Swallowtail Has Flown The Nest

I miss her.
Firstly, I'm not a fast knitter. Secondly, we lived together since April. No marathon sessions, just a slow, easy lace knit. Some points to mention - I enjoyed the yarn. It had a bit of a thick/thin thing happening which made it less slippery than other wool lace yarns I used, which was good. I wasn't crazy about the transition to the Lily of the Valley border, but in the end, the little thing bloomed quite nicely. It really grew! And last night I gave it to my sister for her birthday. She loved it! It's very peachy on her, more pink on me. Son played "Happy Birthday" on his saxaphone - a real sinus opener, and 5 year old daughter did a dance and made her a rather large beaded necklace. We all had cake, which I'm paying for today (I'm wheat and gluten intolerant). So now I'm on to finishing some other things on my sidebar, and revving up the engines for MS3.


Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl from IK Fall 2006
Yarn: Moorehouse Merino Lace in Peach - 2 skeins - the store is very close to my parents' house
Needles: Addi Lace Turbo Size 5, Crystal Palace Size 8 circulars for last row and bind off


By the way, Nups are cool. Oh, and one more thing to mention - 16 year old daughter walked by three times while it was blocking, mind you, in the middle of the kitchen on the kitchen table, finally looked at it and said in a monotone voice, "Wow, I could never do that." I'm not going to try to figure out if that was a compliment or she feels she now has physical evidence that I'm a lunatic...

We Knit in School Today

My 10 year old son loves to knit.
Today was his 4th grade class picnic, an annual event that occurs rain or shine. Today it rained, so I packed up a bag of some old Boye needles, acrylic yarn from who-knows-when and headed off to school. I'm the class mom, but I fortunately didn't have to deliver the pizza. I bought the soda (begrudgingly - we don't drink the stuff here and we don't really think any kids should) and arrived after the pizza and soda had been consumed, and at around the time when some of the students seemed tired of "Uno Attack" and Kinnex. When I asked if anyone wanted to learn how to knit, a few boys jumped up, followed by a few more, and then more! At this point, I was long out of needles, so I told them to grab pencils. They each picked a yarn and off they went, casting on and doing a few garter stitch rows. While some didn't get too far, others attacked it with abandon. "Mrs. C!" I heard, over and over. "I need help!", said some. "Come look at how I'm doing!" said others. By the thick of it, there were a group of about 12 boys, scattered around the classroom focused on their knitting. Only one girl came by, and my son showed her how to knit. She was concerned though that once she learned knitting she might forget how to crochet...
All the students were all so proud, showing me their work, complete with loops and wonkiness. In the midst of the learning, a boy sat quietly with his needles and yarn, and when I looked over at him, he was knitting Continental. But I had shown them all English! He said he had learned from his grandma. He also told me he prefers the long-tail cast-on method. He'll probably be knitting a sweater before long!
I hope that some of these boys take this new hobby and practice it over the summer. I told them about how it makes me happy and keeps me calm. I offered them the idea that they should try it in the mornings after they've gotten ready for school and are waiting for the bus or car. Who knows, maybe more boys will knit, and in another 10 years we'll have more men knitters. Then maybe we won't have war. The politicians can knit instead of argue.

I got a present from the teacher for being a class mom. She goes out of her way to find out what we like. She nailed it! Here it is.
Serendipity, Rubber Soul, and Inky Antics rubber stamps. Did I mention the teacher is a knitter too? I can only hope my son's 5th grade teacher knits too!

My SP10 Is...

KELLY NOWICKI!

She's been a terrific Pal. Look what she just sent:
No, really, take a closer look...
The yarn is from Dye-a-bolical Yarns, in a beautiful multicolorway. Its over 400 yards, so I may even make a little capelet or shawlette with it. Her theme was summer, and her fun little gifties really reflected that. And those candy kisses were gone seconds after the pic was taken. If I get a moment to myself, the bubble bath will be used this weekend.
If you come across a swap like this, I recommend giving it a try. It really brightened these last few months, and somehow, the packages always seemed to arrive on a day when I needed a lift the most.

Swallowtail Shawl

Actually, a present for my sister. Let's hope I can finish it in time for her birthday later in June.
I start the nupps today. I'm anxious to experience the hubb-bubb...

Yarn: Morehouse Merino Laceweight, in coral
Needles: Addi Lace Size 4

Did I mention I'm loving it! I really enjoy lace!

FLICKR LETTER FUN

Try it - it even makes cuss words look good...



Thanks BeachBungalow8!