I am enjoying it now and then.

We have a three day weekend again this week, always nice! I work on Friday, so you don’t get a Friday list, but you can have a weekend list!

• Plant the new mock orange I got two weeks ago. Mom helped me choose a good spot for it where it is out of the way, with room to grow, but we will be able to smell it on the porch and in our bedroom.
• Plant the garlic for next year.
• Help A with some decking removal.
• Knit on all the things.
• Dye that yarn!
• Do the grocery shopping.
• Do the laundry.
• Clean something. Anything. 🙂

What are your plans for the rest of the week and this fine fall weekend?

Friday list!

As I told you earlier, A had most of the week off this week. I took a half day Thursday and all of today off. So you get a Friday list!

First let me tell you that A has done pretty well with her vague pile of things to do. Tuesday, she made a triple batch of strawberry raspberry jam, and somehow to do that required cleaning out both pantry closets. And doing it freed up loads of space in the freezer. Today mom and B and B’s son J came over, and the guys and A tackled removing the front deck. They made a good start on it. She also vacuumed because they were coming.

So tomorrow we both have the day off; here’s my plan:

• Sleep late! At least until sunup.
• Spin a bit.
• Knit on my sweater. Sleeves are nearly done, but of course I am putting on a fancy cuff so it is a bit slow going.
• Knit on the Estonian lace scarf —the October clue is out!
• Knit some on the OceanCurrents wrap.
• Go to the lumberyard with A to select the new decking, so she can order it when she is ready.
• Help her remove more of the deck boards that we so securely screwed in place ten years ago that they are hard to remove!
• If I have the energy, dye the rest of the Plymouth Galway.

I feel reasonably confident that I will get the knitting done, and probably the spinning. Not sure about the rest of it.

What are you doing today?

Almost the end of September, but not quite!

I promised you a post a month, minimum, and here I am second month in, almost late! Yikes!

I just reread August’s post to see where I left off.

It was hot.

Well, it isn’t any more! I am sitting here in t shirt and shorts and sandals, feet freezing because, damn it, it is September, not winter! But it is fall, and I might have to yield and start wearing shoes.

I was still working our my COVID19 banishment from work.

We were good citizens and isolated as much as we could while remaining gainfully employed, and neither of us got sick. So now we are back to our normal pandemic schedule – I work from home two days a week, in the office three days. My office mate also works from home two days, so we are only in the office together one day a week. She isn’t into the whole mask thing, but I wear one whenever I step away from my desk. That is our company policy, but most people take that to mean when they step out of their office. Whatever.

A has been working straight out all summer, as she has done ever since going out on her own. But her busy season is now officially over, and she is on vacation today and most of next week. I am contemplating taking a day off, but haven’t sorted out yet which one it will be – likely Friday. Perhaps I will prepare you a Friday list, as in days of old when I had my wonderful 4 ten-hour day schedule. Please don’t hold your breath, though. She has a possibility list, which is ever so much more vague than a to do list. She might replace the front deck. Or maybe just remove the old one. Or maybe clean up the cellar. Or maybe build the planter boxes she promised my mom for Christmas last year. Or maybe make jam with all the berries filling the freezer. Or maybe read a book. Right now the book is winning.

What I have been working on is those four WIPs I had left on my needles the last time I wrote. A scarf, which is a year long KAL that I fell far behind on. I am now pretty well caught up, just finishing up September’s clue.

August clue complete!

A wrap, Ocean Currents from Purl Soho, which I work on a few rows here and there, but which I really need to focus on. I am not quite halfway through with it. I have at last memorized the pattern, and so am able to do less than 4 rows at a sitting and not lose my place. That is progress.

I have my sweater inching along. I joined the 2 Knit Lit Chicks sweater KAL to help motivate me to work on it. I think that is working, though it hasn’t improved my counting. I had to rip 3 inches of sleeve last night because I was decreasing in the 4th round, not after the 4th round. I am fussy, and do want my two sleeves to be as identical as possible.

Then the mittens – they are coming along, actually. I am near the decrease section for the color work half of the second mitten. Once that and the thumb are done, I start on the linings, and they should go faster. I won’t need the pattern in front of me the whole time, anyway.

An older photo… second mitten is near the top

That is all four WIPs, all being properly cared for. I also did a quick knit hat for charity, which gave me an FO this month. That felt really good!

But my big crafty news is that I did a HUGE pile of spinning at the end of the Two Ewes Podcast Summer Spin Along – I FINISHED all the spinning for the nightshift shawl!

Ready to spin!

now looks like this!

Ready to knit!

I squeaked that last one in on the last day, spinning the whole 4 ounces in one day. I had very sore legs at the end of it all, but I am so happy with the results. I haven’t swatched it yet to see if the colors really work well together, but I will get to that when I am closer to being ready to cast on. Just happy that I spun all that yarn in one month! As a treat, I allowed myself to purchase some fiber from Three Waters Farm to fill the void left in the basket by all those braids being gone. 🙂

I have also been sewing – I kind of can’t believe how much! I have made a pile of skirts this summer, most with matching masks, as I mentioned last time.

My matching masks get lots of comments at work. My boss likes to ask me where I bought them, though he knows perfectly well that I made them. My next project is jumpers – I have three of them planned. Just have to put the pattern together, then I am off. It is the York pinafore from Helen’s Closet. I have made 4 of her Donovan skirts, and love the fit, so I am hopeful that the jumper will work as well.

That is really it on the crafting front, it has been slow and steady progress on the knitting, and since the blaze of glory on the spinning, I have been procrastinating finishing up a WIP there. I have two ounces of Targhee left to spin as part of a combo spin I started a long time ago. I am making myself finish it before I start anything new. I am hopeful that the pretty Three Waters Farm fiber will motivate me. But I also have some sweater quantities of Purple Fleece fiber that I might need to spin soon. 🙂

Life goes on, day by day, very dull and boring with the pandemic keeping us at home or work. No travels! But at least I have some crafts to keep me busy, and work to keep me out of trouble. How are you doing?

August 2020 update

I think I can commit to at least one post a month. I hope for more, but it doesn’t seem to be realistic.

After niece E left us, we had a quiet few weeks of same old/same old. I finished up three projects – very happy to have the projects off my needles, because my needles are overburdened, and because I really like the garments.

Icy Shores is a pretty lace and bead scarf that took me longer than it should have, because… too many WIPS! It calls for some contrast nupps, but I didn’t have any stash yarn that looked good with the yarn I was using, so I did them all the same. I think the designer knew what she was talking about. Still, I love it.

I also finished this hat, the second I have made with this pattern. I love it, and will hang onto this one. I might add a bright pink pompom. Or not.

Lastly, I finished up these socks (yes, I have woven in the ends!) which are a lovely bfl/nylon blend, dyed by a local dyer. They will match my Harriet’s Hap that I knit out of her yarn a few years ago.

This week I finished spinning the giant pile (15 ounces) of “festival” merino/silk. I love it and it was easy to spin, but it was TOO MUCH. I am grateful to the Two Ewes Fiber Podcast for hosting a summer spin in, or I might never have finished it.

I wound up with about 1640 yards of three ply, weight ranges between heavy fingering and sport, I think. I have not yet decided what to make with it, but it will likely be some type of sweater, since I got such good yardage.

Last week I was on vacation again, this time the niece visiting was C the younger. She lives in PA now, and so we seldom see her. I was so pleased when she texted last January to ask if she could come. Of course! Then there was a pandemic. Plans were iffy for a long time, but it worked out that she was able to come when she had originally planned to. She was a brave soul, and brought her boyfriend (K) to meet her Maine family, and they FLEW! Who knew you didn’t have to do a grueling 10 hour drive? Yes, she is one of the smart ones. Only her second time on a plane, K’s first, so it was quite an adventure for them. Their first foray into airline logic, where one goes to Charlotte, NC on the way from Scranton to Bangor. But they made it, and felt like everyone was as careful and socially distant as possible, wore masks the whole time, washed and sanitized at every opportunity.

They stayed with us a few days, then went to my brother’s for a few more, then returned to us for the last night of the trip. As is so often the case, it was a flying trip, and they saw the people they wanted to, mostly, but not a thing of what is around us, so I hope that they will come again, and stay a few more days. No Acadia National Park, nor day trips to Deer Isle or Stonington or Blue Hill, all of which are things C liked to do when she used to come for weeks each summer. But it was so good to see her, and get to know her as a grown up. She is very mature and focused about her career, and has goals for her life too. It was impressive to see.

Now that they are gone, I am back at work, but with a COVID19 twist. Because C is from PA, and that is not one of the “allowable” states under our governor’s rules, my workplace has a strict policy that I have to be out of the office for two weeks. I am just lucky that I can work from home. I am not lucky that it has been blazingly hot and extremely humid and we only have fans in most of the house; and that our bedroom, which has AC, is not ideal for working in. I would probably be napping. 🙂

A is still going to work, but being careful and wearing her mask until the two weeks are up and we can assume that if we have the virus we did not get it from C or K.

On the crafting front, since they left, I haven’t been knitting much, a row here and there on my 4 remaining WIPs. I did start spinning for one of my next knitting projects – I am spinning yarn that I hope will be for the shawl Nightshift. It needs a lot of different colors, but the good news is – heavier weight than I usually spin, so I think that it will go pretty fast. I am already halfway done with the first one, and I just started spinning Sunday. These are the braids I am going to spin, and hope that the yarns work as well together as I think that they will.

I have continued my sewing streak this summer, finished one skirt and most of another last week while I was on vacation, and will plug away at the second one in the evenings this week. Masks to match them , of course. What is the point of sewing clothes if not to make matching masks for each outfit? I have fabric for several more skirts all washed, ironed, and waiting to be cut out. I hope to do more sewing when the weather cools off, it is too hot to iron, really, and you can’t get very far before you have to press a seam open or something.

That is about all that is up so far since last I wrote. I will try to get some new project photos to share with you next time, so you can see how I am doing on my remaining WIPS – a scarf, a wrap, a sweater, and a pair of mittens. nothing too difficult, if one would knit on them. 🙂

We survived!

My niece and I had fun and no struggles! Yea! There was lots of cooking and dishes, but also, spinning (by E) and sewing (by E) and knitting (by me) and swimming (by both of us.) She made masks for seven dolls and one for me, and spun this yarn

She did really well for only her second time spinning, and her first time was last November.

I didn’t realize it, but this was the longest she had ever been away from her parents. All three of them did really well!

While she was here, I finished knitting my shawl, and yesterday after she left, I blocked it. I love it! It is so soft and drapes so nicely.

Today I was pretty tired! I lay low, did a bit of spinning and knitting. Just got back in the rhythm of being home.

Tomorrow will be busier, I have to take the truck in for servicing, do the grocery shopping, and get home in time for knitting by zoom at 1. Back to normal activities! Vacation toon is almost over. 😢 The week just flew!