Worth the wait. Spirea in bloom, finally

Snow in May

Bridal Wreath Spirea

The last days of the school year have been a flurry of events. Ani had two violin performances to attend this past week and another recital this afternoon. Katie had a class potluck. Buck has an award ceremony tomorrow night. Adam has a graduation Monday and Buck's is next Wednesday, somewhere in there I have to fit in my work schedule. The house needs a thorough cleaning and I can't seem to rally the residents of the house to this cause. There is plenty to do outside of the house as well. Due to all the cold and wet weather, I haven't been too inspired in the weeding and planting department either. Now you might be thinking that with all these goings on that I wouldn't be getting much knitting done. You'd be thinking wrong. The more that is going on the more I need to knit, knitting centers me. I have been mainly knitting on Caren's sweater. I am nearly to the point where I will join the shoulders and then (take a deep breath) cut open the steeks to start the sleeves. I would very much to be done with this sweater. I have been looking through knitting books again, I'm itchin' to start something new. But for now I'm being good and working on finishing works in progress. I worked a bit on the Monk's Travel Satchel, I still haven't decided what, if anything I want to put on the outside back pocket, so that project is in limbo for a while. I think I'll pull out my lace sock and work a bit on that for my take along projects, that and I have another washcloth to make.
We went to see a play last week at the Guthrie Theatre. We saw "She Loves Me". We, that is my husband, our daughter, Ani and I, really enjoyed the show. There is a dance scene in a restaurant that turns into an all out brawl. The performance was just awesome, you really have to see it. Thank you, Madame, please call again, do, call again, Madame.

Bridal Wreath Spirea

Spring has sprung,

the grass is riz

I wonder where the flowers is?

My next door neighbor Linda's yard is lined on each side with these Bridal Wreath Spirea. When these bushes bloom in the spring they are covered in masses of white blooms and are quite a sight to behold. The spring I'm still waiting for just doesn't want to arrive this year. It is cold and it is cloudy and it is rainy and the forecast hasn't changed for days, nay, weeks. Who'd have imagined that I'd be still longing for spring in the middle of May but there you have it. I miss the sun. Even the lilacs blooming has failed to cheer me up, it's just not the same when you're not able to catch wiffs of their fragrance in the breeze through an open window. I have done no gardening to speak of. What can I say I'm in a bit of a funk over all this cold and damp weather.

I've managed to get through the second washcloth pattern that I'm knitting. It was a humbling experience. I'm going to try something less complicated for the next one.
I've been working on the monk's travel satchel. I've decided to do both the front and the back at the same time, it's like when you knit both sleeves or both socks -(oh yes, I meant socks, and yes you can, I've done it). The front and the back are in plain stockinette stitch. The back has a outside pocket on it (which I'm double knitting on as I did the side pockets) and I got to thinking... I think it would be cool to put a design on the pocket in red, which is the trim color. I was thinking maybe a red dragon or something, or maybe a Celtic creature like a Lion. I was checking out Beth's sun design on her booga bag and thought that could be a possiblity too. Nicky Epstein has sun faces design's in her Knitting for Your Home book. What do you think? I'm open to suggestions. I'll set it aside for awhile while I ponder the pocket design.

I looked at the Rogue Hooded Sweater that I started for Ani. I'm thinking I'm going to start over. I was looking at the Ani in her sweatshirt and I'm thinking she would probably like the Rogue to fit a little more looser like her sweatshirt. Fortunately I'm not that far along, I've knit the body and hem and have started the kangaroo pocket. You know that although ripping out your hard work is annoying to say the least, at least with knitting you have the option of starting over with the same material, no so with sewing or quilting.

It's just as well, I need to get cracking on the Fair Isle sweater for Caryn. Ani has her Violin recital coming up and ideally I should have Caryn's sweater finished by then. Ideally. The sweater I am knitting for Caryn is a service exchange we agreed on. Caryn is Ani's violin teacher
and when my husband got laid off of work last fall I wasn't able to afford her lesson's. But Caryn and I agreed that it would be best if Ani continued her lessons because she has quite a talent for it and it would be a shame if she didn't continue to better her playing. So Caryn graciously offered to continue with her lessons at what ever I could afford to pay her and in return I offered to knit her any sweater of her choice. She chose a really pretty Fair Isle pattern, called Winter Sunset from Jamieson Shetland Knitting Book.

I have a few free days this week I had hoped to get some gardening done but that is looking dubious. I want to play around with my blog a bit, there are things I would like to do. It will require taking time and reading and learning more about the whole blogging deal which I haven't really been able to do as I like.

I have to go, My husband isn't home so I have to remember to meet Katie as she gets off the bus. She get's so mad at me when I forget.

Poncho on beautiful model (aka) Ani

Finished Poncho

Pink Lemonade

This needs to be pink. Pink Lemonade or Strawberry?

I think I've got a problem. I can't seem to stop myself. I bought more fabric for making quilts. In my mind I think that I am going to make a quilt for my husband and myself AND a quilt for each of my four, count them, four children. I have been stock piling fabric, patterns and quilting supplies for this very event, for years mind you, but to this day I have never made a quilt. So what is holding me back? I don't know. I think I just like the idea of making quilts, I like purusing all the pretty colors and fabric designs and looking at all the endless possiblities of quilt patterns, so when it comes down to choosing a pattern and choosing the fabric and cutting the fabric for a quilt I lose momentum, In fact, I come to a full stop. I think sometimes that I should just give up on the idea and get rid of all my quilting stuff. I say that, but then I go and buy more fabric like I did this week, so apparently there is a part of me that will not let go of this dream, thus, you see, I have a problem.
I finished, I finished, I finished the poncho! woo hoo. I mailed it to Sharon on Monday. I hope she likes it. I gave the lace scarf to Kak (Ani's best friend) to give to her mom to wear on their Race for the Cure Marathon on Mother's day. I haven't heard what she thought of it, I swear getting information from teenagers is harder than getting information from my six year old.
I am currently working on knitting linen washcloths. The first one went very well, the second pattern I chose I'm having a tougher time getting through and that frustrates me because I almost never take this long to pick up a pattern but this one... I need to graph it, but I'm being stubborn and don't want to take the time to graph it out, instead I will just keep frogging it, I've lost hours on this thing ,but graph it? no, I don't have the time. Put it down come back to it later. I've started the second phase of my Monk's Travelers Satchel. I needed the needles to knit the washcloth's so I finished the strap. I joined the two ends to make the bottom. Using a size 5 needle I picked up the stitches for the front flap from the bottom of the bag and I'm knitting up, attaching the sides of the front to the sides of the bag as I go. When I don't feel like working on either of those projects I work on Caren's Fair Isle or peruse quilting books dreaming of making a quilt.

My A Student. The cord (btw) if you don't recognise it is to a video game controller.

This is how we study for a presentation that is due tomorrow and not next week like we thought.