F.O.: Finished a Perky Poppy Pin for a trade for my pal Brandi. She made two sets of stitch markers for me, and I made the felted pin for her. I didn’t get a picture of it, but it was in KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in coal and red. I did three of the petals per the pattern, and three of them a bit smaller. The petals were black with duplicate stitch spots of red here & there. The bobble in the middle was red. The larger petals were on the bottom layer, the smaller ones on top. After a 14-minute cycle, it wasn’t felted enough, so I put it through on a 10-minute cycle, and it was just right with no stitch definition at all. The red spots really were spots. It came out really cute.
NEXT UP: Baby sweater for my pal Trish. I’ve known her since college (Go, Bears!), and she’s having her first baby - a daughter - soon. I’m really happy for her, and it’s a terrific excuse to try out some mods to the roll-neck raglan pattern. Oh, and I’m working on something else too. I could tell you what it is, but then I’d have to kill you. Let’s just say it involves some Cascade 220, some Wool of the Andes, some big needles, and two women named Ann and Kay. I’ll let you figure it out.
SATURDAY: Hubby fixed the bathtub drain while I was at WW and hanging out afterwards for an hour with Merry and Sandy. I didn’t realized he’d fixed it, so I told Nana we’d be up earlier than planned so Hubby & I could take showers. The drain problem had reached critical mass on Friday, the day I happened not to get around to a shower during the day. Of course. So, de-skankification (that’s a technical term, folks) shower at Poppa & Nana’s. Then, we left the Things & the Beast there while we went to Uncle Jimmy’s birthday party. As usual, Velia threw down, and we ate like pigs. It seems Hubby, Rick & Big Mike got their “hair genes” from Grandma Ruthie’s side of the family. Hubby was looking around and realized that Uncle Jimmy at 52 has far less grey hair than Rick at 40. Oh, well. Then, back to Poppa & Nana’s for a belated Father’s Day celebration. Poppa got a kick out of his dragon-head cane from Spencer’s (hat-tip to ‘Nette). Jenna got stung by a yellow jacket. Then, because this Friday the 30th is Nana’s last day of work, we surprised her with a funny retirement card, a $50 certificate to Nine Rubies, and one of the sets of stitch markers from Brandi. Hubby had a bad allergy attack, and I was pooped, so we hit the guest beds pretty early (Yes, we have to sleep in separate beds there b/c the guest room has two twin beds, very Desi & Lucy).
SUNDAY: I had remembered during the night that dogs aren’t allowed at Corte Madera Park, so we had a CIP. Breakfast, check out Nana’s luggage and decide to borrow all of it, get ready, etc., etc. Church at the park. Back to Poppa & Nana’s to get the Beast. Hit the road to go to Ben’s birthday party here. Mis-communication beforehand on the way, combined with my not doing an errand during the week I’d meant to do ended up in our being half an hour late for the party and the gift not being quite as generous as I would have normally given. Sorry, Ben! Lisa & Pat were very gracious about it. I’ve been in those shoes, though, so I know they were probably stressing about it. Sorry, Lisa! Great party, though. Pizza, arcade games, and bumper boats. Thing Two was too short to drive a boat herself, so I had to go with her. I didn’t want to, but I ended up being glad I did b/c I had so much fun. Boy, was I glad I wasn’t wearing a white shirt! Once we were home, Hubby was off to Sharp Park, the girls continued their Hayley Mills extravaganza with The Parent Trap, and I took a nap.
Party highlights:
