Getting my Fizz back!

Had lunch with friends last week and we were all complaining about losing our spark. Don't know whether it is the economy, the heat or all of us being over 50. I described it as the difference between a flat soda and a fizzy one. My husband agreed we were in a rut and we decided to pack a bag and head out Saturday morning for a overnight trip west. We had no plan, no destination and no where we had to be. We got onto to Hwy 64 and headed west. Stopped for Lunch in Statesville and decided to go to Blowing Rock via 321. He was actually game for any yarn stores in the vicinity. Discovered Chix w/Stixs in Lenoir and Unwound in Blowing Rock. Both cozy places with nice owners and a good selection of yarns. We saw a gorgeous wedding in progress at Chetola resort and discovered Glidewells's a terrific restaurant with live music and great food and service. All in all a wonderful weekend trip and a return to fizziness (spell check wants me to change that to dizziness or fuzziness and although I have experienced those,I prefer fizziness.) Have completed Liesel and have moved onto the 3rd beginners lace kal Springtime Bandit. More on Bandit and my purchases later. I am off to conquer the provisional cast on!

A Quiet Sunday

Today I had the house to myself and no agenda. A very unusual occurrence in my life! Sat on the deck, knitting and enjoyed the sunshine and birds. Found it much easier to work on Liesel without any TV, radio or conversation happening. Worked on making a needle "home" for my knitpicks harmony dpns and circs. Started with 3 clearance place mats from Stein Mart. Didn't have any clue what it would look like but it turned out close to the idea!

knitting - murder and mayhem

This week was actually not too bad but it had it's moments. Twice I avoided major property destruction and/or behavior injurious to self or others by diving into a little yarny goodness. On Thursday we had a contentious meeting at work, I called a break and asked a few folks to please play nice with others please! I was so frustrated I went to lunch early and ended up at Great Yarns in Raleigh. I am so lucky it is close to my office. Mary was in the shop and asked if she could help me. I told her I just needed to soak up some yarn fumes so I could go back to work and BE NICE! I left without buying anything, got halfway to my car and went back in and bought this lace weight yarn. Only then was it possible to go back and be the good little employee I strive to be. In honor of the restorative nature of this purchase I am calling this the Serenity Shawl, You know...God grant me the serenity... Today in the car with my husband as he cursed at the third cyclist we passed I knit away on my swatch and smiled. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference!

Bitten by the Bug

I have joined the Scary Lace KAL on Ravelry. Our moderator and fearless leader is lemonblondie. It is terrific, we did the easy lace scarf first and are now working on Liesel. I started with a variegated yarn (on left) but found I couldn't really see the pattern very well. I am using Classic Elite Yarns "Classic Silk". I have gotten six inches done on Flow and started the sleeve on the summer leaf yoke. It's a struggle though, all I want to do is work on lace!

Catching up!

From the top - finally have started Flow by Norah Gaughn, finished my feather and fan for the Scary Lace KAL on Ravelry, the Quilter's prize won by DeDe and the Knitter's Prize won by Karen!

BEST MIL

My knitting group Girls with Purls met at my house and then we went to Bella Filati in Southern Pines to check out their bag sale. My mother in law (MIL) baked us a cake appropriate for the occasion. We had a great time and I spent way too much money. Peer pressure is a terrible thing. The other picture is of my Feather & Fan scarf, it is a newbie KAL from the Ravelry Scary Lace group. Mission Falls 100% cotton yarn on size 6 needles.

The Best Laid Plans

My week in Florida turned into 15 days with much time spent at the hospital with a family member. You would think that would translate into alot of knitting but au contraire! I knit on my summer sweater and also started the yoke leaf pattern. Let's just say much ripping followed much knitting! Knitting is good for crisis management but crisis management is not good for knitting. Yesterday was the Race for the Cure. It was a blast, we had 21 team members and raised $2,144.68. Thanks to all for their support! The winner of the knitter's prize package is....Karen Calinski! Pics of prize to follow. The winner of the quilter's prize package is....DeDe Mabe! Pics of prize to follow.