Oh Happy Day

Why am I so happy? Well, I am baking bread. But also, I finally got INTO blogger so I can post again! How frustrating it was to finally want to blog again, then have Blogger not let me access my blog! It was strange--I used the right password (I could get into gmail just fine) but I was thwarted. It's fixed now, though. Woo!

Toe-up socks with 2x2 rib. The beauty is in the yarn!

I am also sorta happy that I finished this pair of socks--The only reason they took a while is that I only worked on them in the car. And the only reason I am just sorta happy is that I really enjoyed working with this yarn. Since there were no repeats I never knew what color was coming up, so it was fun to see what order the colors showed up in. They are mostly green and yellow, but every other color makes an appearance, as well. I will get a lot of wear out of these, I know.

Once again, the yarn is Creatively Dyed Yarn Calypso, which is 100% merino. I will NOT let anyone wash it in the washer! They were made toe-up using figure-8 cast on of 14 stitches. I used Wendy Johnson's toe-up flat heel construction. There was no special cast off. I just did it loosely and it came out fine.

Perhaps this photo is upside down. In any case, it's the mitered square blankie after 12 rows,

I tried to get an aerial view of the blanket at this point, but this is the best I could do. I have decided I have enough leftovers of each color to make it one row wider, so I think it will end up being 9x14 before I finally start putting on the borders. I think the borders will pull the colors together nicely. 

So I was wondering what I would do with the final product, which will be big enough to sleep under or cover a single bed. So, we went and bought a recreational vehicle to house it in. Don't you think that's a good idea? OK, so if you actually know me in real life, you will know that an intense mid-life crisis, combined with some unexpected funds, led ELAB and me to purchase a used motorhome. Mostly ELAB. The photo above was taken on our first purely recreational trip in the behemoth...err. Ursula. 

Ursula sits in a lovely wooded setting. Sorta hard to get there, but nice once we got her parked!

 That's Ursula Ultrasport above. She is a 2005 model, so not all perfect, but she is pretty nice--certainly nicer than anything I ever expected to own. The real reason to get it was that ELAB's dad is going to need a lot of treatment for his bladder cancer, and there is not space to stay in his trailer. So, we needed a place to stay extended periods (no hotels in the Yorktown, Texas vicinity). ELAB's nephew also brings a bus down, so it turns into a little compound at times.

Krause Springs, Spicewood, Texas

But, since I work on a contract basis and can't really go on long vacations, it is nice to have a way to go explore the area around Austin on weekends. The place we were last weekend is just an hour from our house. This place is a private park, with huge cypress trees and over 30 springs. Just beautiful (though full on Saturday nights). No matter how hot or dry it is, this place is cool and wet! Now I hope we get to go more places and perhaps go with friends. I am thinking of turning my old personal blog into a chronicle of our adventures with Ursula. I can keep track of all the things that break and go wrong, as well as share photos of how pretty or ugly the places we go are. I'll let you know if I do that. I'll try to stick to knitting here.

As for knitting plans, I hope to get a knitting group going again, from the students in my church class. There were just so many icky things the past couple of months that I couldn't get the energy. In addition to dad dying, my stepmom being hospitalized multiple times, and ELAB's dad's illness, I have had a sudden job change (back where I said I would never go again...for the third time) and more stuff I just won't go into. I am hoping things are settling down and I can knit!

I started what I hope will be a pair of summer socks now that the colorful ones are done. I am using the Summer Sox yarn in a self-striping colorway. It's mostly cotton. Will be a nice change, and quick. That's to work on when I am not finishing the mitered square blankie! I'm hoping to teach knitting or crochet to the house guest we have this summer, one of Tuba Boy's college friends. All the visiting and resident kids are the highlight of the summer.So many recent high school grads and college kids home for the summer coming in and out of the place!