resting between vacations

It's always amazing to me the amount of catch-up time and rest you need when returning from a vacation. After spending 28+ hours in a car for the Thanksgiving holidays (14 hrs each way) I'm happy to be home and NOT in a car.

The trip itself was wonderful, the best part being able to see family we hadn't in a long while. My cousin and I share a birthday which was the Monday before Thanksgiving this year, so it was great to have a double celebration with her (a first in over 30 years I think!).

My cousins' kids have gotten so tall and big I really didn't recognize them. The last few times I have seen them, they were pretty small or it was at my wedding, which means I really didn't have any time to spend with them, so it was great to get to see them all again.

We also brought some old 8mm film reels that my dad had taken over the years, his childhood and ours, and with my aunt providing the projector, we watched events spanning from her 16th birthday party (won't say how long ago that was.. just that her youngest turned 32 this year) to my 5th birthday party. They were all without sound, and hilarious to watch and try to figure out who was who and what was going on. There were great shots of my grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my parents as well. I only wish that they were there to fill us in and enjoy the moment. My aunt did a pretty good job of filling us in on who was who and I know she was excited to see these videos. I doubt anyone had watched them in over 30 years. Now we need to get them onto DVD's to preserve them, as one did split while we watched it, and we want to make sure we are able to keep them as long as possible.

I did manage to get quite a bit of knitting done on the ride up (which we took 2 days to do) and the ride back - which we did in one.

I finished seaming the EZ baby sweater, and in doing so, realized I forgot/didn't pick up the extra 14 stitches created when making the arms and had to do a T-shaped seam job in the underarms, but I'm considering it a design flaw element and the jacket will just have a smaller chest/body and flared or more kimono like arms.

I made 3 scarves from this pattern, which I just love the stitch pattern on. When I saw the pattern I was immediately enthralled by it, and just knew my cousin would like it. So I first chose this Linus yarn which called to me b/c of the small red strips of color running through it:


It came out a bit too masculine, so I continued it into a scarf, and may keep it for myself, or perhaps give it to one of my brothers, we'll see. Here it is unblocked:



Then I started another in orange to test out some thicker yarn, and just love the way it came out - I just need to get a big button for it:



Then I bought some beautiful alpaca with just a touch of tweediness to it, used some of the Linus yarn to make a button and some fringe, and made this one for my cousin:




Here's the button:



It was fun to make. I may get sucked into making another out of some bulky alpaca, but we'll see how my other projects keep me busy.
I started a pair of Fetchings for my other cousin out of some Cherry Hill Alpaca and they're coming along nicely. No pictures yet, that'll be the next post.

Done and done.

I made it to Louisville! I was able to pack up everything I really wanted to take with me, and then some! Mostly because of the help of a friend of mine. He's a 'Master Packer' he was able to fit all this random stuff into my car!

I know it doesn't look like much in the pictures, but there are two or three big items that aren't in the picture because they're already packed. To give you a real idea of how much Tetrus-packing he did, here's a picture of my trunk - there was no space left unused.

It was pretty impressive. Not only did he get everything I needed in the car, I could still see out of the back and side windows! It was great. I really appreciated it. There are plenty of things I'm pretty good at, but I wouldn't put packing up anywhere near the top. As you can tell from some of the photos it was pretty dark out when he started, and I know it would have taken me forever - he got it done so quickly, I was still able to go join the girls for Stitch N' Bitch later :) Este - you're The Man! It'll be easy to send him thanks too (he's my roommates boyfriend!)

Here are a few more pictures to show off his talent...

When I finally arrived at Sn'B that night, I found out that all the girls had all been secretly plotting and crafting! They made me a beautiful stained-glass scarf as a going away present. Each person knit their own square out of whatever they wanted. (MP knit four - overachiever!) and then Peggy beautifully crocheted it all together. It's just beautiful, and I can so feel the love :) Pictures to come when I finally find my camera charger - I know it's in the car somewhere!

I'm really going to miss all those guys, but I know they'll come and see me, and we'll keep in touch. That's what friends do.

I am Thankful for all my wonderful friends, near and far. Thanks guys.