Weeeds

This very cute - and very FREE - knitting pattern comes from Anna at Mochimochiland. Go here to download the pdf file, then make as many as you like - the neighbors won't mind one bit.

Kidlet saw me open the email announcement and went absolutely ape for these little guys. She has seen it her mission this year to help dandies propagate, much to the chagrin of Grammy's association's lawn maintenance crew...

Sumer Is Icumen In

OK, people - it is 10:02pm in the Twin Cities on May 19, and it's 89 freakin' degrees.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

92 and ready for more

My paternal grandmother's birthday falls at the end of July, and the Norwegian clan gathers each summer at my aunt's home on Forest Lake to celebrate it - and summery goodness. We couldn't have requested a more perfect day for her 92nd birthday party today.

The six eldest great-grandkids were there (my AZ cousin just had her first son two weeks ago), and it was interesting to see how some things never change. My cousins, sister and I frequently ran up and down those spiral stairs as kids ourselves; we have many a photo of our plaid pants and Holly Hobbie sweatshirts posed just like our girls today. Those were the days...

Happy birthday, Grandma!

Happy campers

I'm back in town (for a few days, at least!).

This weekend J, Kidlet and I attended Rainbow Families' Family Camp, complete with s'mores, crafts, and swimming.

No boating to be had, as there were wicked whitecaps on the lake the entire time. All in all, a great first camping experience for Kidlet. What a trooper!

Got milk?

I had opportunity to knit the shop swatch for one of The Yarnery's new yarns: Rowan Milk Cotton DK. Made of 70% cotton, 30% milk protein, it's dairy goodness you can knit. Yeah, I'm not sure how they do it, but there it is.

Here are shots of the swatch, pre- and post-blocking:

It responded well to getting wet; a little color in the sink, but rinse water ran clear. The stitches evened out nicely, and it shaped easily without pinning.

Like most cotton yarn, it splits (silent scream here - I likes me wools). But unlike most cotton, the milk protein keeps the fabric quite light and really soft.

In other news, Kidlet and I went to the MOA yesterday. I usually do a very strategic run-in-run-out surgical shopping attack, but we loitered and explored

Camp Snoopy
The Park at MOA
Nickelodeon Sugar Crazed Mania
"Camp Dora."

Oy. When did I get so centrifugally wimpy that a merry-go-round can make my head swim? Pathetique.

Dads of note

Jacob

Howard Cunningham

Charles Ingalls

Papa (with an über-fresh Kidlet)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there in Blog-landia.
I love you, Dad!

End Times, and other things

from the editor: I'm a bad LYS employee. I've really done scant knitting this week, and thusly another fiberless post. Le sigh.

This is the last week of school for my studio singers. I know, everyone else under the sun is done but us. Graduation is on Friday (the 13th - don't think the irony is lost on some of these "adults"). And although most teachers spend the next three months travelling on vacation improving themselves at workshops, I teach a summer studio. As an independent contractor, if I want to be paid, lessons are taught.

I've never really been a get-the-heck-outta-Dodge vacationer - nor have my people - but this summer is proving to be different. The third week of July will be a Genuine Road Trip Vacation, the likes of which haven't been experienced by my family for over 20 years (ahem).

Destination: The Big Apple :-D
Motivation: seeing the MN Twins play at Yankee Stadium before they tear it down
Participation: mom, dad, sis, and moi

Driving halfway across the country.
In July.
Watching outdoor baseball (here's the view from our slice of Yankee heaven):No me gusta the potential heat/sweat/humidity factor with this itinerary, but I will shut my yap and deal with it.

OK, one question: I am certainly not the most sportly-minded lesbian to walk the face of the earth (though I have been known to cheer on a championship whatever in a social context), but shouldn't it be illegal or unethical or something to tear down Yankee Freakin' Stadium? It's like the Mecca of baseball, isn't it? Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and all? (Heh, I didn't even google those names. Pretty impressed right about now, aren't you?)

side note: On this day in 1969 the Yankees retired Mickey Mantle's number, 7. Ironical. (This factoid was looked up after I wrote his name above, thus the ironicalness. And yes, I know it's not a real word.)

Lay it on me, readers. What should I petition the fam to see whilst in Nueva York? Leave me a comment with your favorite tourist-y spot, off-the-beaten-path eatery, or whatever. You're going to be listening to me blog about it, so the sights might as well be something we'll all enjoy.

Hiaitus, then progress

The recital came and went smoothly, the school year ended, summer lessons started, and now summer is almost gone. It all flies by so quickly!

Kidlet has officially seen my stash. She routinely plays with the skeins and balls I keep in two baskets in the LR, and at one point this summer she noticed the zipped bins under my bed. After a volley of questions I slid them into the light of day and showed her the contents. Her eyes grew wide as she said, almost reverently, "Meema, that's a lot of yarn!" Yup. The next day we returned to Mommy's house (J, my ex, Kidlet's birth mother), and she proclaimed, "Meema has yarn under her bed! Lots of yarn!" Apparently this is not the age for secret keeping.

I took Kidlet to my favorite LYS to choose yarn for her sweater (I really had no decent cotton in the stash - it's mostly wool). She hadn't been in a yarn shop yet, so I prepped her by saying they "have much more yarn than Meema does." We walked in the door, and I almost heard the thunk of her jaw on the floor. Tee hee! I steered her to the sportweight cotton, and she was drawn to the Reynolds Cottontail (a cotton/microfiber blend). It has a really nice hand and good drape, but the LYS isn't carrying many colors. We came away with a powder pink, chosen by Kidlet to go with her puddle shoes (Crocs), as well as a white/pink/orange colorway of sock yarn to coordinate. I'm not recalling the brand, but I'll add the info when I start them.

I've finally started Tater's Cotton Cardi, mentioned in a previous post. My knitting has consisted of wool almost exclusively since last October, so I'd forgotten how fussy all these cotton plies can be. That's my only complaint, though. It's a pretty well-written pattern, and did I mention how I hate seaming? Cheers for top-down raglan shaping! I'm at the second sleeve's pattern stitched cuff, and am a short evening away from joining the fronts and back for the body section of pattern. I will post pictures of my progress (and maybe a gallery of FO?) when I get the chance to figure out how/where/etc. Methinks I want to learn backwards knitting for the non-pattern row, instead of purling the width of the sweater. Why is it that knitters do almost anything to avoid purling?

On another note, J and I are once again working at the MN Renaissance Festival . I think this is my sixth year of selling men's costuming. It's a lot of fun, even though it is essentially retail. The caveat is that at a RenFest you can be rude to customers, and they like it - nay, they expect it! It's "atmosphere," or "charmingly being in character." I'm never overtly rude or crass, just very matter-of-fact and unapologetically honest. This was the opening weekend of seven, and if you are at all aware of the weather up here, it was a soaker. It rained all day, both days. They closed the festival mid-day on Sunday for fear of deteriorating road conditions. Next weekend looks much more promising.