I wanted to share what is currently at the top of the WIP heap:

Elfine’s Socks [raveled] knit in Shibui Sock - I’m up to the ankle and having a helluva time getting the pattern to fall into place. Right now I’m two stitches off and ready to light the entire pile on fire. Good thing I like the Shibui too much to torch it - although, I will be making things go boom on Friday and I will have a flare in hand and who knows? Something might slip… ;op

I’m also working on a pair of Tesserae Socks [raveled] in Sereknity Options superwash. This colorway is ‘Vineyard’ and I am totally in love with it. The pattern is working out well, too. These socks have nothing to worry about. ;o)

Both of these projects are my current contributions to Summer of Socks ‘08 [rav group].  I’m actually knitting socks this time around and not just helping read blogs!  Yay!  hehe

Why, spin outside, of course! ;o)

This past Saturday was the Hudson River Knit & Spin 2008 in Catskill, NY. It was also the second hottest day of the year so far (the hottest was the day Dobby graduated and we had her graduation party in the back yard). My day began with an email from RR:

too hot. can’t breathe. stay inside with a/c if you can.

I wish. I wrote back:

can’t stay - promised Tina! Must be with my people!

…and in the end, I was glad I went. There was a very good turnout and I had a great time! Here are most of the attendees (huddled in the shade, thankful for the breeze coming off the river):

What was I spinning?

80/20 Merino/Tencel purchased at Rhinebeck ‘07 from Clover Leaf Farms in the colorway Jungle Fever. Isn’t it pretty?

Late afternoon we ran into some showers so we had to adjourn to the Muddy Cup coffee shop:

Through all this excitement, Tina’s husband Steve managed to retain an air of cool detachment:

Honestly, I don’t know how he stayed so calm. ;op

Now, I’ve been gardening in some form or another since I could walk - my grandmother was a firm believer that children were put on this earth for free labor so I learned at a very young age the difference between a weed and a bean plant. Another early lesson was how good peas taste right off the vine - and that when you are eating those peas and grandma starts screeching your full name for all the world to hear, it does NOT mean she wants you to come over to see her so she can give you a hug.

You would think that in my 30+ years of gardening that I’m not as easily impressed as, say, a first-year newbie. However, this would be wrong. I am just as excited when my seedlings pop through the soil to see the light of day for the first time (YAY! I didn’t kill them!!) and I had never, ever, encountered a purple pea blossom before this year. There’s a first for everything - and they still taste just as good, though I do miss grandma’s screeching just a bit. ;o)

p.s. If anyone is looking for something fibery to do this weekend and they’re in the Catskill, NY area on Saturday, this shindig is looking very promising. ;o)

No, this didn’t take only a week to grow but I’ll tell you this - starting early and investing in the wall-o-water setup was WORTH. IT.

Take THAT, neighbors. ;op

In other photography news, Carole recently invited me to participate in the Day in the Life group on Flickr. If you’re interested, you can see my photos by clicking on the photo below:

Today (the 23rd) is also my mother’s birthday - Happy Birthday, Mom! She’d love it if she received some happy day wishes at her blog, here. ;o))

Oh and for the record, I still hate Bloglines (in case you missed it, I was bloglined last week and I’m still recuperating) - and Best Buy has been added to the list. Yay. However, that’s a post for another day…