Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Lippy Lou's Sourpatch



So I have done a lot of knitting this summer but not a log of blogging about said knits so I thought I would start with my latest favorite! I fell in love with the Sourpatch pattern by Corrina Ferguson when I saw it on the Petite Purls blog. I had been pondering what colors and fibers I would use to make it for some time when along came a forum post about some Dancing Dog Dyeworks mini skeins that someone had placed a special order for. The MOMENT I saw the yarn I was in love and I knew just what I wanted it for, Sourpatch of course. So I contacted Michelle over at DDD and she was up for the job!

I knew with packing the house, packing for the trip and the end of the school year looming, I would not be able to start knitting this up until well after we started our vacation to Alaska, but I also knew I wanted the yarn ready to go so I could work on it while on vacation. Michelle had it dyed up and shipped to me before I left and I got it caked and in my knitting bag ready for the road. And yes I did this well before my clothes were packed. Who needs clothes when you have your iPad full of patterns, yarn and needles right?

So after a near disaster with my first attempt at Gramps, (I made a couple of dumb mistakes and the sleeves were WAY too small on me) I decided to put it aside for awhile and get to work on the Sourpatch. It was just a joy to knit up and watch it come to life. The stripes were so easy, much more so than I had thought by looking at the pattern. For a sweater for a tween this took no time at all, I expected it to take way longer and ended up flying through it! I just love how it turned out and Lippy Lou would have worn it everyday for a week that first week if I would have let her. The proudest moment however, took place this week. Lippy Lou proudly wore her handknit sweater for her school pictures! My heart about jump out of my chest with pride. Gotta love it when your handknits are treasured! Especially by lippy tweens!


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Long time no bloggy....


Yes, yes, I know, I know....long time no bloggy. I am hoping that now that we have FINALLY moved and are starting to settle in at our new house in our new duty station I will have more time to blog about all that we are doing!

The first week of July our family set off on a LONG but FUN adventure. Because the hubs gets some time off between duty stations we took the opportunity to spend time with his family up in Alaska. We drove the 2300+ miles from Washington State up to Alaska in just 3 short, or rather long, days. For sleeping in the car the first night and camping the second night the 4 kids did remarkably well, as did the dog. We left mid morning on a Friday and arrived late, late Sunday night. Everyone was VERY glad to be settled in!

We are lucky enough to have family in Alaska that loves us and allows us to share their space for extended periods of time. Hubs got to get much needed fishing time in with friends, the kids got to spend much needed time with cousins and I got in some much needed knitting time and R&R. I think that each and every one of us left Alaska with our reserves charged and ready to start our new adventure in a new town.

Our trip back from Alaska was just as short, taking only 3 days to get back down to Washington, this time sleeping in the van both nights due to rain. Our gracious friends let us crash their house Sunday night and we headed to Oregon on Monday to visit with more family and pick up our cat, George, from my dad who was babysitting while we traveled. Tuesday it was time to travel again, this time to the Hubs' best friend's house. The big kids and I took off Wednesday morning to head towards San Diego, leaving The Fish behind with Hubs and the pets. We traveled 6 hours on Wednesday and 6 hours on Thursday making it more peaceful and less stressful for me traveling alone. Thursday the kids and I arrived, got the keys to our new rental and ate In 'n' Out Burger for the second day in a row, boy did we miss that! Friday morning the movers arrived with our household goods and we were good to go!

I will share a few pictures of our trip with you and hop back on the bloggy train!

4 kids...all smiling....MIRACLE!


The Hubs and I in Whittier


Uncle Bob and Joe, Just a Swingin'


Hatcher Pass


Momma and baby moose, right on the bike path.