Instead (thanks in part to the ease of escape that the internet provides) I will bother you with only a few (and no cacti, it was way too hot for sightseeing). Be forewarned however, this post contains knitting content, but really it is mostly the blog-equivalent of a vacation slide show.
What I did on my Summer Vacation:
click here for the school picture version
The Hulk, played by Nephew #1 while he models his sweater (remember the stash-buster?) My knitting-sense—not unlike Spidey-sense—has vastly improved in 6 short months of being Serious about knitting not to mention blog-surfing around other Serious Knitters, and I now see so many holes and gauge issues in this sweater that I felt kind of crummy giving it as a gift—but he lives in ARIZONA and will probably only ever wear it once. Huge props to the kid for modeling for me in (get this)... 104° weather (don't worry the AC was on). Not surprisingly, the only LYS I visited was sparsely stocked.
Here's is Nephew #2 in his bottoms up bucket. He enjoyed it most in it's secondary configuration as a projectile weapon. His head is really almost too big for a size small (99th percentile... my poor, poor sister).
Speaking of, she has a due-date for niece #1/nephew #3 in less than 8 weeks. Please DO NOT send warm wishes through cyberspace to her, but rather the coolest and breeziest wishes you can muster. Poor thing, all pregnant in (that's right) 104° weather. Also, meditate on small heads.
lil big-head knows how to keep cool
While we are still talking about my little sis... She learned to knit (and purl) while I was there! She made several little Jiffy squares of different stitch patterns (garter, stockinette, 2x2 rib, basketweave) and is already clamoring for more. The squares will become a blanket for what we hope is Niece #1. While she has elected to be "surprised," We At Small Hands are rooting for a girl since there are SO many cute girly things to knit.
By way of instruction, I knit two Critter Knits. One in Homespun and the other in Jiffy.
Oh, and for my birthday, besides lots of great clothes and books and CDs, my mom (Yay Mom!) got me a new digital camera! The blog should be much more interesting to look at going forward.
STATS:
5.3 megapixels
21x total zoom
Auto Focus, White-balance, Flash
And did I mention MACRO??
This is the "classy" lookin' garter scarf of previous posts... click here to look at how slippery and shiny it is!
On the subject of classy and birthdays, check THIS out, lest we forget the AWESOME gift from Lara (she's got her own site in the works, in the meantime she can be soaked up at diaryland). From Lara I received the very cute and practical Knit & Crochet Companion, complete with a little zippered pocket for yarn bits, a needles-I-already-own-so-don't-buy-them-again chart, and room for notes and patterns and what-not... AND some so so so soft Blue Sky Alpaca in Natural Light Tan (that just happens to be enough and the right gauge for the Debbie Bliss bunny that Jen made earlier (and Lara is making now). So Imma jump on the bunny-wagon.
Whew. What else? Oh, and I finished the knitting on Salt Peanuts! Still needs finishing... But YEAH! Swoosh! Goal! I will post pics of it once it is blocking.
Also finished sleeve number two on my Eyelet Cardi. This teeny gauge is very intimidating. As such, it has gotten little attention of late. I am going to try to focus a bit more on it.
Regular sleeves, no surprises
I also swatched my lace-along pattern. And I made gauge and everything! But I left the swatch in Phoenix, so you will have to trust me. I haven't cast on yet, as I am currently being wooed by the Jo Sharp Soho Summer cotton and shell pattern that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago AND the Classic Elite Premiere and other shell pattern I bought in Phoenix. Oh, right! I almost forgot to mention the stash enhancement... Wait, you didn't actually think I left town without buying yarn, did you? 104ยบ or not, yarn's yarn. The lovely ladies at The Knitter's Nook even wound it up for me.
So, lace-along or tank... lace-along or tank... It is this very conundrum that has led to my commitment to hurry the hell up on my cardi. If the cardi were done, I could start a tank AND the shawl. I would like to forestall the choosing for another week.
In the meantime, I have been working on "lace-esque" scarf number two. The Morning Surf scarf (aka "Blue Wavy Scarf") from Heartstrings Fiberarts. This second scarf—numero uno was the red knotwork number—is made out of Tess' Designer Mohair/Merino blend and now that I have such a cool camera, you can see how great the yarn looks in this wavy pattern.
Only two weeks gone and I missed all kinds of amazing things in the bloggerhood. But I got a lot of knitting done (and a lot of my paying work done, too). I don't think I have the time management skills to both read all the blogs I love and write a blog I can stand... not sure what's to be done about that. For now, I will just let the housework slide until I can come up with a solution... I mean, priorities are only worth anything if they are in line with one's values.
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