Hello, my name is Sandy and I'm a Lorna's Laces addict!

Gold has never been a favorite of mine, ever since growing up in a 70's inspired avocado and gold home. I was eager to leave gold behind. Until I saw this.

Gold Hill Lorna's Laces!
I feel a sock frenzy coming on! Sure, it's summer now, but wouldn't lots of wonderful handknit socks feel yummy on the tootsies come winter? The snow can fly all it wants when my toes are wearing some lorna's!
The motherlode sock.....

The pattern is from Knitting on the Road, Conwy! It is fun to do and I think looks great!
Now, if I could just figure out who took the URL, and bold type section from my moveable type and I'd link ya to The threadbears to buy your own lorna's. And I'd link the knitting on the road. But alas, you must do your own google search this morning because things are missing. If you see my URL and bold links, send em home, will ya?

Yes, but what did I get?

It might be a miracle, but I came home from numerous NYC yarn stores with only 2 purchases, both from Habu! (see yesterday's entry for Habu info)

On the left is a felted necklace kit. This is equal to the question, "why do people climb the mountain?" Answer: Because it's there. I have no need for a felted necklace, nor do I even know what the finished product claims to look like, but it intrigued me and in the spirit of the moment, I found it in my bag. After I paid for it, silly!
On the right is Tsumugi silk. I love the color. Then I looked closer at the yardage...First, let's look at the skein again. This time in perspective.

Kinda small for 780 yards, no? I hate to even look at the thickness, or should I say THINness of the yarn! I will fondle it and dream about it for now. Someday it will call out a project to me!
REMEMBER! The Lorna's Laces Motherlode contest ends on June 30th, entries must be in by 5:00 pm, US EST! See June 16th entry for details!

NYC, the aftermath

My feet are sore, I am dog tired and our NYC trip was a smashing success! I think I can safely say, "A good time was had by all!" The insane walking tour of NYC began for me at 4:45 am (is that actually morning? Not for me!) Our bus left at 7:30 am, delivering us in the city at around 11:50 am! We hoofed it on over to Knit Ny where we met up with the rest of our motley group. A quick look at the yarn and we soon found ourselves seated with the most wonderful sandwiches ever. (extreme hunger may have skewed this perception a bit. but they were particularly scrumptious) The last bite of lunch signaled the beginning of the yarn frenzy. We shopped. Some of us, more than others. Let's just say that Knit Ny is the koigu capital of my world.

The Wall 'o koigu!
(note: no koigu actually entered my shopping bag. But I fondled. And drooled)
From there we beat the street on over to School Products where some of our champagne wishes and cashmere dreams were fulfilled!
Then it was onto Habu! Which in retrospect was my favorite of the day.

The first room you entered was this wonderfuly sparse, brightly lit, textile decorated room.

But behind the wall was an array of the most unusal yarn that I have ever laid eyes or hands on.

Hi Alison!
They had unusual yarn, my favorite being bamboo, which was the softest yarn I have ever laid fingers upon. They had soy yarn, linen yarn, all kinds of silks and even some yarn that looked like raffia but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was made of.
But the highlight of my day was the time that we spent replenishing ourselves with good food and cold drinks, great conversation with good friends and many laughs. Even better, then we broke out the knitting.

Our own Knit NY!
Kerstin, Alison and Carrie

The rest of the knitting crew
Cindy and Leigh
And as we made our tired way back to the bus for the long trek home, I spied this sign. In fact, I held up the whole group just so I could selfishly have a picture.

How could I resist?
Does this mean I can get free NYC parking next time?
Tired and happy, we snoozed away the miles on the bus, leaving the driving to them.
Would I go back again? In a New York Minute!

NYC Or bust!

Tomorrow is the big trip! I am beside myself with glee. Actual glee! The C & C of C&C Knittingworks are coming too! There are burning questions in my brain, maybe you can relate:
What will I bring to knit?
What knitting bag will I bring?
Should I bring a huge shoulder bag to carry purchases?
Should I bring a raincoat? Umbrella?
Sandals or sneakers?
The blue shirt or the white one?
Capris or jeans?
Will I set a spending limit? ~snort, funny one, eh?~
Will I oversleep?
Will they like me?
Will my family know I am gone?
So much to think about, so little time!

Link 'o rama

It's time I tend to some Charlotte business. There are some finished shawls in these parts of town and it's time we recognize them. If you have a finished one that I didn't mention, leave a message so we can all drool over yours!
Roll Call, please stand when I call your name, hold your applause till the end:
Donna;Kerstin;MaryBeth;Karen;Nathania;Jen;and last but certainly not least, Janet!
Have you finished your Charlotte? Has your Charlotte finished you?
NYC or Bust
ME? My Charlotte is on row 116. I am cruising my way towards the Charlotte finishing line.
4 bloggers will be making their way to NYC on Saturday for a knit filled, whirlwind day! I will be one of them! If you see 4 knitters wandering around with huge bags of yarn and eating lots of yummy NYC food, say HEY!

ponderance

Morning already?! Fig says, "Not now!"
This best describes how I felt this morning! Ugh!
2 things rolling around in my head lately!
First. I wonder how many knitalongs I could fit the kersti fan and feather scarf into? The Kersti along, a lace knit along, maybe a scarf along. Perhaps we could start a Fan and feather along. A summer/winter knitalong. Get ready for winter along. Start-early-on-Christmas-along. Ooooh, the possiblities are endless!
Second. Look at this.

Overall, this is a picture of Derek at his graduation party, cutting the cake. And that is my wonderful sister in law, Cheryl in the background. I'm sure she will be thrilled to have that angle of herself on display. Please accept my humble apologies, Cheryl! She is a knitter and an all around wonderful person! You'd like her! Wave to Cheryl! Look past the dishes in the dish drainer and overstuffed shelves. My husband made the two shelves over the sink as a surprise for me one weekend that I was away. I feel the need, an actual NEED to put a lace edge onto the shelves. Yes, I could go to the local Joanne's and buy a roll of cheap lace. BUT. Are you thinking what I am thinking? Sure! I could knit it! I bought a ball of Dalegarn Baby Ull and am thinking of trying the lacey edging for the Ingeborg sweater (found in Dalegarn 126) And if that isn't wide enough, well, the world is my knitted oyster, isn't it!

scarf it!

Yesterday, I spent a very busy and wonderful day at the parent orientation at UMass, where Derek will be attending college in the fall. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. To walk the halls that he will walk while turning into a man was an exciting and I have to admit, an emotional one for me. They are taking my baby and I hope they are gentle with him! He got an overnight stay in the dorm, I can't wait to see him today to hear his take on things. In reality, though, I will ask him a bunch of questions and he will nod or grunt. Ahhh, everything will be back to normal!
Kersti plans
With the unexpected arrival of the wonderful koigu kersti into my hands, began a stream of dreaming. Isn't the process of what to make with a certain yarn fun? It has to be the perfect fit for the yarn. I have to admit that the knitting dreaming is half the fun!
This is what I decided upon.

Kersti fan and feather scarf
For some reason, I thought "fan and feather" when I saw kersti. I wanted something a bit open and lacey to enjoy the wonderful coloration. I remembered seeing a wonderful pattern for this scarf, went on a hunt, found it again and started right in!
The pattern is from Wendy Knits. You can find the pattern here. I did make a small change in the pattern as I am knitting. Instead of knitting every row, I am doing stockinette stich in between the pattern rows. I like the look and don't care for the garter stitch look. Nothing personal to you garter stitch lovers, I just happen to not care for it! I'll still love ya if you are a garter stitch freak!
Don't forget to sign up for the motherlode giveaway, if you haven't yet. See the June 16th entry for details.

a bag filled with goodies!

This morning was the perfect New England summer morning, in my opinion! A cool breeze blew in the windows; the sun sparkling in the sky; small, white, puffy clouds dotting the blue of the sky! A lawnmower buzzing in the distance, neighbor's kids laughing, birds chirping! But the smell! The smell is fresh! Cut grass mixed with the ocean saltiness! Oh, I'm in heaven this morning! Please, someone remind me of this day in a couple of weeks when I am wilting and complaining long and hard about the humidity!
Yesterday I hinted at a surprise that showed up in my mailbox. Surprise indeed!

The wonderful MaryBeth gifted me with this wonderful bag! Big enough for toting the daily knitting around, but not big enough to qualify me as a bag lady! And as a bonus, very stylish indeed!
But inside. INSIDE was the most delectable thing you ever have seen? Chocolate? No! Even better!

3 skeins of Koigu Kersti!
Oh, I have been fondling and dreaming ever since! I feel as if I have won the lottery! What will I make? A scarf? Mittens? Sweater? Okay, I've elimated the sweater. I want a smaller project! Look at the colors! How wonderful!
Thank you, MaryBeth! You are generous and thoughtful! You have made my day. Week. Heck, even month!
Next up for me is making a lemon meringue pie as a father's day gift to my wonderful father in law!

Hats and bags, oh my!

I had a mini finishing frenzy here lately! which is a good thing! I could stand to frenzy a bit longer, but now I have startitis! Bad!
First of all, I finished the ChildHood. You saw that the other day. Still buttonless.
Second, I finished the anniversary hat! When I was done, I tossed it over to Andy and he put it right on. Wore it for 2 hours. In the middle of June. Now, that is love! That man is a keeper, I tell ya! I even took a picture of him sitting at the computer, playing his nightly poker game, wearing the love hat. But it came out so bad, that if I posted it, a couple of things would happen.
1. He probably would never speak to me again. Some days this may seem like an attractive option (HEY! we've been married 20 years!) but not at this time! I will reserve this for possible future use, though.
2. You would then think that I am married to either an intellectually challenged person or some kind of freaky, weirdo. And if these things indeed ARE true, well, that must be my secret! A girl has to have her secrets!
So. you get the hat, sans hubby.

This is his favorite way to wear it, grey side out. And I have to admit, I like this side best! Except for the little black spot that showed up in the grey yarn. See it? OUT SPOT!
Specifics:
Pattern: Doubleknitski from The blue blog! Thank you, Alison!
Yarn: Cascade 220
needle size: 6US
value of anniverary gift: priceless

The third project, you did not even know existed! Surprise!

Specifics:
Pattern: Sophie bag from Magknits
Yarn: Lamb's Pride, bulky, colors bulldog blue and khaki (which is not khaki, but a light green)
needle size: 10.5 US

There you have it! I have more to show you. Something wonderful arrived in the mail, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to show you! Gotta have something to look forward to. Plus, we don't want to use up all the fun stuff in one day, do we?

What would you do for free Lorna's Laces?

This is beginning to feel a bit like the commercial where the announcer asks people on the street "what would you do for a klondike bar?" If I had known a blog contest was this much fun, I'd have done this ages ago! (If this is new to you, check out June 16th entry)
I even have a blog named after me! Check out Amy's Sandy site! :) YOu crack me up, girl!
And how about the poem from Norma!
My Undying Love for Sandy and Her Blog

My love for Sandy's blog knows no bounds
Even when it contains nothing but cats and hounds.

I would really love to hit the mother lode.
It would really cheer up my humble abode.

Now I must rest my weary head
For tomorrow I have so much work I'll probably see red *

And another poem, from Christine!

There was a fine gal named Sandy,
Whos knitblog was simply dandy
She shares her kind spirit
We're all glad to hear it
And yes, we all think she's quite handy! *

Hey, there is not much you can do with, "sandy". There are so many rhyming words!

So, listen up! You are the greatest! Yes, I'm talking to YOU! Thank you for reading! And say hello once in a while! It won't kill you!
* These sandy poems are for your enjoyment only, not because I think I'm all that! Really. But...It IS the first time I've had poems written about me!

childhood

Keep the entries for the beautiful lorna's lace mother lode coming in! See yesterday's entry for the details. You really don't have to pledge undying love. But it really is leaving me all warm and fuzzy. Did I mention that I will be picking the winner totally at random? Yes. How could I pick a winner out of all the love? I even got a poem! (Thanks, Norma!)
I personally can't wait to start to knit with the mother lode. (cracks me up every time!) It is so soft and the colors so vibrant! And won't we look cute with our matching socks?
FINISHED OBJECT ALERT!
I finished up the ChildHood Sweater last night. Finished except for the buttons. (which remain unchosen at this time)

The Nuts and Bolts:
Pattern: ChildHood Sweater from Knitty
Yarn: Mission Falls cotton, colors 207, chili and color 301, fennel
needle size: 7 US

How much is that dogwood in the window?

In celebration of my new and much improved blog, and as a thank you to you, the faithful reader, Sandysknitting is having it's first Blog Contest! Yippee! For this contest, all you have to do is email me your name, with "blog contest" in the subject. sanhurl@comcast.net You could also include your blog address too, so I could visit you. And, needless to say, pledge your undying love to me, your favorite blog mistress. That's all I ask. Undying love and your name.* What could be easier? This is up for grabs!

2 skeins of Lorna's Laces, colorway, Mother Lode
Mother Lode! The name alone is enough to crack you up! Anyway, this mother lode was purchased with the enabling help of the 2 greatest Threadbears around. Actually, I have 2 of the exact same color for myself. We can make matching socks! :) Let's see. Every contest must have an end, no? Winner pulled June 30th!
I looked out my window yesterday and was surprised to see this

Dogwood out my window
Bethany got this tree when it was a little twig from school for arbor day when she was in 5th grade. We planted it to the back of our house as a personal protest to our tree hating neighbor. I was going to show him! Of course, the years that the neighbor lived there, the "tree" stood about a foot tall! Now it is soaring over our heads and has it's first blooms! The tree hater has long moved out, but the tree stands in silent protest to tree haters everywhere!
* reader does not actually have to pledge undying love. But it does get you brownie points!

Equal Opportunity Employer, putting squirrels to work!

Can you see me now? Poor Mary, has been on call for Sandysknitting just about 24/7! She has done a fab job, don't you think? Let's applaud for her! Oh, some of you are standing! Nice touch! If you are still having trouble seeing me, just let me know! OR, maybe I"m just practicing my magic tricks. You know, now you see me, now you don't?
I'm going to not talk about knitting today, so if you'd rather not, then you are excused. You get a hall pass!
In my family, we seem to have a trash struggle. Some of the original sandysknitting fans (all 2 of you!) may remember the trash jenga. (Where we play to see how high the trash can will go before threatening to fall?) Trash struggles are classic in our home. The man in charge likes to pawn it off as long as he can. The boy in charge just wouldn't notice if it reeked and spilled. Well, I usually end up corralling it and tossing it out onto the porch. For some reason, I draw the line at walking it to the trash can. Someone usually takes it from there. The trash fairy? Perhaps.
Yes, there is a story here. So, I got sick of waiting for someone to take out the huge, empty cake container. Graduation cake. June 6th. 8 days ago. The cake has been history for about 5 of those days. I did the signature move of putting it onto the porch. This time, the trash fairy did not come. The cake container stayed. For 3 days. This is when I get really stubborn. I will walk over it, around it, through it, but I'm not gonna move it! (Yes, I know, it's silly!) What can I say? I'm not proud of it!
Here is what I found yesterday.

Maybe Mr. Squirrel will bring it to the barrel when he's done!

Back to the hood

It's hard to seam with a kitty pawing at your yarn! (click for bigger kitty!)
I figured that I should finish up this baby sweater before the baby outgrows it! This is the Childhood sweater from Knitty, in case you've forgotten. And why should you remember? This really has turned into the Charlotte blog as of late! I felt that it was getting a tad boring around here. I mean, how many days can I show Charlotte? Row 90. Row 96. Row 111! YAWN! Even I was getting bored!
As I was shopping in the local grocery store yesterday, I happened across the Anna Karenina book. My interest was piqued about this book because of Annie's readalong! It found it's way into my cart. There is a couple of things that appeal to me about this book. One is the cover. Such beautiful art. Second is the 817 pages. I like to dive into a long book in the summer! And who could resist a book with the first line, "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Sucked me right in. I am pretty judgemental about books lately, I sometimes do, indeed, judge a book by it's cover!

sweet mother nature!

You say Pee-ah-knee, I say Pee-oh-nee
June is my favorite blooming time!
Knit on, my friends. Ignore the bullies. I am.

Charlotte is turning green

Curly Charlotte

Charlotte is getting a bit cramped on her needle. I need to break out the 40 inch needle tonight! Row 100, although I do have a funky spot that needs to be fixed. I don't think it goes back 10 rows to the jinxed 90th row, but pretty close. I think the 90 row curse is trying to spread. I'll put a stop to that!
Knitting pictures on a knitting blog. That's different, eh?
It's Friday and the weather is perfect in my book (70's, blue sky, no humidity!) Enjoy yours!

Cute as a button

Did you see it? Go ahead, scroll down a bit and take a peek on the right side. See it? Right under the Knitsmiths. Now, tell me, isn't that the most adorable button you ever did see? Every self respecting blog will want one! And it's free!
Have you noticed that I have been using diversional tactics and not talking about knitting very much at all lately? I am knitting on Charlotte. In fact, I am finally back to row 90, which is where I was when the great ripfest occured. I'm wondering though, have any of you cast a hex on row 90? Because it has given me repeated trouble! Every time I approach 90, I must rip a row or two to fix mistakes. No hexing. It's not fair! :)

Awe for Ewe

Only time for a super quickie this morning. I hope it is good for you! :) Be sure to check out the new book entry in the Reading List section, located down on the left blogside. Kinda fun to have a book section!
I am also paying homage to Mr. Sheepy! I just love him! He is one of my favorite parts of the new blog and then I find out that Miss Mary created him just for me! SHE DREW HIM! (her? ) Does her talent have no limits? Thanks yet again, Mary!

Back when we were Grownups, by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors. She creates quirky, fun characters that oddly enough, I can relate to! Back When we Were Grownups is the story of Rebecca Davitch, a 60 something woman who suddenly finds herself pondering the meaning of life! She tries to go back in time, but in the process, discovers that she really does like her life afterall! Chock full of fun characters, including Will, a lonely man who cooks chili once a week and splits it up into 7 servings for dinners all week long. When he eats out with Rebecca, he ponders what he will do with the extra serving.
As with all of Anne Tyler's books, this is a character driven story and left me with a warm heart and a tear in my eye. But that really isn't a challenge, lately!

noodling around!

Thank you for the big knitters welcome for the new place! It feels like home already. I am like a kid without the training wheels on her bike, just forging ahead, not really knowing what I'm doing!

Graduation Day At Last! (or should I say, already??)

Derek and Bethany after the graduation exercises! I went through more than my share of tissues, I'll tell you! Lots and lots of food and drink was consumed at the aftermath party. Here's a glimpse of the room, chock full of teens!

Got Knitting?
Last night was the first time in many, many nights that I picked up my knitting! I missed it, I'll tell ya! I anticipate that tonight, finally, I will bring Charlotte up to where it was pre-rip fest! Then, maybe you'll get an actual knitting picture. No guarantees!
Signing off from the soothing blog! The "Rest home" of blogs! It is pretty nice around here, isn't it?

Looking good around here!

Welcome to the new Sandys Knitting! Update your links, you don't want to miss a minute of the fun and games around here! Many, Many thanks and kudos go to Mary, smooches to her! And to Kerstin, of course, because she is the one who bullied ,er,encouraged me to go ahead and shop around for a new blog!
Can life get any better than this? I submit that it cannot!

Got dust

Knitting? I wish! I don't think there will be any knitting around here for the weekend. It is Derek's graduation on Sunday and we have a small crowd coming over to scavenge, er, eat with us. Yes, that's right! Hurley Cookout Time! Rain and all! What made me think that we might have nice weather when it has rained reliably all spring? Cleaning. That is what is on tap today. And lots of it! My house is not ready for a party yet, but will be by the end of this day! The family has been assigned their tasks, now if the teens would just vacate their beds!

Burger anyone?

No knitting, just Prom night!

Get your tissues/charmin out for today's entry. Oh, wait, that's ME that will need it. I'm prepared, don't worry.

The BHS Senior Prom was last night and as tradition dictates, that means the annual Prom Extravaganza Photo Shoot was held before at Lynch Park in Beverly. Everyone who was anyone was seen with a camera dangling around their neck last night from 5-7 pm. Hollywood has nothing on Beverly, let me tell you. Here is a sampling.

Any self respecting senior would not arrive without their limo

This is a fraction of the limos that arrived. By the way, I have never ridden in a limo yet in my life, and well, my life seems to be fullfilled. Or is it?

Lots and lots of people!?

As I said, this is a tradition in Beverly and a well attended one. This is the Rose Garden in Lynch Park. No roses yet, there are only dirt rows with twigs as of yet, because we have not had a day over 70 that is sunny since last year. Derek and his group would not think of waiting in the line for picture taking on the gazebo, so we splintered off to the right, where I think the background is a better one.

Sniff~Sniff

Okay, let me pause a moment for an emotional break. I am still amazed that this is my baby!? There are so many pictures and I won't bore you with them all, but if you wish to see the slide show version, come on over! We just like to yell out, "Dim the lights, please!"

Here is a picture of the girl that Andy wishes that Derek would have taken to the prom.

They have known each other since they were 5 and Andy swears that she is "sweet on him". She'll probably have to hit him over the head with a 2x4 to get his attention!? He's a bit oblivious like that!?

And just so you know, that it is 7 am and the little darling is not home yet. He came in around 1:30am to change out of his tuxedo and spoke to Andy. When later asked where Derek was headed, Andy's answer was, "Some girls house". Oh, well that narrows it down!? Are men always teenagers ( my apologies to any men out there that are not teenagers. All 2 of you! )

Vindication at last!

A sheep? Sure I am. What of it Kim did it. So did Kerstin. Why should I be left out in the non fun cold?

So there!? NORMAL. Proven at long last!? Sure, I'm dysfunctional! Who isn't

With Derek's upcoming graduation, brings a steady stream of boy type teenagers to our home, many of whom I havent' seen in years. They are all milling about, house to house, not sure of what to do. So they play some playstation and have a lot of laughs. What a great time of life, standing on the door to their futures that are so hopeful and full.

Good thing there is no "E" in Sandy, or the name acronym would peg me as emotional. And lately, I am.

The conclusion of the secret pals

Secret pals: The end is here

Today is the official end of the secret pals program!? I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a job well done. With few exceptions, I feel it has been a success.? I have personally gotten to know a lot of people I previously had not known. And for that, I am thankful.? I hope you all revealed yourselves to each other and now feel like you've made a good friend.?

I'd like to publicly thank my secret pal, Annie, who has gone far above and beyond the call of the secret pals duty.? Thank you, Annie for your generosity and many, many surprises!?

I will not be running a second secret pals as I dont' have enough organizational skills to make it run smoothly.? There is a wonderful person that has expressed interest to take it on, but for the life of me, I can't remember who she is. I remember that she is getting married in June and wanted to wait until after that.? Email me, secret pal person, and I'll hand you the figurative baton!

The Charlotte Saga

I believe that you knew, and even I knew what I would do with Charlotte.? You were right.? I ripped her to shreds.? Oddly enough, it didn't bother me too much. I cast right on that minute and furiously knit all night long.? I am currently up to row 50! (again)? And I am amazed how smoothly the Charlotte knitting is this time around. Experience definitely makes her easier.? So, Charlotte newbies, don't despair the ripping. It is all good in the end!?

Oh, and can't let this day go by without wishing a very happy happy birthday Donna! Happy Birthday, mate!? Hope it is peace-fleece-ful!?

The conclusion of the secret pals

Secret pals: The end is here

Today is the official end of the secret pals program!? I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a job well done. With few exceptions, I feel it has been a success. I have personally gotten to know a lot of people I previously had not known. And for that, I am thankful. I hope you all revealed yourselves to each other and now feel like you've made a good friend.

I'd like to publicly thank my secret pal, Annie, who has gone far above and beyond the call of the secret pals duty. Thank you, Annie for your generosity and many, many surprises!?

I will not be running a second secret pals as I dont' have enough organizational skills to make it run smoothly. There is a wonderful person that has expressed interest to take it on, but for the life of me, I can't remember who she is. I remember that she is getting married in June and wanted to wait until after that. Email me, secret pal person, and I'll hand you the figurative baton!

The Charlotte Saga

I believe that you knew, and even I knew what I would do with Charlotte. You were right. I ripped her to shreds. Oddly enough, it didn't bother me too much. I cast right on that minute and furiously knit all night long. I am currently up to row 50! (again)? And I am amazed how smoothly the Charlotte knitting is this time around. Experience definitely makes her easier. So, Charlotte newbies, don't despair the ripping. It is all good in the end!?

Oh, and can't let this day go by without wishing a very happy happy birthday Donna! Happy Birthday, mate!? Hope it is peace-fleece-ful!?

Good things abound

First of all, and most importantly,

?

happy Birthday to my wonderful nephew Dan!

I believe he may be 12 years old. Or 11. Some aunt!? I can't remember! Sorry, Dan!? I hope all his birthday dreams come true!

Now. Our home is busily entrenched in Senior week. My head is spinning with Derek's upcoming graduation. In a good way. We are all excited about his growing party. And all I have to say is...WHERE will I put everyone Inside, outside, it doesn't matter! But, I have a lot of house cleaning to do between now and Sunday!?

I am (once again) on row 63 of Charlotte. I am enjoying this time around. There is just something about koigu! Can you stand yet another picture?

In all her glory!

I know it's hard to tell that there is a difference. But believe me. There IS. There is actually a pattern on the left side. And that, is a good thing!

The Charlotte Women

The Charlotte Women
?
button by Gib
see May 14th entry for your invitation

Kerstin
Mary Beth
Kim
? ?Lauren
Bliss
Annie
Greta
Kendra
Becky
Uli
Karen
Nathania
Tiffany
?Cathy
Margene
Christine
Li
Janet
Jen
Vera
Jessie
Martha
? Jaimi
?Melise
Kandy
?Rose
Penny
Leslie
Gail
Eva
Melissa
Donna
Jen
Smitten
Sylvia
?Rebecca
Donna
Deb
Jane
Jillz
Siow Chin
Jenn
?Jessi
Beth
Jennifleur
La
?Barbara
Jane
??Renada
Elizabeth

Are you a Charlotte Woman?

Dear blog reader,

You are cordially invited to join an impromptu, informal knitalong amongst friends!? Of the Charlotte's web variety!

?
? Button by Gib! Thanks Kim!!

Kerstin and Mary Beth are in. Annie are you Who's next?

Of course there must be rules, no

1. You must start knitting Charlotte's web today. Or any day that suits you.

2. You must finish. Or not.

3. Reading the book will bring you bonus knitalong points.*

Come on! Be a charlotte woman!?

Sincerely, charlotte knitter

*bonus points are purely figurative and do not actually get you anything but entertained

Good vs. Bad, the classic conflict

Note to reader: Please excuse my extreme lack of Photoshop skills

I took Charlotte out to get some sunshine.

? Good Charlotte (not the band)

? Bad Charlotte

There are no vertical lines on the left side of the shawl. Now, to the future, casual shawl observer, this may not make a difference. But. Now that I know, it makes a difference. So. What are the options?

1. Look the other way and don't make a peep. An attractive option, even for me

2. Rip it out and start over, making sure I figure out the line issue.

Hmmmm....looks like I will have? a decision to make. What would you do? (WWYD?)

Now, I just can't leave the my little pony thing alone. Care bears can kick my ass? Sure, Grumpy Bear could obviously beat me. In a teddy bear minute. But Funshine bear? Come on! I could take him!? Love a lot bear?!! Oh! I?laugh in his little pink face!?However, laugh a lot bear is a toughy. ?He looks sneaky and wiley. I think he will use the mental edge to get the better of me. I had better beware the laugh a lot bear!? I'll be looking over my shoulder.

Knit on. Have anything you could rip with me so I wouldn't feel so lonely?