little bit of crazy leaking out

pattern:  Knitting Pure & Simple Child’s Neckdown Pullover
yarn:  Mission Falls 1824 Wool - colour 0535
needles:  Clover Bamboo US7 & 9
cast on: July 5th   cast off:  July 18th
notes:  I added a bit of ribbing before the rolled edge.  One and one half inches of 2×2 rib on the neckline and 4 rows on the sleeves and bottom.  I had to re-bind-off the neck since she couldn’t actually get it on.  I used a much larger needle to bind off and it was fine.

After making jam on Sunday, I woke up on Monday morning with a need to bake.   So, I made some zucchini bread with an 8-ball zucchini from the garden. 

The pans are from Ikea and they produce a longer, narrower bread.  That is nice, because it gives you a smaller piece and the bread seems to last longer, and really the kids don’t need a huge slice.

  

Yesterday, the kids and I headed down to the beach at the Mukilteo Ferry Landing.  There was lots of splashing in the water,

throwing of rocks into said water and searching for sealife (crabs, muscles, jellies, etc),

climbing on the rocks and driftwood,

and watching trains (with airplanes on them!) go by.

This morning we all headed out to the Everett Farmers’ Market.  I love a good farmers’ market, it is so much fun to see what will be there as it grows each week.  We came home with some Rainier cherries from Tiny’s Organics, apricots, whole wheat pitas and hummus and baklava from the Pita King Bakery, flowers . . .

and there were berries everywhere . . . tayberries, loganberries, blueberries, marionberries, and RASPBERRIES . . .

 

 

I love raspberry jam so a 1/2 flat came home with us.  I need to plant some raspberry canes in the back yard, nothing like going out and eating them fresh off the canes.

When we got home I sent Hubby into the garage to pull out my canning supplies and I pulled out the canning books and looked for a recipe for raspberry jam without pectin,  I didn’t have any pectin in the house and really didn’t want to run out to the store again.  I did find a recipe in The Ball Blue Book without pectin and as a bonus it  used more fruit than sugar, usually it’s the other way around.  Bug helped mash the berries and stir in the sugar, but when it started getting too hot I made her ‘Offical Jam Superviser’, at a safe distance.

Apparently, I need a new candy thermometer.  Bubba like to take it out of the drawer and play with it.  It isn’t registering temperatures correctly so I had to judge the gel point by the sheet method.  I suck at this, I so prefer the thermometer.  After (hopefully) reaching the gel point I filled the jars and got them into the steam canner, with out too many burns.  I love my steam canner, I know some don’t approve of them, but they are so much faster than the water bath.  We got up a good head of steam and waited.

Now comes the best part, clean up, also known as licking of the spoons.

For our effort we have 6 1/2 jars of fresh yummy jam.

* Yes, those are my lovely harvest gold counter tops. Don’t laugh, they match the oven.

We headed out early on Saturday morning on our trip to Prosser.  Hubby drove, i knitted, the kids colored and asked for snacks and water and we all listened to kids CDs from the library. 

We made good time and arrived at the farm a little after noon.  It was good to see the family, it has been quite a while since we have been over to see every one.  Bug was introduced to Game Boy, by one of Hubby’s cousins.  Bubba was very interested in what she was doing but Bug told him, “Bubba, I’m trying to focus here!” 

I finally had to pry it out of her fingers so we could head over to our hotel while the others got ready to go to the Gala.  After checking in Hubby took the kids down to the pool.  I followed after unpacking and Hubby and I talked while the kids played in the wading pools.  The hotel has a very cool pool the two wading pools and the main pool are all connected and it is easy to go from one to another. 

While Hubby and I were chatting Bubba ran past us, right into the main pool.  The main pool where it was 6′ deep.  He went under, bobed up, and went under again.  Hubby jumped in and pulled him back to the surface.  He was fine.  No crying, no screaming.  I’m glad Hubby was wearing his swim trunks instead of his shorts with his wallet, pager, cell phone, etc. in them.  Hubby spent the rest of the time swimming with the kids and they had so much fun, maybe it was a good thing Bubba needed to be rescued.

After dragging them out of the pool, Hubby headed off to get dinner while I got the kids ready for bed and discovered the hotel had pay-per-view.  We ended up watching Curious George while eating dinner.  Very cute movie, might have to buy this one.  The kids wouldn’t settle down so we ended up each sleeping with one kid, Bug clung to me like a leach all night. 

The next morning we packed up the car and headed over to the Blue Goose for breakfast with the family.  We were late, but not the last.  Most of the family had finished eating and headed off to the farm, we ate and chatted with Hubby’s cousin and his wife (who is expecting a baby boy in October - I see baby knitting on the horizon) then the rest of us migrated out to the family homestead for pictures.

This is most of the family, a few of the cousins
had wandered out into the vineyard.

We had a very nice visit, but everyone had to hit the road so we headed out, too.  Did I mention it was hot, REALLY HOT, in the mid to upper 90s, and we don’t have air conditioning in the the car.  Really, really hot, but as we climbed into the mountains it cooled down, thank goodness.  On the way home Hubby drove . . .

I knitted (actually I didn’t get as much knitting done as I thought I would on this trip) . . .

Bug played with her pony and colored . . .

and Bubba slept . . .

About an hour from home there was a terrible tragedy.  We were driving along listening to Seal Maiden: a celtic musical when a piercing scream went out from the back seat.  Bug had dropped her pony out the window, She had been letting her pony run along side the car (which she knows she isn’t supposed to do) and she accidently let go.  She pleaded with up to go back and get pony but we were in an area of the freeway where there were no exits and we would have had to back-track quite a ways to get back to where the pony had been dropped.  That is assuming that the pony was still in one piece.  Bug was devistated, she cried and cried and looked out the back window crying, “Good bye pony, I’ll miss you!”  It was heart breaking, but I think she learned a valueable lesson.

For three days last week (Wed-Fri), Bug attended the Little Buckaroo day camp thru the YMCA.  We opted to do the three day camp after the 4th of July instead of the 5 day the other weeks, since this would be her first time at camp.  We should have done the 5 days, she loved it.  Friday was the graduation/parent show and we drove about 45 min to the camp for the show. 

Bug did wonderfully.  She rode her horse, Porsche, thru the weaving cones, did the ring and wand drops (kind of a prelude to barrel raceing - at a walk), and trotted around the ring.  That’s my girl!

As you can see, even in the middle of a trick she stops to pose for the camera.  I swear that girl can sense a camera focusing on her at 50 paces.

Most of the kids were on ponies but a couple of the taller kids were put on horses, guess they ran out of ponies.  Bug was on the largest, but slowest, of the horses, and she was in love.  Now of course she want a pony of her own, so she can ride it around the back yard.  Sure, honey, that’s gonna happen. Not.

Bug and Porsche

Bug was in the morning graduation and she had the option to go home with us at lunch time or to stay for the rest of the day and come home on the bus.  She chose the bus.  I’m glad she did because she was able to ride quite a bit more after the afternoon graduation.  Most of the kids went home with their parents after the graduations and the few kids that opted to stay were able to get some extra riding time. 

On the way home from the graduation Hubby took a detour to Little Mountian Park, in Mt. Vernon.  There is a winding road that gous up the mtn to an elevation of about 940′ with overlooks of the Skagit Valley.

From the main parking lot & view point there was a trail to the north lookout, which turned out to be a bridge to nowhere.

I was a little wigged out about the bridge, the deck of it wasn’t solid.  As long as I didn’t look down I was ok.  Ummm, I looked down.  I felt like Donkey on the bridge in Shrek. “I looked down, Shrek, I looked down!”  Once I got out to end I was ok.  Bubba had no fear, ran right out to the end and tried to climb up on the railing. Oh, to be four again.

Mt. Baker was partly hiding in the clouds.

On the way home (an on the way up) I was able to do some more knitting on Bug’s sweater.  I am knitting a top down raglan and while driving came to the point where I needed to place the stitches for the sleeves onto some waste yarn.  I pulled out my knitting notions and rummaged thru it, no needle.  Well, how could that be.  I looked again and again and again.  Nope, no needle.  Shoot.  Now what? 

I found a crochet hook and shoved a point protector on the end and threaded the sleeve stitches onto it.

I then, very carfully, pulled a piece of yarn thru the stitches and tied them off.  I almost lost some stitches because I didn’t keep enough tension on the hook.  It all worked out and I was able to continue knitting.

When we got home I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and getting ready to go to eastern WA.

The new MagKnits and Knitty are out, and, for once, I really like patterns in both of them.  With MagKnits this usually isn’t an issue, I can appreciate most of the patterns even if I won’t be knitting them up.  Knitty is sometimes another story.  There are issues where I just go “WTF!” and move on, this is NOT one of those times.

In MagKnits:  I love Alison’s pattern, Wimbledon, so classic.  Ok, I most likely won’t knit it up but I love it, maybe I’ll try and find someone to knit it for.  The girl’s dress is very cute, too.

In Knitty: MUST. KNIT. FETCHING. Daughter wants a pair of Knucks.  RPM is calling some Lorna’s Laces I have in my stash.  Baudelaire is a wonderful pattern, it has modifications for a high instep, woohoo.  Tulip Toes are just adorable.  Crosspatch and Swell will be perfect for The Dulaan Project.  (I’ve already printed out most of these, I am so exited)

I finished another MDBD:

pattern:  Ballband Washcloth Mason-Dixon
yarn:  Lion Cotton Grape and Lily Sugar ‘n Cream Hot Green
cast on/off:  July 1st - July 3rd

I also have been working on the Monthly Dishcloth for July, umm, after 5 days I can clearly see it’s not my style.  I will be ripping it out. (and prolly knitting a MDBD, hehehe)

Last night I started a sweater for Daughter, for this comming fall.  The sweater is a top down sweater from Knitting Pure & Simple in Mission Falls 1824 Wool.

Yesterday morning it was decided that the family will be going out of town this weekend.  There is a family gathering in Eastern Washington and Hubby finally realized that we should go. His grandfather, George Carter, has been nominated for the 2006 “Legends” of Washington Wine and all of the family is going to be in Prosser for the Gala.  We won’t be attending the Gala, missed the deadline for the tickets, but will be attending all the family functions.  Hubby’s father was one of eight kids, and all but two, and assorted members of their families, will be in town for the event.

How is this knitting related, you ask.  FOUR hours in the car, each way!  Eight glorious hours of knitting time.  That’s how!  Now, what to bring? 

• Daughter’s sweater - yes,
• Branching out - it’s purple, I’m over half way done with it, I should just get it over with, and it qualifies for Amazing Lace - yes
• Flower Basket Shawl - my Amazing Lace project.  Not. Even. Started.  hmmm . . . ok, but what yarn?  I was planning on knitting this in a fingering weight yarn, I have some Knitpicks sock yarn in some purples, Grandma and Hydrangea.  The difference in the two is that Hydrangea has some deeper purples in it.  I also have some Tahki Yarns dream in a beautiful royal purple.  Oh, and athe KnitPicks Shimmer in grape Hacinth, I would double this one since it is a lace weight yarn.  I think I’ll save the TY dream for a more detailed pattern, one that you want to really showcase the beautiful lace.  FBS is a more substantial patten that I think can stand up to a varigated yarn.  Opinions anyone?

L to R: KP Hydrangea, KP Grandma, dream, KP Grape Hyacinth

• I’ll also take along the Fetching Pattern, If I have enough left over after I finish the neck down sweater I’ll knit it out of that.
• I have a couple of WIPs I could also take along . . . Lupine Lace socks, Bazaar Socks, Pinwheel blanket, a sweater that needs seaming . . . maybe.

I have all of tomorrow to decide and do laundry and pack and go to Daughter’s Horse Camp ‘graduation’ and and and . . . sigh.

Tristan & Isolde came from Netflix today, I am off to watch, knit, and maybe have a beer.

This morning I took daughter in to get her hair cut.  She has been growing out her bangs, she wants hair like Violet’s in The Incredibles, now they are long enough to cut her hair all the same length.  This will be much cooler for summer.

before:
    

Yes, she’s sitting in a boat,
reading books, 
while getting her hair cut.

after:

While waiting I was able to cast-on my first Project Spectrum project for July, a Mason-Dixon ballband washcloth.  I know, you’re shocked!