On Vacation

This blog is on vacation! Be back June 30!

School's Out for the Summer!

Yesterday was the last day of school. We have a tradition at our school -on the last day the whole staff goes out and waves goodbye to the kids on the buses as they leave the schoolyard. As soon as they are out of sight, a big cheer goes up! Yup, we are just as happy as the kids are that school is out for the summer! Then we had a district-wide lunch for staff. It was bitter-sweet, as some much loved co-workers were retiring - lots of tears among the laughter.

So, now on the the lazy, hazy, days of summer and some FOs and WIPs:

My "Jayne's AP" bag. 10" wide, 4" deep, and 4 1/2" tall.

I added a cell phone pocket to the inside before felting and a strap from an old bag. I'm not crazy about the strap and will probably change it when I find something I like better.
This is my ITEIV bag #1. It's 10" wide by 11" tall and the flowers are needlefelted. The zippered pouch is 9 1/2" wide by 4" tall and will go with the bag, filled with goodies. They are both made with Patons Classic Wool in the same blue, but for some reason the colors look different in the picture.
And this is my ITEIV Bag #2. It's a larger version of the Jayne's AP bag and pre-felted it is 15" wide, 7" deep, and 21" tall from the top of the flap to the bottom of the bag. I'm going to put two pockets inside and an adjustable knit strap.
After it is felted, you can help me decide which one to send to my partner!

The Graduates

These are the same kids who were on the boat yesterday - they clean up nicely - don't they? Can't believe they will be in high school next year!

Launching the Gemini

On a near perfect day on the coast of Maine, Jacob and Jordyn launched their new lobster boat appropriately named "Gemini". Jacob has his lobster license and Jordyn will be his sternman - or sterngirl, or whatever this summer. Into Frenchman's Bay, and off on a smooth start to it's mooring at the Winter Harbor Co-op.
Proud new boat owners!
Of course little sister had to get in on the act, and their best friends, Haley and Caleb, another Gemini pair, were on hand, along with grandparents, uncles, and friends, to help celebrate the launch.

Hat or Bowl?

You may have noticed that I don't often post pictures of myself (you probably thought that was me in the rocking chair knitting?) There's a reason for that. You see, I have this weird camera, and it adds 20 years and 50 pounds to my pictures - not everyone else's - just mine! But I'm making an exception today to show you how my hat turned into a bowl.
I was planning to make this hat for my Maisie Dobb's (whoduknit) project - at the beginning of the book when she is first introduced she is wearing a cloche, and I also wanted a hat to match the intrelac scarf I made awhile back. The pattern is from Nicky Epstein's knitted flowers, and it has a felted flower embellishment on it. I admit I didn't use the Trendsetter yarn called for - but it seemed to be the same weight as the Noro I was using - so I knit up this huge hat:


Yup - that's me! I felted it and it turned into this:

Which looks much better as a bowl.
It's a beautiful bowl - but what do you do with a felted bowl that matches your scarf? I think I'll fill it full of balls of beautiful hand-dyed yarn!

The flavors of Kool-aid

Lemon-lime, Berry Blue, and Cherry

I reall have to learn how to wind them up into neater skeins - but they are pretty, aren't they?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mine is growing with kool-aid dyed yarn, tote bags, and a hat that turned into a bowl (more about that later!)


I tried something new with the kool-aid dyeing this morning. I wanted to use a single color, but make it in variegated shades. So I mixed up the kool-aid in a pitcher and lowered 1/3 of the yarn into it for 5 minutes, than another 1/3 for a few more minutes,

then the rest of it for just a few seconds. Then I transferred it to an oblong pyrex baking dish that would fit in the microwave and microwaved as usual. I love the variation on the blue and green. The red is variegated but you can't see it as much.

A Blank Canvas

I finished knitting the tote for my ITEIV Pal, gave it a bath And now it's drying. I know it doesn't look like much right now, but just think of it as a blank canvas just waiting to be embellished! I was going to embellish with sewn on felted flowers, but now it's just calling out to me to be needle felted. While it's drying I started another bag - just in case this one doesn't turn out like the picture in my head! I'm making "Jayne's AP Bag" in colors that my pal says she likes. When they are both done I'll decide which one I think she will like the best - maybe I will let you all vote on it?

Virtual Vacation Swap Button

Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap

Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap Questionnaire

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1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be? Alaska - I've always wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise. My sister and her husband went on one and had a great time - the pictures looked fascinating.
2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why? Ireland. My ancestry is Irish. I love the history, the old castles, and of course the Irish yarn!
3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries? I've driven from Maine to New Jersey many times, across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and across Morocco and Spain many years ago.
4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Yes
Where was it? I would have to say Morocco - but it really wasn't a visit as I lived there for two years when my husband was stationed there.

5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? I think I'd have to say a trip with my husband to Nova Scotia. It was a very relaxed trip with no schedule or deadlines, and the scenery was breathtaking, especially in Cape Breton.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Oh yes! Explain. My sister is an avid traveler and when she travels, she wants to see everything there is to see. So whenever she visits in Maine, we find someplace we have never been before and 'play tourist'. One of my favorite places to play tourist is just across the bay from me in Bar Harbor.
7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker? A little bit of each.

8. What's your favorite type of yarn? I love them all! I'm really not a yarn snob. I seem to use Cascade, Galway, Noro a lot, but I love to try new and different yarns.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn? Red Heart Super Saver :)
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet? Mostly, I love to make felted items - bags, hats, slippers, etc. I also knit scarves, socks, washcloths, baby items, shawls (but not lace).
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation? Small projects like socks or washcloths.

12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet? I've loved crafts all my life - but right now, other than knitting, it's mostly scrapbooking, card making, and some beading.
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise) Not yarn or treats, but smoke, perfume and cats.
14. What is your favorite color? Blue
Least Favorite? I really like all colors - but if I have to pick one, guess it would be yellow.
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)? Sweet!!!
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know. The best part of any swap is getting to know your pal, so I hope that you will be in touch often. Other than that - have fun!

Swaps

I'm participating in two fun swaps right now. The first one is the Whoduknit Mystery Bottle Swap. The bottle swap is a lot of fun. You have to stuff as much as you can into a 2 liter bottle and mail it to your secret pal. The mystery part is - how do you get all of this

into this....

Well, the answer is ...you can't. But I got most of it in and my bottle is ready to mail - that's right, you just put a mailing label on it and send the bottle through the mail.

The second swap is the International Tote Exchange IV. I did ITEII and ITEIII and they were both great swaps with great pals that I still keep in touch with. This time around I am a hostess, which means I have a group of ladies that I had to match up and be responsible for during the swap. After reading my pal's questionnaire, asking her a lot of questions, and looking through every knitting book, magazine, and on-line site I have bookmarked, I finally decided on a pattern and yarn for the tote that I am going to make. The yarn is a little dark in the picture - it's actually a little lighter than that. And I'm making it in a solid color - then embellishing it either with needle-felting, or felted flowers.

I've been resisting other swaps because too many can get confusing (and expensive) - but when I came across this one..well... I just couldn't resist! Besides, the other two will be finished by the time this one needs to be mailed - and no actual knitting is involved. It's a Virtual Vacation swap - you've got to check this one out!