I cast on a lovely bit of something. Using Rembrandt Yarns "Precious Metals" in a worsted weight - 100% superwash Merino, to be exact. I got this "by mistake" and Sandy at Rembrandt was gracious enough to let me keep it when she sent me the yarn I'd ordered - same color, but in sock weight. The sock weight is destined for a shawlette. And this? I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I found this lovely "grapevine lace" pattern (free on Ravelry) and there it was!! It takes about 100 grams, which is what I have. And if I need to cut it short, it's a nice enough scarf pattern that it doesn't matter if I don't finish the repeats.
I can't wait to see how it blocks out. You would have to block this - I've pulled on it and it's a beautiful lace. It'll really pop in this yarn once I've blocked it a bit.
They look like cables, don't they? Nope. Not a single cable. Just a 12-row repeat of a lace pattern that "wanders" a bit. If you're not freaked out about not always having the same amount of stitches on the needles, you'll be fine. And I don't roll that way.
Read the pattern. Knit the pattern. Don't freak out. There you go. The pattern appears to be well-written, and the designer is very careful to tell you: "Don't. Freak. Out." All will be well if you just sit and follow her directions.
I made this in the narrowest width because I do only have the one hank. I wasn't risking "yarn chicken" one more time. I figure that I'll try this again with another yarn, maybe more drapey - and perhaps look at making it a stole for a priest.
Wouldn't that be stunning? I think so.
Or maybe, if I have a couple balls of something lovely, I'd make a wider scarf. If I can knock this one out kind of quickly, this might make a fantastic Christmas gift for J - Kid #1's girlfriend. I may have to fiddle around to see what's in the stash.
I know I have a lot of "onesies" -- and that's kind of a problem. If I don't know directly what I'm knitting, I'll buy one - figuring a shawlette is always a good choice. But if I want to do something more substantial? I'll need at least 2.
I'm thinking about something else... Maybe beads? Maybe a solid so that the colors pop. Or something with a sheen to it? That metallic yarn that I saw in the Joann's would be nice. Just enough sparkle to give it some zing, but also washable. Of course, with this being superwash, it's not a problem to wash it. But for those folks who are "knit-worthy with qualifications" I'm always cognizant. And the "qualification" is (a) how closely they're related to me; (b) will they appreciate it; and (c) can they care for it?
I remember my friend MaryEllen - she knitted a layette for her first grandchild out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino - a blend of cashmere and merino, which, by the way, is exquisite!
And her DIL, for whatever reason, WASHED it. Yup. Washed it. Whether or not it was to spite her or out of ignorance, I'm not sure. But MaryEllen usually included a "care card" in everything she knitted, so I can't believe it was ignorance.
That's what I mean by "knit-worthy."
How My Garden Grows...We have garden bounty, so to speak, and caterpillars survived the spraying. Did I tell you that I plucked three caterpillars and brought them into the house overnight? Unfortunately, the smallest one didn't survive. But two biggish ones did, and Hubby released them into the dill after the city sprayed for mosquitoes. I saw another small one on what's left of the parsley, and I hope it makes it to the dill.
If we cross our fingers, we may have swallowtails later on in the summer. I'm not sure if they'll be the yellow ones or the black ones. I had a black one fluttering around for a couple of days - may have been the mom, laying the eggs.
We have lots of the cherry tomatoes on the vines; these are the first 3 that ripened. Yes, they were delicious!
The lettuce needs to be plucked again. We gave a big batch to my brother. I still have a bunch left. I hope that the nubs grow back. The guy at East Side Garden Center said they would.
The radishes may need a re-plant. We'll take care of those this weekend and see what we have. The strawberries are taking their time; they're also small-ish. Tangy and delicious, but small.
I think we planted judiciously this year. We won't waste anything, and we'll enjoy the carrots when they ripen in the fall.
And Then There Was One...The Keppra Chronicles will end. Tonight is my last one. After over 20 years on this medication, I'm finally weaned off it.
Today, I woke up with a slight migraine, but other conditions have brought this on. I seem to have a "hitch in my git-along" on the left side. My chiro says it's muscular, though he confesses, "Wow - for someone to pull their IT band? That's different."
So I haven't been sleeping well. Which is probably why I had a slight headache this morning. Popped an Excedrin Migraine and it was ok.
If only, now, my tummy would behave itself! Had some icky tummy over the past few days - bad enough to cancel my two yoga classes. Which you know is a big deal...
Hopefully, it'll be over with shortly - it's like I'm having "sympathy pangs" with Hubby's colonoscopy prep. Heaven forbid!!!
I'm now down to 2 prescriptions, and I'm hoping to knock one down in dosage a bit - we'll see what the cardiologist says.
I'm not anti-medication. By all means, prescription medications have their place. But look - if I hadn't talked to my neurologist, then this Keppra -- this VERY expensive medication - would've been in my system for another decade at least. At $2500 per refill? We would end up not being able to afford that. And that's after we've met our deductible. The insurance company makes us pay a "premium" since I can't take the generic. Which isn't my fault - the generic didn't work for me. So even though we pay insanely high premiums, we had to pay a "bonus" payment for this.
I'm glad it helped with my migraines. But I'm glad I'm done with it.
High Crimes & Misdemeanors...
But now? It should be applied to the current administration(?) for its repeated abuse of power and collusion with Russia.
Initially, the phrase was "treason or bribery," but it was changed in the Constitution by George Mason - funny enough because Mr. Mason wouldn't sign the document! Anyway, Mr. Mason was the reason that the phrase reads: "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors" because Mr. Mason didn't think "treason and bribery" covered it. Mr. Mason was worried that "treason or bribery" weren't enough for removing a president who began to display dictatorial tendencies.
So let's list them: Crying "fake news" at every turn, saying everyone is out to get him, saying that he wishes "his people" would treat him like Kim Jong Un's "people" treat him. Cashing in on various investments he should have divested himself of (come on - we pay BILLIONS for those golf outings in Florida and he's there virtually every weekend). We can skip the tendency to lie on each inhale and exhale. That's unfortunately his personality.
Let's go to trashing our allies. That's a good one. I don't mind if a person's a boor. That happens. But to stir up racism, xenophobia, hatred...to stir people into violence is just not presidential behavior.
Unfortunately, according to some experts, perjury and obstruction of justice aren't impeachable offenses, as they don't rise to "high crimes and misdemeanors."
It remains to be seen how all of this will play out. But something's gotta give. We as a country can't take much more of the deliberate destruction of our culture and our infrastructure.
Random Picture...
From my class on Monday - just a sliver of moon. The moon and Venus have been dancing. The sunset was gorgeous; I'd pulled in to the cemetery to see if I could get a picture of one of the cloud formations. Unfortunately, there was a dip down, and I couldn't get the clouds. But as I was leaving, I could catch this bit of sunset. I think the colors are from the smoke pollution from the continued wildfires. It's a shame that such destruction is happening. And a trick of Mother Nature that it also brings such beauty elsewhere.
A lot of us who live in Illinois often bemoan the state. If you're in a larger "citified" county, you don't really see the natural beauty. Heck, I'd love to see an eclipse, but the light pollution around where we live is horrible. We're lucky to get sunsets.
And the super moons? Haven't seen one yet. It's either cloudy, or as in the case of the one that's coming, up, too far south for us (which, of course, we can't help).
There are certainly beautiful areas in our state. You may have to travel a bit to see them, but if you look, you'll find them. Even in our area: we have hawks, wildflowers, many species of songbirds, rivers, and occasionally, unobstructed views of the beautiful skies.
Beauty is at home, and sometimes, you don't see it till you've been elsewhere.
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