Unwinding!

First and most importantly, hope you all are unwinding on this long Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all of our service men and women both past and present for your many sacrifices. Honoring you this weekend!

“What have I been up to the past couple of weeks?” you ask. Or, maybe you didn’t ask, but please humor me here as I catch you up. Oh, and my goings on are in no particular order.

Starry Night colors

I’ve finished knitting my lace scarf. See the picture above. I am going to add beaded fringe so it’s not officially finished, but it's finished enough to blog/blab about. I used blocking wires for the first time. It does take forever to guide the wires through the knitting, but the result is fantastic. My scarf is light and lacy, and I’m in love with the Van Gogh inspired colors. This is a free pattern. Click here for details: Ravelry.

Blocking with wires

I’m also (still) stash-busting and am determined not to buy anymore yarn until I use up (most of) what I have. With this in mind, I dove into my stash with the intention of knitting a pair of socks. But, just look at these amazing colors. The photo does not do justice. Too gorgeous to hide in a pair of shoes, I agree. So, I did some surfing on Ravelry and Pinterest and found this free pattern for a shawl. I have about 7 rows left and am up to about a million stitches per row or maybe 247. Click here for information: Ravelry.

Oaklet Shawl

Last weekend we went to Indiana to see my younger brother graduate from Indiana Tech. I’m very proud of him. He’s been working hard to get his degree and has given up much in terms of time: family time and time for himself. Hopefully he’ll get some time to unwind soon.

My little bro and me

I’ve also sent in a square to participate in my first ever yarn-bombing. I knit this square using a pattern from the book “100 Afghan Squares to Knit” by Debbie Abrahams. The charity is in Ireland and is raising money to provide service dogs to people in need. I must say I am very impressed with the U.S. Postal Service. I mailed my square Monday and it made it to Ireland (yes, that Ireland - the one across the Atlantic Ocean) by Friday. No more snail-mail jokes from this knitter!

Next, just call me Heloise, because I’m about to give you a helpful hint about unwinding yarn. After spending one too many hours untangling gargantuan, colossal yarn knots, I tried an unwinding suggestion from a friend: use a chair. It worked beautifully. Here’s a picture.

No more tangles!

It’s beautiful beach weather here again in Michigan. Spent yesterday afternoon unwinding on the beach with our dear beach friends and am headed back today. Thanks for spending some of your weekend with me. Hope you are unwinding as well. Would love to hear about your goings on. ~ Christina

Have You Read Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier?

I'd say my ramblings here are my opinion rather than a proper review. So, you've been warned; continue reading if you will. I loved this book. The characters and plot call to mind a well-written, chick-lit, beach-read - although it was written in the 1940's. Were chick-lit and beach-read genres then? Anyway, the story starts somewhat slowly, but before long I was thoroughly engrossed. The book has been criticized as being frivolous and escapist. But, it has much to say on the limited options of women in the late 1600s. Issues that are still, ahem, somewhat relevant today. I think I was as smitten with Dona and her desire for autonomy and self-fullfillment as I was with the swashbuckling (sorry I had to type that), sexy, French pirate. And, William the faithful (albeit one-dimensional) servant: impossible not to love him. Here's the equation for the story, in no particular order: action & adventure + passion + love + a French pirate (oh, did I already mention him?), + humor + suburb writing = a story that has become one of my all-time favorites. So, escape with Frenchman's Creek, and if you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think of it. ~ Christina

Busy Weekend!

It’s been a while since I blogged, and since it’s a school night I’ll make this short and visual. I can finally show pictures of my secret baby shower gift and write (brag) about my daughter’s graduation from college. 

Here’s what I was working on for my dear friend who’s having her first baby. Calvin James is due the end of June. I need to make sure his hands and feet are warm and cozy. The patterns are from Sublime and the yarn is just that - Sublime: silk, cashmere, extra fine merino wool. You get the idea. I haven’t done much baby knitting, but I could really like this. The yarn is amazingly soft, the projects take hardly any time, and the finished products are so darn cute!

Little Cyril Shoes from Sublime. Pattern info here: Ravelry.

Little Cyril Mitts from Sublime. Pattern info here: Ravelry.

And, I even got crafty with the packaging!

Now, my big finale, drumroll sound... My oldest daughter, Heather, graduated from Michigan State University today. She plans to be a teacher. She student teaches in the Fall at the elementary school where me, my mom, and my aunts all went. I’m very, very proud of her. Here are a few photos.

School of Education ceremony at Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Michigan State is Magic Johnson's alma mater .

Our family - Heather's in green ;)

 My girls. This is one proud momma!

Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear about your projects and proud moments ~ Christina