Busy Summer Days

Sorry I haven't checked in to report summer's doings, but we have been keeping busy here. Kids go back to school next Tuesday and this week we will head to Windsor, Legoland and Stonehenge to crown the summer holiday.

David has just gotten a new (to us) car, so looking forward to the road trip in that. It's a Citroen C5. So now we have two French cars. I find that amusing, for some reason.

We've taken in the Doctor Who exhibition in London, the History Fair at West Acre (Iron Age through English Civil War - excellent Roman reenactors and a real life archeological excavation, too), and the Mediaeval Spectacular at Pensthorpe. That was truly good fun. David was happy to visit with his favorite vendors: Pan's Pantry, who have a great medieval incense stall.

I didn't even BRING my camera to Pensthorpe, and took only a few pics at the other events. Perhaps I will post a few, perhaps not...we'll see.

Various volunteer stuff with the squadron is also keeping my hours full. Harriss is with us for about 2 more weeks. I know we'll get down to London the weekend before she goes (also her birthday weekend), and I'm booked for IKnitLondon's big day out with Yarn Harlot on Sat. the 6th.

Knitting stuff - I've got 90% of an ugly alien. I may get inspired to finish it to enter in the IKnit Alien competition, or I may not. I've got a sock and a half of what I call my Soctor Who socks. The colors are browns and the orange/blue combo that is so typical of the new Who episodes. Might have pics of those too.

Anyway, we're all well, good, and fabulous. Just busy!

Simon's Cat Strikes Again

This one's for all of you Gentle Readers who find the blog hunting for Simon's Cat. It's called TV Dinner, and as usual, the cat's too dang funny.

How We Spent Our Wednesday

Wonder why these policemen are gathered round... Hmm, what's with the crowds?

Oh, yes...it's the Sandringham Flower Show. That means - royals! Prince Charles is a patron of the show, and we actually were about 3 feet away from him as he walked to the local schools' display tent to view the students' art projects. We had gone down to have a look ourselves during my hour away from the preschool stall but got trapped behind the rope line.

The preschool's cake stall did a booming business, so I didn't really get to walk around the show this year, but the weather was fantastic and I think the kids had a good day, going about with Harriss to the school display, the carousel, several Punch and Judy shows and this and that.

Noah and the Whale

The first time I heard this band's name, I thought it must be a mistake. Nope, that's really the name, and this single is so lovely. Optimistic and wistful all at the same time...

Five Years' Time

Silly Things

First...an unstuffed alien in progress. I am using the only washable worsted I could find in the house, a lovely Red Heart, and trying out Knitting Pattern-a-Day calendar pattern for yesterday, Dolly Dorothy. So far, alien's got two legs, and a tummy (not pictured). I am about to decrease for the neck.



Second...who loves UK shoe sizing? Meeeee. Do you know I am a 6.5 in UK shoes? [I wear a 9 or thereabouts in US shoes.] UK sizing sounds so much nicer, and look at this supah-fab new shoe. Scored at TK Maxx today - a pair of Biostep shoes in electric blue that fit like they were made for me. They're a little loose all over without socks, which means they should be perfect for Crazy Sock Display. No?

Wordle

Check out Wordle to make your own - no registration, just a really nifty application. Thanks to Annalea at The Passionate Mind for the link!

Amazement

This is not what one expects to see when washing up after dinner.

Why, yes, that IS a peacock strolling down the lane.
He took a turn into our side garden, and hopped up on the game larder shed, before heading into the stableyard next door. Wow. And double wow!

Adamas: The Sequel

I've decided to frog the light blue cashmere Adamas I have started. It was only through Chart 1, and it's simply too fine for the needles I have. I will have to get a size 2 or 3 (US) lace needle.

Instead, I've begun an Adamas from this amazing wool - Seacoast Handpainted merino laceweight, in Sahara. Gorgeous, gorgeous color changes. I bought this from Sonny and Shear a few months back. This is MUCH, much easier to work with on a size 5 needle. I've already finished Chart 1, in about an hour's desultory knitting, while listening to a Miss Marple podcast.

Check out my LazyGirl technique here. I'm knitting straight from the swift, rather than skeining the yarn. This means the project isn't portable, but what the heck. Note the innovative use of cloth napkin to protect the coffee table finish. Heh.

A Wee Update

I know I've been away...sorry, all you Gentle Readers :)

The last couple of weeks have been indeed hectic. There was much backing and forthing to the theatre for dance rehearsals, and then we ended the week with FOUR performances. All of which went very well. Miss Lily was a fetching piglet, and ran around the stage doing her ballet thing, ignoring the audience like a pro.

There were tears of pride, I confess!

Here's a picture of our ballerina. I asked her to say "Cheese," and she struck a pose. Very Dance Artiste...



This week it's been recovery from Ballet Week, with some massive laundry, etc., and now we are into School Play mode. Dress rehearsal was Wednesday, opening night last night, and the last performance tonight. I'll have pictures, and if any come out, I will post one. No photos during, just after the curtain call.

The play? Romeo and Juliet, in musical form. A tad ambitious for a bunch of 8- to 11-year-olds, but they pull it off, sword fights, poisoning, ballroom scene and all!

David has his first speaking part in a school production, and is very pleased with all three lines of it. He's Gregory of the Capulets. Everyone sings, and it was just lovely to hear 40 children singing the songs we've been hearing in the car and around the house for months now.

Every year the Key Stage 2 children put on a play, always a musical since we've been here. The teachers do a fantastic job getting them involved in every aspect, and everyone is on stage as Greek chorus all the time, with characters stepping forward as their scenes come up. So even the littler ones with no lines are "performing" the whole time.

Master of the Universe...

Or at least, master sergeant of the universe. Congratulations, my sweetie.

Stripey Socks and More Adamas

Here's a shot of one of the socks I have been working on, intermittently, for a while now. Lovely stripey yarn. Who loves the stripey yarn? Me! Me! It impresses non-knitters no end. Even some knitters, too!

And this blurry shot is me with the Adamas, for scale. Small D took the shot just as the camera died. I hope the recipient likes it. She is a bit taller than I am, so I think it will at least be a better fit for her :) If I make this again in the same weight of yarn, I will stop at 10 repeats.

Adamas, or More Shawl Than You Wanted to Know About

Adamas, she is finished. Rinsed, blocked, and smelling sweetly of lavender. Details:
Adamas pattern by Mimknits
Size 5 Addi Lace Needles (Da Bomb)
Hunt Valley Cashmere 2-ply, just over 3 ounces (~800 yards by my guesstimate)
Started 1 June 2008
Finished 18 June 2008

Behold, many pictures. If you don't come for the knitting, move along...nothing to see here.

For the rest of you, here's Adamas pinned out on the double bed. It blocked even larger than I expected.


Here you can really see the pattern details well. Blocking is truly magic for lace knitting. No more wet noodles now!


I like this detail shot because you can see the fluff and imagine the softness of the cashmere.


This is a doofy shot but I tried to reduce two similar pictures so that the gate is the same size in both. You can really see how the lace has opened up and the shawl has GROWN after blocking.

I'm on Fire!

Knit! Knit like the wind! That's been me this past week or two. Adamas is off the needles, but still unblocked. I am contemplating gifting it to someone who is leaving England to return to the States, but I'm not sure if it would be her cup of tea. I'll have to consider it some more, while I block. I cannot believe what a quick knit this has been, and what a FUN one! I want to cast on for another right away, but am forcing myself to return to the stripey socks instead.

Dover was lovely - the castle is amazing. We spent the best part of two days there. I won't post castle pictures, because they're all detail shots. The place is so vast that you can't get a full-castle shot unless you're quite some distance away, and I was always in a car at that point.

The tunnels, the keep, the displays, the Ghurka band who were performing, all of it was really interesting. I give this castle two thumbs up.

We also went over to the cliffs and walked about, although being RIGHT UP ON THE EDGE with children proved to be pretty nerve-wracking. I did get this shot of The White Cliffs of Toe-ver for you, Susie My Friend! No shots from over the edge of the cliffs, though, thankyouverymuch.

Off the Grid...

Well, we'll be trying an Internet break for the next day or so. Time for a family trip to Dover, where we want to visit this castle, walk through the wartime tunnels there, and see the cliffs up close and personal (and look for those bluebirds).

Have a great weekend!

Trebuchet Commuters?

With gasoline prices edging toward insanity, this option seems rather clever!

'Albany, NY - With no end in sight to the rise in fuel prices, commuters in Albany are using a network of trebuchets to save on gas and the airlines are taking notice.

“We have a high-density of renaissance festival attendees, so it’s only natural that the trend started here,” said Clinton Decola who heads the Trebuchet Transport Cooperative of Albany (TTCA).'

Click here for entire article. Very funny!

Weaning from the E-mail Jones...

This article really resonated with me today. It's about taking time away from Teh Interwebs - the better to live your real life.

E-mail is my addiction. That, and checking up on my Google Reader bloglist. I have made great strides toward lessening that addiction, I think, in the past couple of years. Still, if I am away from e-mail for more than a day, I get antsy. If I can't Google something instantly, I get cranky. How did I survive, waaaay back in 1992, before I had a computer at home? How did I exist with only dial-up?

Inconceivable as it is, I DID exist, survive, even thrive, without net access for decades! Surely I can do it for one day a week? I'm also winnowing my bloglists, by creating an UltraFaves department that I check daily (ten or fewer), and then mass deleting the rest if it gets overwhelming.

Seriously, though, have a look at the article. It's a good read.

Just 100 Things...

This is a very interesting article, all about clearing the clutter in our lives. There's quite a lot about a man attempting to pare down his possessions to just 100 things.

Could you do it?
What would you keep?
Why?
And does stash count as one thing?

Some things to ponder, there...

Adamas Progress

I'm fairly flying along with the Adamas shawl. I can't believe I have found a lace pattern that I can work on while watching telly, or talking to friends. Amazing stuff!

I stuck in a lifeline and pulled it off the needles this afternoon to figure out roughly how much more I need to knit. My gauge is MUCH looser than the designer's intent. Here's what 9 repeats looks like, spread out but not stretched, with 5-year-old child for scale. I am thinking 3 more repeats, plus the edging (approximately another repeat in length), should do it nicely. The shawl pattern calls for 14 repeats and I think 12 in my looser gauge is more than enough. What do YOU think, Gentle Readers?

Calendars

My friend Lynn is holding a Blogiversary Contest (go wish her well - it's been TWO years!!) and pictures of your calendar(s) are the entry requirement.

These are mine - the top is a knitting page-a-day calendar (I am saving about half the patterns as "might knit possibly") and below is my planner, without which I do not exist. If I don't have the Blue Book of Doom, I have no idea what I need to do.


No wall calendars, as we don't have a good spot in the kitchen to post one.



So Lynn, that's my entry, and congratulations on two years of fun posts to you!



In other news, I spent waaaaay too much time doing laundry on base today, as many folk had the same idea. Fortunately, I popped the wet stuff in baskets/car and took a break to have lunch with my honey while the dryers were all full.


Said honey found me a swift! For a pound! At a boot sale! I am SO happy about that. I want to blog it but I'll need to wait for the sunshine. It's a vintage three-armed wooden wool winder, called a "Nitta Wool Winder," and it even came in the original box.

Such a nifty gadget. I have already used it to wind my skein of Hunt Valley 2-ply laceweight cashmere that has been ripening in stash for over ten years. That skein is now 5 repeats worth of the Adamas shawl, and growing. See the pic below.


Quick review - Adamas pattern? VERY simple and satisfying to knit for a lace pattern. Addi Lace needles? Awesome...they slip along so quickly but the wool? Does. Not. Slide. Off. Ends. It's truly a lace-knitter's miracle.

The Game - Have you seen it?

Edited to add: I have explained my own "answer pics" below, since they are a little hard to decipher unless you're....me!

This is a meme I have seen on several blogs now. Curious, I clicked the link to find out more. In a nutshell, you answer the following questions in picture form and post your mosaic. Very cool, indeed.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

Here's mine. By the by, the celebrity crush is Phil Harding (IloveyouTimeTeam!).

Answers to The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Susan

2. What is your favorite food? Mnay but I chose Salmon skin hand roll sushi

. What high school did you go to? Kent School in CT - that's a pic of the back of the chapel there.

4. What is your favorite color? Green

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Phil Harding or all of Time Team

6. Favorite drink? Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper...do they even MAKE it any more?

7. Dream vacation? Corfu in Greece

8. Favorite dessert? Banoffee pie

9. What you want to be when you grow up? an archeologist, not a sock monkey

10. What do you love most in life? my family

11. One Word to describe you. Loving

12. Your flickr name: susieknits