Apr. 8th, 2006

celticdragonfly: (Maggie 12-04-05)
Today was the Saginaw Easter Egg hunt, run by the local fire department, down at Willow Creek park, which is very close to us. I figured Maggie would enjoy it, but Jamie would be too young. So this morning we got ready, got her basket out, tied up our hair against the wind (it's blowing hard, if not as hard as yesterday), and headed out the front door. We planned to walk to it. We walked partway, then a lady with two kids in a minivan offered us a lift. We were running a bit behind, so I accepted. Just as well - it wasn't halfway down the park at the gazebo as I'd thought, but allllll the way at the far end of the park - we wouldn't have made it in time.

So we see a crowd of parents and kids distributed around a big rectangle of grass, marked off by cones, with little oval wrapped marshmallow eggs strewn across it. Oookay. So, not so much on the "hunt" part of things. Okay. I walked around the long way to the far side, so it wasn't so crowded, and we waited. One of the firemen came by to make sure everyone knew about the prizes - we didn't, and I asked. He said some of the eggs had stickers, and those got prizes, so just check your eggs afterwards.

A lot of the kids were being impatient and shouting and such. I'd told Maggie we had to wait our turn, and she was very patient about it, no problem at all.

Time came, they started us. Most kids were running all the way into the center. Maggie just went forward and started gathering eggs as she came to them. It did not take long at all for all of the eggs to be gone. Maggie was quite calm about it all, a very good girl. I congratulated her on her basketful of eggs, and we sat down to go through them, I had her naming all the colors. We found one with a sticker, and went towards the firetrucks to wait in line for her prize. It was then, when a mother asked about "was this the line for the 4-6?", that I found out that oh, beyond the firetrucks where I couldn't see, there had been two other groups - one for 0-3, one for 7-10. Well, Maggie is almost 4, probably best that I had her there. Her prize was a "Super Soaker Mt. Tikisoki Water Volcano", the type of thing you hook up to the hose in the backyard in the summer. She and Jamie should have fun with that.

She got to pet a daschund. She got to see the firetrucks, and ring the bell in front. I suggested she should tell the firemen "thank you for the Easter egg hunt". So she did - went up to one by himself, and then to a group of 3 over by the prize table. Both cases got widened eyes, a grin, and a fireman bending down to shake her hand.

Then we started walking home. Had a nice walk, did some impromptu lessons on the way - pointing out the eight-sided gazebo and talking about "octagon", pointing out a water bird, etc. Finally decided the wind was just too much, and had Karl come pick us up, but we walked more than half the way. She's been allowed to eat one of the eggs. I'm suggesting she may want to take them to Sunday school to share them - I suspect that many marshmallow eggs is way more than any small kid should eat!
celticdragonfly: (Firefly -River - I'll knit)
I finished my green socks. click for sock picture. [1] )
Essentials sock yarn from KnitPicks, more-or-less to the pattern "Gentleman's Fancy Sock" on p. 80 of Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I did the leg shaping, but made a slightly shorter leg, used my standard heel flap rather than her plain one with the purl seam down the center, my favorite heel turning, had 36 stitches on top instead of 38, and continued the pattern into the toe reductions. (I really rather like how that last came out)

Now, I started these socks on Wednesday the 22nd, because I was about to head out to Baton Rouge, needed a reasonable project to take with me, and my braids cardigan was stuck, as the next thing I needed to do was to pick up and knit the buttonband/neckband, and I needed to order buttons. I did, and they arrived while I was gone. They're adorable. But they look SO small! I know others have said they used 5/8" buttons with this cardigan, but they look so small!


One of the things on my to-do list for this weekend was to start swatching the button band, practicing buttonholes, and seeing how it looks. (Finishing the green socks was on there too! Yay.) I did that, and was working out a buttonhole direction [livejournal.com profile] bkseiver pointed me to. I think for those buttons it's a 2-stitch buttonhole. The cast on that they link to and recommend for part of it is... well, I'm not sure it's defeating me, but I don't think I'm getting it quite right.

So today I went down to my local yarn store to ask the very knowledgeable proprietor for advice. She wasn't there - her husband says she's in the hospital! I hope she is doing better soon. He said she'd probably be home tomorrow or Monday, and wants to be back in the store soon. In theory the monthly knitting get-together is still on for next Sunday afternoon. He thinks she should look at the cardigan.

So - it's still on hold. And I mentioned the socks are done? That's leaving me wondering what to do next.

[Poll #706765]

[1] The astute will have noticed that this means I did find the camera post-trip. Yes, pictures of the kids and their cousins will be up soon. I may tackle those after dinner. Or tomorrow. Soon.
celticdragonfly: (Firefly - going mad)
What is WITH this stupid lace scarf?

The first couple responses on my poll were to get back to work. Sigh.

I can find the lace scarf and the pattern for it. The throw - well, I can find the yarn that's left, but the current project - well, I remember it getting pulled out of a bag I needed, and put... somewhere else, downstairs I think...

So I started back up on the lace scarf.

After oh, 10 minutes of agony I managed to read it well enough to figure out what row I was on. Row 2.

By row 5 of the pattern repeat, I was in misery again, and am missing a stitch.

It's LACE knitting. I've done plenty of lace knitting. It's never been this bad a problem before. Why is this so AWFUL? Is it the yarn? IMO it's underspun and too darned splitty. It's Paton Kroy 3ply. I didn't buy it - I had a green sock yarn that didn't turn out to be the color I'd hoped for when ordering, and someone in one of my knitting lists offered to exchange it for Paton Kroy sock yarn in rose color. Well, turned out they had 3ply, not the normal 4 ply. They sent me both rose and gray in apology. Grrr. Those 4 balls of yarn have SAT there for ages. I was trying to finally DO something with them. It's not working out.

I don't know what I should do. I hate to think of tossing those balls of yarn out. I hate to think of giving up on the scarf - I do have some length of agonizingly achieved length.

But I can't talk to anyone while knitting this, I can't watch TV, I just grind my teeth and go at it.

No more today.
celticdragonfly: (Default)
Pictures from my recent trip to Zachary and Baton Rouge to see my new nephew Paul Alexander, [livejournal.com profile] phoenixsinger's baby.

http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/0009a6bk/g25

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