Irwindale

It's hard when you have a large family with such a wide range in ages to find things you can do together that are age appropriate for all and not too expensive. As a result, we tend to do things in smaller groups. I'll take the younger boys to the movies... while the older boys tend to do the movies with their buddies now. Or maybe I'll take a couple of boys to an amusement park and leave the younger ones with friends. My husband takes a boy (or 2 or 3) on hunting trips occasionally and has been taking one along to the Irwindale Speedway to watch his buddy race every once in a while for the last couple of years.

Now he always invites me to come with him to the Nascar races, but there just always seems to be something else I need to be doing... like laundry... that holds me back. However, a couple of weeks ago was Family Night at the Speedway and kids 15 and under were free. So, failing to find an appropriate excuse and really wanting to do a family event, we all piled in the car and headed to the race track.

I was told that we needed to leave at 3:00 because the gates opened at 4:00. This would give us plenty of time to visit the pits and see the time trials before the races started at 7:00. Oh... boy...

As it turned out though... arriving early wasn't so bad.


(Just ignore the little shirt mishap.)

And all the kids had fun... from 6 to 17. They got to meet the drivers and get autographs (and candy). Then we watched four different races... trucks, funny cars...



faster cars (which my husband's friend was racing in)...



and, my favorite although I don't have a picture, the figure 8 track in which you watch cars almost crash while screaming "woooooo" a lot. Trust me... it was fun. Really.

I never knew I was a Nascar fan, but what's not to love about family, fast cars, knitting and a cold beer? Good times.

The Perfect Summer Cardigan

To tell you the truth... when I put this away last summer after knitting only one sleeve, I never expected to actually pull it out again. The fact that I not only pulled it out again, but finished it is nothing short of a minor miracle! Even more miraculous... it fits and I love it!

"Martha" from Rowan Magazine No. 37









And yes, I can button it! But I probably won't wear it this way.



So there you have it... some 1100 yds of Rowan 4ply Cotton knit at 7 stitches to the inch on size 1 needles. Whew!

Now...


for the Perfect Fall Cardigan...

Looking ahead

As I near the end of the first sleeve of my if-it-doesn't-fit-I'll-never-knit-another cardigan, it's the little things that keep me going.



I've been wanting to knit this Fruit of the Vine scarf since Anne first started it and grabbed the pattern as soon as she was done. The merino lace is the "Rubicon" colorway from Fearless Fibers... and it's perfect.



BTW - I would understand if all the 4-ply cotton were making my hands ache, but I have no idea what's up with my achy legs. I couldn't even get to sleep last night because my legs hurt... and believe me... it is most certainly not due to exercise. Then once I did get to sleep, I overslept my son's 10:50 swim lesson. Ugh. I'm still trying to catch up with the day.

Knitting Blues

With the help of The Lace Reader on my Ipod, I'm making great progress on my Rowan Martha sweater, aka the Perfect Summer Cardigan (hopefully).



But I do have a splash of color going too.



Ishbel is providing a nice alternative.



The yarn is not completely smooth providing some nice texture and color variations. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the yarn is so I'll have to do some digging to figure it out.

I also played around with the turquoise ("Beachglass") Hazelknits sock yarn in an attempt to find a suitable scarf pattern. I tried Knitspot's Punch and Judy because I liked the strong geometric pattern as a match for the color...



but I'm not completely sure. The pattern actually calls for a DK weight so I think I would need to make this a repeat wider to really work... however, I really want a long skinny scarf so... shrug. I'll worry about that another day.

While sorting out my stash last week, I also came across this Tuscany Shawl from No Sheep for You that I started... geesh... a long time ago out of some Malabrigo Silky DK.



The color is not quite so blue as pictured here. It's called "greenish-grey", but I would describe it as a teal. Whatever you want to call it though, it feels wonderful and will definitely be back in action in a few months when the weather cools enough to knit with Malabrigo again. But for the next month at least, I'll be plopped in front of the a/c with cotton or something light.

Caricia

Oops... I showed you the blocking of Caricia, but forgot to post pictures of the finished knit in action. I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but very few things make me feel as goofy as modeling a finished knit. Add a 10 year old photographer to the mix and well, you get what you get... but here it is.



(I just hate the back of my arms... cropping above the elbow is becoming essential for my own mental preservation. And Honey, suggesting that I just need to go to the gym is not going to make me feel better.)




Don't be deceived by the goofy photos though... I love this shawl. Love it! I love the lace pattern, the colors, the yarn... all of it. I wore it to church on Sunday as pictured.

Caricia by Anne Hanson (who is quite successfully keeping my love of lace alive)
Malabrigo Sock yarn in "Indiecita" (1 hank)
Size 4 KnitPicks Options.

Shameless

So I was contemplating the various household chore opportunities facing me today and I thought, “I know! I want to sort through all my yarn bins and make a spreadsheet of available quantities in different weights and colors!” I had already been to a VBS wrap-up meeting and a swim lesson, so diving into bins of wool in an un-air-conditioned hallway seemed like the natural next step.

I like to think of it as economical as well, because there are several patterns on my mind so this was like shopping… without spending any money! (This is where my husband nods his head and decides to overlook the piles of laundry.)

Truthfully, it didn’t take too long (since my yarn is about the only thing in my house that is well organized) and I was having so much fun that I didn’t notice the sweat dripping down my back until I was done. However, at some point… well at some point… I may have lost focus. I think it was the few skeins of sock yarn that had been stuck in the wool bin… or maybe the matching green skeins caught my eye when I opened the sock drawer to make some room… or possibly my current interest in using some of my sock yarn for scarves (I have a hankering for a turquoise one in particular… which I‘m sure was prompted by the brown shorts and turquoise shirt I wore yesterday with matching bracelets which left me thinking about how, while I‘m not a fan or turquoise in general, I really do like turquoise and brown together). I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but at some point I thought… “Wouldn’t it be fun to pull out ALL of my sock yarn and see just what colors I do have?!”

So, I proceeded to dump it all and began sorting it by color, pushing piles of laundry out of the way as I went. I must admit that by the time I was done I felt a bit like a 6 year old who has dumped out all the legos only to realize that he now has to pick them all up… but I did learn something in the process.

Actually, I learned a few things…



1) I suck up green sock yarn like a magnet.

2) I should stop buying nearly identical skeins of beige with blue and green undertones.



3) I have a fondness of red and pink that is unmatched by my wardrobe.



4) I don’t need any more blue sock yarn. Ever.


5) Filling a hallway with sock yarn makes no sense to children.

5) And I have one perfect turquoise hank for a scarf.



Now I just need a pattern…

WooT!

I'm afraid to say it... but I think it's gonna fit!



(Just try to ignore the toilet paper and dirty laundry in the background. I was very in the moment.)



Okay, so I've done a little pinning to get a feel for the fit. But so far so good.

I have the left front almost complete from last summer, so that leaves me with the right front and 2 sleeves. I think I can... I think I can...

I also got a great deal on a car wash today and am listening to a wonderful book, The Lace Reader, on my Ipod.



Not bad for a Friday.