Back again

A friend of mine reminded me that I had not blogged in quite some time. It's going to take some time to catch up on everything so today I'll just post a little of the most recent stuff.
My grandson turned 2 years old last week. He enjoyed his cake.

I'm a teacher so I have my summers off, more or less. Every summer I set goals. This summer one of the big goals is to knit more. In April I went to St. Louis to attend the Loopy Ewe's Spring Fling, I bought a lot of yarn. In May my daughter and I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival where I bought even more yarn Ever since, I've been on a self-imposed yarn diet, (until yesterday when I fell off the wagon and bought some very pretty Merino silk Malabrigo at The Yarn Lounge in Richmond, it was my birthday). I have been knitting furiously to use some of my stash before next month when I head to Chicago for Stitches Midwest where I will no doubt buy more yarn. Here is one of my current projects, the Shipwreck Shawl by Bethany Kok. I'm knitting it in Sweet Georgia sock yarn in the Coastal colorway. I love this shawl and I love this yarn. The shawl and I have had several frogging and tinking times but overall it's a fun knit and I love the way it's turning out. The wooden bowl is a bead spinner (stringer) to speed the process of stringing all the those gorgeous beads. The shawl pattern calls for 5000, yes 5000, beads and anything that can speed the string process is welcome. Besides, it's always fun to get and learn to use a new toy.

Knitting (finally ) and exciting news.

On the left is the Mara shawl I finally finished last week and blocked this week. (What else does one do when stuck at home after a snowstorm?). It was made with Malabrigo Worsted weight in Captstone. A wonderful yarn though it had a little more olive green than I had anticipated and than can be seen in this photo. It was a great knit for riding in the car, watching movies and just soothing the mind and I love the feel of it. The Girasole blanket (Jarod Flood) is made with Cascade 220 Heather and is a much brighter yellow than the picture shows. I'd like to make it again in another color and a more washable yarn. In the meantime, it's a great blanket for keeping warm watching TV.
The exciting news is that I'm going to the Loopy Ewe's Spring Fling in April!! The Loopy Ewe is my favorite internet provider of yarn. Sherri has great service and really knows how to make each customer feel special. What make this news even better is my daughter and granddaughter live in St. Louis so I'll be able to see them too. What a great trip: yarn, knitting people, The Loopy Ewe and my family.

Big Guy

Big Guy passed away last Tuesday. He was our last cat. It's sad because I can't find any decent pictures of him. They are all out of focus. He'd been old for a while; his days of chasing mice and rabbits were far behind him. Now he doesn't have to spend his time begging us for food, he's probably well fed and happy. We loved him, even my grandson. We miss his meows, "Where's my food?" and the was he glared at us when we petted him but then asked for more. It was a privilege to be part of his life.

A Kniiting Retreat

It's been a month since we left Ireland and I'm already planning on what I want to see when I return.
Two days after we returned school started. The first day was rough but now we have settled into a routine of sorts.
I'm still working on the Girasole blanket (I need to take pictures). I keep making stupid mistakes. Also on the needles are two pairs of socks, both from Cookie A's Sock Innovation, a sweater for grandson, and a shawl that will probably take 5 years to complete. The shawl is the Swirl shawl pattern published by Jojoland for their Melody line of yarn. I bought the pattern and yarn when we were in St. Louis this past April, I've made 6 swirls.

I attend a wonderful knitting group every Tuesday night. We meet in the party room of a local grocery store (Ukrops, for those of you who know Richmond). The first weekend in second weekend in September, three days after we got back from Ireland and Spain I packed up my car and drove to the mountains for a knitting retreat with several members of our knitting group. Most of us spent the entire weekend knitting, (with a break to go yarn shopping at On the Lamb in Staunton and a couple of times out to eat). We talked, knit, drank a little wine, and talked, laughed and knit. We are all looking forward to January when we can do it again.
Here is Jo in On the Lamb. If you're ever in Staunton stop in this charming shop.

The Cliffs of Moher and more.
Yesterday we battled high winds to view the incredible Cliffs of Moher that overlook the Atlantic Ocean on Ireland's west coast. Although it was difficult to even walk at times the view was well worth it.

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful and haunting Irish countryside. Tonight we are staying in Cashel. We hiked the historical tour here which included the Rock of Cashel, a cathedral and castle built on a rock overlooking the town. While it has not been in use for 500 years it still has a dramatic impact.

I had to take a picture of the sheep grazing below the rock. They were not impressed.

The picture below is the Rock.

Madrid

I have been in Madrid (Spain) for about a week and a half. Unfortunately I have not had wireless access for my little laptop until now.

This is my 4th trip to one of my favorite cities.

This picture is of the inside of Lanas Sixto, a cute little yarn shop not far from Plaza Mayor. The owners are friendly and helpful and look at all that yarn!

This picture is of the famous Plaza Mayor. The

little stuffed sheep in the foreground is from The

Loopy Ewe, my favorite on-line yarn enabler. I

had hoped to enter the "Loopy on vacation" contest but it ended yesterday and as I've already said I only got wireless today so Loopy will be part of my blog post of Madrid.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Ireland where I will meet my husband in the Dublin airport. It's good to get away to remember how much I miss everyone, especially my DH of 32+ years.

We're supposed to have wireless in all the places we are staying so hopefully I can add more postings and pictures. I have more of Loopy in Madrid too.

Hasta luego.

This is long overdue. I finished this stole in late March and finally sent it to my mother-in-law last week for her birthday. It is the Arctic Diamonds patterns by Donna Druchunas. Although it's a little shorter than I would have liked my MIL is a small women and spends much of her day in a wheelchair. She is a former knitter herself and I hope she enjoys it.

Last week my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter visited from St. Louis. Here are my two gorgeous grandchildren spending some time together. Granddaughter was thrilled with her baby cousin and baby cousin was fascinated with Granddaughter.




Daughter, SIL, granddaughter, son, grandson and I went to Virginia Beach for the day. It was great weather. This is daughter with her nephew. Afterwards she and I stopped in Williamsburg at Knitting Sisters (a very nice shop) and did some serious yarn shopping.