For the Love of Knit

Vacation Adventures

Hello!  We are back from vacation (actually we were back last Sunday) and back into the swing of things now around here, I think.  Sometimes it seems like summer "vacation" is not really a vacation for the kids at all anymore.  They are involved in baseball, basketball, summer school, band, camps, etc.  I can't believe we are nearly at the end of June already, for instance!

But, I digress.  I wanted to share some photos from our vacation.  We really had a lovely time, despite the fact that we were delayed in the Milwaukee airport on our first night and had to spend the night there.  Ugh.  Thankfully, however, the kids were very patient and just went along with the flow.  Being an inexperienced flyer, I was completely taken aback by the rush of people when the flight was cancelled.  Then, to make matters worse, they closed the airport and shut down the concourse we were on where we were waiting in line to make different arrangements for our flight (there were nine of us total on this trip, so that was a task in and of itself!).  I know I stood there with my mouth dragging on the floor when I saw the people running -- no, sprinting, definitely sprinting -- and not taking any prisoners.  Wow.  Anyway, after what seemed like forever, we had arrangements to fly to Tampa the next day and then we would drive to Orlando.  We didn't get out at 7:25 a.m. as planned on Sunday, but thankfully we got out.  The weather was definitely making it a touch and go situation. 

So, again, despite that little hiccup, the trip was a huge success.  We visited all the Disney Parks and saw and did as much as we possibly could.  For those of you who have visited Disney before, you understand that it's a lot of hurry up and wait.  It's to be expected, I suppose.  I was very surprised to see the number of people there with infants in strollers.  That just doesn't make any sense to me, I guess.  To each his own, of course, but it was hot and the baby will obviously not remember any of it and so it's hard for me to fathom why parents put themselves through it.  I was sometimes miserable due to heat and crowds and I could whine about it and remove myself from the situation!  Ha! 

On Friday we drove to Daytona and spent a few days there.  The only hiccup on this leg of our trip was when we got our huge 12 passenger rental van stuck in the sand at Daytona Beach.  And I do mean STUCK.  Oy.  Thankfully the beach patrol was there to help get us out.  Oops.  I do love the ocean though ... sigh.  I suppose I take for granted the rolling hills and cows and such that I see here every day, so it's probably why the ocean is so majestic to me when I get to spend some time there.

I almost forgot to add that I did knit on a sock on the airplane with no trouble at all.  Thank you again for your helpful advice and thoughts about it.  It was good to know of your experiences and your thoughts about it.  I have to take some pictures of the baby blanket and the sock I was working on.  I will share them next time.  In the meantime, here are some photos from our trip.  I hope this finds you well and enjoying your summer!

Stuck in the airport.  Boo.

Umm.  Yeah.

(we waited 45 minutes for this -- seriously)

 

Glorious.

Special Sweet Swapperly Goodness

Look what was waiting for me a few days ago when I arrived home!

Oh. My. Word.  So much sweet goodness. 

And this guy -- is he ridiculously cute, or what?

 

This package was from Kelly at http://kellygirlknits.blogspot.com/ (why can't I make a link anymore?  Grrr.).  She sent the most gorgeous sock yarn in an Oreo colorway (very clever), miniature candy bars and tootsie rolls (a whole bag of each!), the adorable little cake, bath goodies, a stitch marker with a cupcake on it and a coin purse.  I love it all, Kelly!  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  It was such a lovely package.

School is out here!  The kids were done with school on Tuesday, so now we start the summer transition.  I think it takes a few weeks for all of us to adjust, but it's getting better as they get older.  We'll soon be running to softball/baseball games most nights, so it doesn't get much quieter, in the evenings at least.  I enjoy watching them, though, so it's all good.  Besides, it's another opportunity to knit, of course!

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice and suggestions regarding the airplane knitting dilemma I was having.  I have decided that I am going to pack my baby blanket project in my checked luggage and just work on either a Mason Dixon baby bib and/or a sock.  I'll probably put both of them in my bag.  A girl likes to have options, dontcha know.  (p.s. to Katie at DailyThread -- I'm using your bag you sewed for me lately and will also be taking it on our trip in my carry-on -- I love it!).

So, I will tell Cinderella and Minnie and Mickey and Pluto and everyone hello for all of you!  Talk to you soon!

Airplane Knitting

First of all, can I knit on an airplane?  We are headed to Florida on Saturday for a week's vacation.  We are going to Disneyworld and Sea World, Daytona Beach – it will be fun.  It's the first time my kids have ever flown so they are both scared and excited.  My husband has only flown one other time and he's a nervous Nellie!  Anyway, I want to take a knitting project, even though the flight is only about 2½ hours.  But still, right?!  It just seems so wasteful to me to not be able to use this time knitting since I don't actually have to drive and/or pay attention to give directions. 

 

I read the rules at TSA and it says that knitting and crocheting needles are allowed in your carry-on bag, which is cool.  However, my question is whether or not you have ever experienced any trouble at the airport, despite the fact that the TSA says you can have them with you.  Currently I am working on a baby blanket using an Addi turbo circular needle (my first time with the Addis – L.O.V.E. them!) and would like to bring it along with me for the time prior to the flight and during the flight.  Will the Addis be a no-no?  Should I find a smaller project to work on with bamboo needles?  I suppose I could make a dishcloth or start a baby sweater or hat, something along that nature, if necessary.  My fear about the Addi Turbo/Baby Blanket project is that they will say I can't take it on the plane and then I would have to hand it over to them or throw it away or whatever it is they do with the too bad, so sad stuff they take away from you.  I have also read how you can bring along an envelope to mail the project back to yourself, but that seems like a hassle.  I think I have just talked myself out of taking along my baby blanket project…

 

I would love to know if you have any suggestions and/or if you have had experience with knitting on a plane.

Cuteness prevails

This little bunny, made from a http://blog.fuzzymitten.com/ pattern, was for my son's girlfriend.  She loves him.  Even better, right?

It's been ridiculously busy around here as of late.  Kathy, I'm getting ready to send your package out in the next few days for the Special Sweets Special Swap -- fun! 

 

My weekend

I actually did a little knitting this weekend!  This is Otto the Polar Bear, a pattern by Ysolda.  I love that it is constructed entirely on DPN's and that there will be no seams to sew up.  Now, mind you, I actually don't mind sewing up fiddly pieces and rather feel comfortable doing so, but this is a new experience, too, which I like.  I am just now to the crotch gusset and hope to be able to figure it out without having to go running to poor Ysolda with a plea for help for what will surely be just something I am overlooking, as is usually the case.  Anyway, so far the only thing I have done differently from the pattern is to skip a few of the plain knit rounds in the nose.  I just wanted it to be a bit shorter.  We'll see how he looks when he has a face and ears and, well, a completed body!

Saturday was spent in Cedarburg, Wisconsin for a softball tournament with my daughter's team.  It was rather cold and miserable to be perfectly honest, but it was fun nevertheless.  We stayed overnight with the team on Friday night and they played on Saturday.  They came away with third place, winning one game and losing one game.  They looked pretty good!  I happened to snap this picture of my daughter when she was up to bat.  I've been enhancing some of my pictures at PhotoBucket -- it's fun!   Though, that said, this picture was only enhanced in that I added the border and softness.  The ball is real!

On Sunday I went to a First Communion for my Godchild, Johanna.  It was the most beautiful First Communion ceremony/Mass I have attended since becoming Catholic in 2002.  The priest, Father Vernon, was so sweet to the kids and patient.  There were 22 first communicants and prior to Mass each student, either by him or herself or with someone else, brought up something that is used in the Mass -- i.e., the altar cloth, the candles, the Missal, etc.  They would give it to Father, he would explain why it is used, where it goes, etc., and they would then genuflect with him and then go to their seat.  I thought it was such a great way to explain not only to the kids, but also to the rest of us!  Anyway, Johanna is the adorable and beautiful blonde child in the middle.  May God bless you and always keep you, dear Johanna.

This picture is not of Johanna, but I just love the little girl's facial expression so much, and the gentleness of Father Vernon, that I wanted to share it:

More pictures here.

First at State Solo & Ensemble

My daughter and her saxophone quartert (Eli, Megan, Katie and Heidi) playing The Entertainer yesterday at State Solo & Ensemble in Platteville, Wisconsin.  They received a first ~ yay!

Her first Prom

My daughter attended her first prom last Saturday.  Don't they all look gorgeous?!  Since our school is so small, the junior prom is really for the entire high school.  Some of these pictures were taken on the Capitol lawn in Madison. They had a blast, which I am very happy about -- all that, and no trouble, too.  Thank you, Lord.

April has been busy!  On Saturday, April 5 we went to the Milwaukee Brewer game on a school/community trip.  We had a good time ~ the Brewers won.  Whoohoo!  My son and daughter and their friends sat in the bleacher section on the right field side and I figured that by the end of the game they would get quite an ... umm ... education?  Oy.  Did they ever.  But aside from that, it was a fun time.  It's a yearly event now, which is cool.

This last picture is blurry, but it's the result of what I presumed to be two college aged guys who thought it would be cool to run across the field in the middle of the game.  The red-shirted guys won, big time.  Sheesh.

On Wednesday, April 9, my oldest daughter and I got on a bus with 41 others (33 students and 10 adults, including us) and headed out to Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C.  What a trip ~ literally and figuratively.  We had such a great time and the kids were sooo well behaved.  I was very proud.  I should say, I AM very proud!  There is such a great danger or potential, you might say, for mischief and trouble, but these kids rose above all of that and made good choices.  It was awesome.  This was a band and choir trip, combined.  The band received 1st place in their division -- you should have seen their reaction at the awards ceremony!  The choir received 3rd place in their division.  Also a great achievement.  We were by far the smallest school, which was really neat in its own right.  We visited Jamestown on Friday morning and on Sunday, we hit most of the memorials and monuments in D.C.  Saturday was spent at Busch Gardens, which, by the way, was out of this world gorgeous.  What a beautiful park!  We started back home on Sunday night and arrived here around noon on Monday.  Trying to sleep on the bus wasn't much fun, but everyone managed.  I will admit that the trip out on Wednesday night I slept very little.  I kept watching the bus driver to make sure he wasn't drifting off to sleep.  Stupid, I know.  Anyway, I have put some pictures up at Flickr and as soon as I figure out how to link you to my pictures, I will do that.  Until then, you'll just have to trust me, I guess!

I took knitting along, but surprisingly I didn't get much done.  I thought 17 hours on a bus should have meant that I would get an afghan done or at least a baby sweater, but it only resulted in part of a baby sweater, which of course I don't have any pictures of right now.

Prior to this trip, however, I did finish a little bunny from a Fuzzymitten pattern.  This little bunny now resides at my son's girlfriend's house.  She thinks she is very cute, which I am glad for.  [I have just discovered that the pictures of this little bunny are on my camera yet, which is at my husband's work -- nertz -- pictures soon].

I also finished this little doll a few weeks ago.  She is meant for a gift, but I haven't sent it out yet.  I used the Little Becky pattern from Yvonneknits.  She went relatively quickly and was very easy and the pattern was straightforward.  Even better!  I will definitely make her again.

ETA: This cool mosaic I made of the trip:

Just back!

I was on a trip!  We went to Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. on a school trip for the band and choir.  It was a lot of fun and I am so glad I had the opportunity to be a chaperone.  More later (still trying to catch up on sleep ~ oy!)

No left Turn?

For the last few weeks I have been without my left turn signal.  I hadn't realized until I was no longer able to use my left turn signal (well, I could use it, but it was basically useless) just how often it was necessary to indicate a left turn.  So, as a result of that, I've been pondering (a) what life would be like if we could only make right turns; and (b) how often I don't realize the importance of something until it's no longer available to me ~ and then of course I want it.  Thankfully, we can make both right and left turns.  In fact, we can go forward and backward, too.  Lynne made the comment the other day in her blog about choices and I wonder, too, about all the choices we make in just a day's time.  I tell my kids often that they have to make choices.  When they leave the house I am often heard to say, "Make good choices!" ... thinking in my head that if this is the last thing they hear from me on their way out, that perhaps it will be more in the forefront of their minds as they go out in the "big world" as they continue to become their own persons, with bigger challenges and of course, more choices, more opportunities to decide which way to turn.  It is my hope, as always, that they always choose the path which leads them to make good, moral choices.  Choices that benefit them, of course, but perhaps more importantly, their peers, their community (whether that is their literal "community" or the community at large).  This is all a bit too much for them to comprehend at the tender ages of 13 and 14, but I firmly believe that it helps to at least put it out there for them to chew on some, even if for just a moment.  Today my left blinker was fixed and I am now freely able to take left turns again without the guilt of making a left turn and hoping the person behind me isn't rolling their eyes (or any other gesture which may occur) at me because I am turning left without turning my blinker on.  As a mother, do I indicate my proverbial left or right turn to my children so that they know which direction I am choosing, and why?  At any rate, it has given me cause to ponder and reflect.  All this over a silly bulb replacement...

Today was the Easter Egg Hunt in our community and my son was willing to be the Easter Bunny.  It made my heart melt when the little ones would come up and give him a big hug and he would hug them back.  My daughters and my niece were also there to help get the kids their prizes.  Unfortunately, because it still looks like winter here (see previous post), the hunt had to be held indoors.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Blessed Easter wishes to you!