Ready to Go

One vest is drying, but ready for a button...



And my knitting bag is filled with sweaters awaiting buttons.



Aren't these Beatrix Potter buttons cute?



This little sweater is destined for the gift box, just waiting for the next friend to announce she's pregnant.



These two will be mailed off to first-time grandma, Anita, in D.C. Where she's helping take care of her daughter and twin grandchildren who were born a few weeks ago.



Another vest ready for buttons, and my Juliet will gain a closure tonight too. I almost feel like I'm wishing the warm weather away as I finish all of these cool weather garments...I will have to wait until fall to really enjoy them!

What do you knit in public?

Making Progress

I have been flying through my UFO pile! I have three baby sweaters, an adult vest band sweater and soon one more vest all awaiting buttons, which is a perfect activity for social knitting with my guild. All of that hard work looks something like this:









When I took stock of things this morning, I was sad to realize that all of that knitting didn't get very much moving off of my to do lust, because they never made it on the list!

Maybe I need to move some projects to hibernating status? That might be a more realistic descriptor!

Picture troubles

Does anyone use Blogpress for mobile uploads? I'm having issues with getting my pictures to upload :-(

What Light?

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.



The knitting is finished, but I still need a good steam blocking and a few button loops and buttons. . .that will have to wait until this weekend.








And Dr. G is finished too! Really finished. Ready to give away. . .but not until Fritzie sees it in person. She's the one who turned me on to the pattern in the first place!



And the peonies are blooming!



And I have teeny, tiny apples starting to grow.



And today is supposed to be cooler than yesterday. Wahoo! Hope you find somewhere to stay cool and be happy. . .wait, that sounds like something someone wrote in my yearbook. . .do you think that's what they meant?

Done!

Dr. G is finished. . .pictures soon!

Juliet is nearing the finish line too. . .hopefully tonight!

United.

The parts of my Dr. G vest were united this morning. I have the ribbing completed around one arm, and am looking forward to finishing the other and possibly the neckline later tonight. I hate to jinx myself, but I anticipate having it completed well in advance of my Father's Day deadline. (yay!)


Additionally, the staff at my school were united today as well. Today the Michigan Education Association declared a "Day of Action". We were asked to wear red for public ed. . .and to share information with community members about how cuts to school funding will impact the students at our school.

Often, when teachers make noise about what is happening in our districts, it appears to directly relate to what is going into our pockets. The perception is that we only care about our raises and job security, but that honestly isn't the case. Think about the teacher in your child's classroom. His or her working conditions are the learning conditions of your child.

Our district has faced many cuts this school year, and as such are facing many changes in the way our schools will do business in the fall.










Students lose when class sizes increase, each student receives less individual attention. For students with IEPs (those that receive special education services) that means it becomes tougher to honor the accommodations each student deserves. When operating budgets are cut, we can't replace broken and outdated technology, nor can we prepare our students to be marketable in the Information Age. When teacher teacher salaries decrease, fewer of the brightest and best college students make the career choice to become educators.





Parents lose when their hard earned tax dollars pay for business tax cuts instead of education.





Communities lose when their school districts face financial ruin.





Local businesses lose when their customers (former school staff) don't have money to support them.





I hope you'll take some time to consider what your hope is for the children in your household and community. Gov. Snyder sends his children to a private school that charges each family nearly $18,000 a year. In 2008, Michigan public schools received less than $13,000 per pupil, and that funding has been cut every year since. The recent changes to the Governor's proposal help, but our budget is still far less than what Greenhills School in Ann Arbor will be using to educate the Snyder children. And did I mention? They're having a fundraiser.

Consider what you think is important. A united community who writes to their legislation is the only thing that is going to make a difference.

Making Progress, Smelly Basements and Blooms

With Dr. G blocking, I felt just fine working on Juliet. . .and am nearly done with it, if the yardage calculations are correct! I did add a couple of rows before binding off the sleeves, and a few more prior to starting the lace. After consulting with Matlie, we both agree that the original pattern stops the garter stitch either too high, or too low to really be flattering on either of us, so we're making some modifications. I had hoped to use five skeins of yarn. . .if that is to be true, this is what's left.



I knew as soon as I cast this sweater on, it was going to be a super fast knit, and even commented to a few friends how sad I was that it would be over so soon. They thought I was sort of crazy, as I'd only knit a couple of rows when I made the comment. But don't you know that feeling? You love knitting a pattern, because of the yarn, the color, the stitch pattern. . .whatever it is, it just makes you happy. Sometimes, the knitting is the most fun, not the wearing of the garment. I really love the softness of the Cascade 128 superwash that I'm using. I feel thrifty, since I'm using stash yarn to knit it. I enjoy the look of garter stitch, since most commercially made sweaters are in stockinette stitch, I know it looks hand crafted. I am fairly certain the style will look attractive on me, and that makes me love it all the more. While I'm eager to wear it, I'm just loving the process right now. I'm already anticipating the separation pangs I'll feel when I'm done.



I'll take a break from it tomorrow so that I can begin seaming Dr. G. Maybe that will prolong the love.

Most of my weekend was spent cleaning Mike's basement. When we went last weekend, he didn't tell us there was water damage until we were leaving. . .not that we would have wanted to tackle the task alone. Susie and Laurie came from the west side of the state to join us, and the excavation began. Someone with children needs to tell me, do you really need to save a 15 year old hand-print wreath made by your child/grandchild if it's musty, bent up, and not being displayed anywhere? I was told that I didn't understand, and maybe I don't. Help me see the light. It was a struggle to determine what was too damaged to salvage, and many bags of trash and buckets of bleach water later, the basement is drying.

We thought we'd be clever and "share" the construction dumpster of the neighbor to dispose of the smelly, wet garbage. Not exactly the best plan. He went over to Mike's house on Sunday and requested that we remove the garbage. Back to Mike's house to deal with the trash again. Good criminals we are not. Today I was able to get permission to dump it in a local dumpster. Thank goodness! I had no desire to keep it around for much longer, let alone smell it or touch it ever again!

I meant to take some photos of the Centurea Montana in my front yard when it was blooming. . .it was an amazing display this year! I missed the Siberean Iris' big show too. . .and they are my FAVORITE but here are a few pictures of what is blooming in my yard today.



I have to say, I'm really enjoying the blooms this year.








These moonbeam coreopsis are getting ready to pop! I can't wait!