The Traveller

That's me, this past few days.

I went to Blacksburg to see The Daughter. One of those Mom things-- had this aching to see my child, so drove 4-1/2 hours, did some of her laundry, had dinner with her, went to sleep, got up, had lunch with her and drove back. That was the best part.

The second best part was actually being able to visit the LYS down there-- Mosaic. It's not Knit Happens, but it's a very nice shop with a very respectable yarn line, and since it's 4-1/2 hours away, will serve to provide me with a source of fiber should I need to start something new while I'm down there.

I got back in time to spend a few minutes with Wendy in honor of her book. And then off to Prince William Park to spend the weekend being The Nurse for our local Girl Scout encampment.

I really enjoy camping, but as I "mature," I also really appreciate the opportunity to glean the benefits of the great outdoors without the responsibility for keeping groups of little girls in line. I was a troop leader for the entire time The Daughter was a girl in the program. Now I can go, lead songs, take care of cuts, scrapes and bruises, make sure the coffee's made for everyone in the morning, knit when I'm not otherwise occupied, and leave when I've done everything I need to do. This is the life.

I wanted to post a picture of me reading Wendy Knits in my sleeping bag, which I did, reading by flashlight. But another benefit is that I get to sleep by myself in the dining hall (no chatty little people). I had only a squirrel to join me-- but that's another story.

And he didn't know how to use the camera

Mini Progress Report

...for mini progress. The sweater pieces blocked nicely.

I was able to hit Late Night where Niki, Nikki Carolina, Holly and Aimee were holding down the fort.

I connected the shoulders to the back, and after a false start, spent the ENTIRE TIME picking up stitches around what will be the never-ending collar. Now mind you, having said that, my dearest wish is that it'll be done in no time, and I'll feel like a fool for even having trepidated about it. Ya think?

To paraphrase Wendy's words: Fat chance, cupcake.

It's Launching Day!!!

...For Wendy-From-The-Blog's long-awaited Wendy Knits. I was able to see an advance copy, and I gotta say it's all it's cracked up to be. The models, by the way, are absolutely gorgeous. If you want to know more, go here. (Or get yourself a copy. That's what I'm doing today.)

What else am I doing today? Well, this morning I did this:

The Blogger finally woke up, so I could load the pictures.

Blocking always amazes me (I'm easily amazed). I started out with these tubes of knitting. It was the curliest thing I've seen in the recent past. Then it turns into an amorphous blob of soggy cashmarino, then takes on a bit of character as the water is teased out, and then you can actually see what you've got. (Hey, Ann- the sleeves are both the same length. Hurrah!) The only thing that's more amazing to me is when I get that final end woven in.

I'm one of those people who knits a lot (not as much as SOME people we know) but I'm not that great at finishing. I'll have pieces of things all done and sitting around, but unless it needs to be somewhere, I just don't feel the pressure to do much with it. ADD. Priceless. And expensive.

And what else today??? Continuing the weed-out process in the closet, doing laundry and cleaning the bedroom. AmVets is coming May 1, and I'll have a boatload of stuff for them.

Then, this evening I hope that the sweater will be dry, so that I can pick up stitches for what I know will be the never-ending-collar. Maeve is "not" knitting this right now, since we all know she's studying, and I'm looking forward to her take on the collar. But she's a bit more prolific in the production arena than I, so she may not be viewing it with the same trepidation.

Tomorrow? Doin' my part for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. And if there's a lot of sitting-around-time, working on the never-ending-collar. (Nice attitude, huh? I haven't even started it yet.) Then, depending on the needs of the Justice System, I'll either go to The Shop and be Irregular, or if I'm released from duty early enough, head south to see The Daughter at The Place. If I don't get out early, I'll head down on Thursday, but she has more time available on Wednesday night.

Not much can convince me to miss Late Night, but I haven't seen The Daughter for a long while, and I won't have a chance again until the end of May.

After The Bermuda Cruise!!!

Progress Report

Second sleeve redone. May block tonight, energy permitting. Then to the collar thing.

That is all.

...And I forgot My Camera

...on Wednesday, when Kay and Ann came to Knit Happens to tout their most wonderful book Mason-Dixon Knitting (with a subtitle that I can't possibly recapture without looking at it.)

But some of my Irregular buddies had theirs, so go visit Wendy orMaeve to see pictures. There was quite a nice crowd there. Kristine had her buddy Jacinta from England. We'd heard about her, and were thrilled to be able to finally meet her. (If you see Kristine, ask her how the Jirbil is doing.)

Erin, Ann, Niki, Jasmine, Aimee,of course Holly and Carolina were there-- and my brain is a bit too fried to remember everyone else.

I proceeded with the second sleeve of the bolero sweater, and was thrilled when I reached the end-- In my mind, finishing a second sleeve basically equates to a FO, except for the rather massive job of doing the pick-up collar. And then I noticed. It didn't match the other sleeve. It was about 6 rows off. I knew that I counted this one properly, so I must have goofed on the other one, but this was the one that was closest in my memory, so with Ann's encouragement, I ripped back to the decreases. And it wasn't as painful as it could have been. I'm still not finished with it (again), but maybe tonight. (there's a lot of stuff on the DVR). Now THIS is the reason that I usually knit both sleeves at the same time.

Live and re-Learn.

What a Beautiful Day!

And as it turns out, I was SUPPOSED to be spending it sitting in jury duty. Why, you might ask, am I not there? Because my number wasn't listed on the website when I dutifully checked last evening, as I was directed to do by the official summons I received. This is cut and pasted from the website:
This information was last updated on: 4/10/2006
Groups to Report: 200-202 AND 221-228
Summons Color: Yellow
Date to Report: Tuesday, April 11th
Date to Check Back (after 5:00 p.m.):
Service Status: Completed after Tuesday, April 11th

I was group 220. Do you see group 220 included above? Neither do I.

So I was sitting here, minding my own business, and trying to gather the info to finalize our taxes, when the phone rang.
"Are you aware that you were scheduled for jury duty today?" the voice at the other end said.
"I checked the website, and my group number wasn't listed."
"It was a mistake," she said. "The phone line had the correct information."
"I was supposed to check BOTH?"
"No, but you have to reschedule."

Great. I cleared today so I'd be available, and now I've got another messed-up day. Oh well. I'll look at this as a gift. Maybe it'll rain on my rescheduled day.

It really is beautiful out. See?


I might just take my knitting and sit on the porch.

Another Busy Week

.. and a rather boring blog.

I was summoned to Jury Duty, and my group was not called on Tuesday, for which I was a bit grateful. I did loads and loads of laundry, and made a minor bit of progress on the house.

I went to Norfolk for a speaking engagement on Wednesday and Thursday, and then did a full shift on Friday. Today was taken up by the Girl Scout Annual Meeting. One of my dear friends was given a really terrific award, and it was great. The bonus was that I got over half of the second sleeve completed on the Debbie Bliss Bolero sweater. The end of the tunnel might be in sight.

I am really tuckered out, though. I work 12-hr shifts tomorrow and Monday, and then am in the jury pool again this week. It's going to be another sturdy week for The Nurse.

But we're going to Winchester for Easter. We'll probably take in the Saturday Easter Vigil and big Easter service on Sunday, because The Son will be singing with the choir out there. The Daughter can't get away, and we'll miss her, but it'll be a nice break.