Here is the right front of Tailored Scallops. It has been very enjoyable knitting so far, and miraculously, the Cascade seems to be working to gauge. To try and keep it interesting, I am planning to do the left front next, then the sleeves, and finish with the back. The one front did not even take an entire skein of Cascade, so I'll be interested to see how much of the 8 skeins I have left over at the end of the project.

Magical closet makeover. After sifting through disorganized clumps of sheets and towels one too many times, I finally asked my DH to help me put a shelving system into our linen closet. Here is the before picture.

I am not sure what the builder thought this tiny shelf would hold - certainly not much that is useful for humans. The gaping lack of shelving in the bottom section is also inexplicable, but since most of these vinyl smackeroo houses seem to be built in 24 hours, there probably isn't time to pense on such tiny details.

So DH ripped out little shelf and then much spackle was needed to help repair the wall. The pink stuff that turns white when it is dry is definitely helpful for those with children or other time-consuming life elements that don't allow time for you to sit and watch it dry.


I wanted the closet to match the hallway, and fortunately we had leftover paint, so I gave it a beautious new coat.


Then DH came in with the Closet Maid Shelf Track. We couldn't use one of the prepackaged kits like we had used in the boys rooms since this closet is a unique size and shape. Shelf Track is a flexible system though, and our Lowe's has a free shelf cutting service that we used to make the shelves accomodate our closet. So he found the studs, with some false positives, but ended up hanging the hang tracks with a mix of screws and toggle bolts and not too much trouble. Once the tracks were up, everything else went in easily, and the finished product makes the closet so much more useful!

We went raspberry picking today at Westmoreland Berry Farm. There is something so delectable about picking ripe fruit that practically jumps into your hand when you go to pluck it from the vine. You just know it is going to be delicious. The boys had fun too. Bran was trying to learn how to spot the ripe berries. Abe also did some picking, and enjoyed tasting the berries in all stages of development, even the white ones. I got some knitting done during the car ride. The right front of Tailored Scallops, which I began a few nights ago, but ended up ripping because the needles were too big, has been started again on smaller needles, and here it is. The pattern is fun so far, and I think I have it memorized now, so it should go even faster.

Here are the finished serf booties, laced up and ready to go. I like the way they turned out. Hopefully they will fit the recipient at some point. I am getting close to finishing the back of the Classic Camel Vest. It is a sea of stockinette stitch which was perfect work for tonight's Knitting Night.

Here is my sister in her new Arwen. She said she loves it, and I am happy with the way it looks on her. She surprised me and gave me these Noro lovelies. I am thinking of using them to make a Midwest Moonlight for myself if the variegation in the Kureyon doesn't hide the pattern too much. I'll definitely need to take off a pattern repeat or 2 in order to give the scarf some length, since I only have the two skeins. I finished the other Midwest Moonlight, but am waiting to put up pics since I don't want the recipient to see it before she receives it. I also felted the serf booties, but still need to add holes and laces. The back of the vest for my father-in-law is about half way done. The gold Cascade 220 Heather I am using for it is knitting up beautifully.

Projects are in the works. The serf booties are all knit up, ready to be seamed and felted. I got sidetracked and started a Midwest Moonlight scarf which has been very enjoyable and quick to knit. I have only 6 pattern repeats to go unless I decide to make it longer than 60". I am using Cascade 220 Superwash #847, aka Caribbean, and it is a soothing color to work with. We'll see how much the superwash grows when it is blocked. I have had Scarf Style for over a year, but for some reason this is the first pattern that I have started from the book.

I also have some magenta non-superwash Cascade waiting to be turned into a Tailored Scallops Jacket for my mother-in-law if the gauge works out. She has Lewy Body Disease, so it is impossible to know how many more Christmases she will be able to appreciate, so I would like to make her something special for this year.

A friend of my neighbor's is going to Bulgaria in September to work with women and children who live in horrible conditions. She would like to bring 150 scarves and pairs of socks to give to the people there. These two scarves are my contribution so far. The beige one is made with Goddess yarns Frederique, a lovely blend of superfine alpaca, baby alpaca and silk that I used to make a hat for my mother a few years ago. It is only 38" long, but hopefully it will make a cozy neck wrap for a woman, or a scarf for a child. The other one is made from Encore Worsted Colorspun, and it knit up so quickly and turned out so cute and that I just may need to make another one for the cause. I have been so caught up with following patterns that I had forgotten how satisfying it can be to make something with simple garter stitch or ribbing. Maybe it is all the yoga I have been doing lately, but I would like to start keeping at least one "zen" project in my diet along with the face glued to pattern more complex ones.