Knitting in Transit

As most of you know, this past August David and some of his friends did a triathlon as a team. Being there and seeing all those people left me feeling a bit inspired and I thought, "I could do that". I have decided that next summer, I would like to do the same triathlon, the whole thing, myself. I have not officially committed to it...haven't paid a registration fee or anything, but I've told enough people about it that I'm as good as paid. Besides, it seems more realistic than the other crazy goal I had about the same time which was climbing Mt. Rainier. I've decided that I will devote my blog on Tuesdays to updates on getting ready (I'm not at a point yet where I feel like I can say I am "training") and other miscellaneous information. The triathlon I will be doing is a sprint distance. It will be a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 5K. Where am I at? Swimming: I can swim a 1/2 mile...doing the breaststroke, which is not the speediest way to...

This weekend David and I headed to Chippewa Falls for Fall Cabin Weekend. On the way there it felt more like Winter Cabin Weekend. The snow was falling thick and heavy as we entered Wisconsin, the fields of cows were covered with the fluffy white stuff, and soon we fell into that quiet sort of driving where the driver is concentrating and the passenger is trying to be as little of a distraction as possible. We did make it though and had a lovely time. Saturday morning was blustery and a little damp, but the weather was fine for football and walks. The fireplace had a warm glow all weekend. And when the nine children under the age of seven that were there all took their naps at the same time, a peacefulness came over the cabin. Rest and relaxation. Perfect. I also finished up these little hat's for David's twin nephews. This is the only lousy picture I have of these! Before I got a chance to take another we had wrapped them up and were off to the baptism. David and I di...

This weekend I went with my mom, sister, and the Little Guy to Chicago. I did take some knitting with me, but didn't get much done. I know...there are a lot of people out there who somehow manage to get lots of knitting done in the presence of a three-year old, but I am not one of those people. We visited with family while there, visited the DuPage County Children's Museum, and took a train ride downtown to Navy Pier and then over to Millennium Park to see " Cloud Gate ", known to most people as the Bean. We told the Little Guy we were going to see a great big jelly bean, and I was a little worried he'd be disappointed that it wasn't a big yellow or purple or red bean. I need not have worried. He went nuts for the bean. As soon as he saw it, he shouted, "It's a tunnel bean!" and wanted to go under the bean. He ran in circles, hopped around on his little legs, shouting and laughing the entire time. Pretty cute. Then he wanted to take pictur...

At long last, here is Flair. And a bit earlier than I would have liked, the first snowfall of the 2009-2010 winter season. That would be the Little Guy in the background shoveling his swing set. Pattern: Flair , from Knit and Tonic . I found the pattern on Ravelry. Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Garnet Size: Small Needles: Size 6 circs from my grandma's interchangeable Boye set for the body (I'm sure they are older than I am), Size 6 DPNs bamboo for the sleeves Started in July 2009, Finished October 2009. I am slow. Buttons are from the Yarnery . What I liked: I love the Malabrigo. It's wool, but it is so nice and soft I can have it against my skin. This sweater is a raglan, top-down which I love, love, love. No seams! The sleeves are done in the round, so no seams there either. It's an easy, cute pattern. I'd recommend it if you need something easy to work on, or are working on a first sweater. What I don't like: Well, I messed up the spacing on the b...

I just got off the phone with my sister and she told me to update my blog. Problem is, there isn't much to update. I'll give it a try though. I finished the knitting on Flair last week. It is amazing to have an almost finished object. Saturday afternoon D was kind enough to take me button shopping. We went to the Yarnery, where I laid the sweater out on the floor and set different buttons on top. The buttons I really liked were $2.75 each, which seemed a bit extravagant to me, so I settled on some square, ivory colored buttons that were only $1 each. I think I'll sew them on today, then block the sweater. With the money I saved on buttons, I bought Made in Brooklyn . Such lovely patterns, such lovely photos. The woman who rang up my purchases asked me if I read his blog, and I said yes and commented on how I love the pictures. She then informed me he is a photographer. I had no idea. That explains a lot. Button buying was just one part of a very busy weekend. ...