The quickie baby sweater went over very well at the baby party. I really like the idea of a couple having dinner with all their friends over to SEE the baby (after it's born) - not to see pre-mommy pregnant and figure you'll never see her as often as before - because she's about to get really busy with a baby... + you know if it's a boy or girl and there's no need for silly games because looking at the baby and talking to people is entertainment enough. Sitting through the gifts still was part of it, but that was the only required SIT and behave sort of time. PLUS - there are guys there and people brought a date, so it was more festive and less, circle of people sitting in a room. The more, the merrier!

I'll post this pattern this week. I am going to write up a variation of it in the future also. This was the only gift that got passed around the room. I was pretty surprised everyone was so blown away! It only took me about 4-5 hours. Jesper sewed on the buttons too. I will probably make several of these to sell at my company holiday bazaar and to have on hand for other babies.

The Seattle Times: Local News: Here's a good yarn: Knitting fans keep eye on the ball


I am home sick today - nasty head cold. My nose was dripping excessivly at th game tonight - but I finished that baby sweater! I'll post the pattern later.

Yesterday I rode my bike to work again! It was a hot ride home and I stopped 3 times to shift my chain - but it went very well.

Stitch-n-Pitch Comes To Safeco Field

I'll be at the Mariner's game with about 1,500 people knitting tonight. I can't wait!

I worked on Jesper's sleeves last night then when I got home I realized we are going to a dinner for a new baby tomorrow night & I wanted to make a "quicky baby sweater." I got out my left-over lilac Cascade Sierra and and whipped it up half way in a few hours. I will be able to finish it tonight for sure. It's a top down sweater. This is the first time I have knit it since I was a teenager. I think it might look a little different, since I understand the directions. It will be really cute.

I think I'm about 14" into both sleeves of Jespers sweater. One more week and it should be done!

Christine & I went to purlygirls last night - it was horrible traffic but we had a nice time knitting and catching up since she was in London.

Today I bought a KitchenAid mixer FINALLY!!
What a deal! $129.99 for a 350 watt refurbished mixer.


Horray for Amazon.com - I see some bread makin' in my future.

Sailed to Blake Island this weekend and had a great time both sailing and Mt. Biking. We tore the island up on our bikes for 2 hours and didn't quite hit every trail. Such a fun place for biking, the hills are rewarded with dowhills worth the climb (or hike). The photo is of my bike - on our way home today.

I only had one nasty fall, but it was going uphill on grass (the inner-island trails were pretty much like a lawn) and it was again becasue I couldn't get my right foot unclipped. I did much better overall with my clip-shoes since I had time to stop in general.

We ate so well (like always) and I snapped a photo of a yummy dessert we ate while sailing to Blake. Apple Crisp + fresh blueberries and cherries.

Still knitting the sleeve - finished with the decreases today.

oh yeah... there was a guy jamming on his accordion at the dock on the island. Marinas often have a little extra character like that.

3rd time Mt. biking last night... most difficult time. I fell many times. One time too many was after I had pedaled up a short steep incline, and didn't quite make it over the top. I was wearing my lovely clip-in shoes and as wtih all my falls, I didn't get my foot off the petal fast enough to catch myself. I landed perpindicular onto my handle. Now I have a big purple bruise just below the belt.

The bright side: I wasn't planning on wearing a bikini this week.

The St. Edwards park has a healthy population of nettles. They sting. So do mosquitos. Blackberry bushes aren't so soft either. Neither is holly. I came face to face with all this foliage last night. But I STILL like Mt. biking. I'm going to change back to regular pedals for now. For my body's sake.

Next investment: Body armor. (I'm not kidding)

Another cool thing: While I was beating myself up riding with the Luna Chix, Jesper was at home cooking me dinner. Beef tenderloin is pretty tasty, I'd never had it before.

Knitting: STILL working on those sleeves.

Weekend: I think we're going sailing - South of Seattle.

I am almost a mountain biker... I have moved right ahead to clip-in shoes. Jesper had an old pair that were too tight for him and fit me pretty well. We went to Tolt in Carnation last night. That bike park has really fun trails in the woods. It's a killer ride to the top though. I walked most of the way up because I wasn't used to the shoes yet. By the end of it all, I feel much better about getting into it.

Riding on the trails reminded me of what I wished I could have done more of as a kid. There was a short trail across the street from my house in front of the lake that had a few humps of dirt to roll over. Now the opportunities are exploding. I like this kind of riding more becasue you aren't going to get run over by a car.

I'll be joining up with a bunch of Luna Chix bike rides on Thursdays to advance my skills in a girls only support group. The guys are sterotypical for tearing past on the trails as fast as they can and that's not so great for learning.

Knitting: Still working on sleeves - Eastside Stitchers tonight!

I am the owner of an accordion - thanks Rebecca! She's had it since 4th grade. Now my dreams of playing the Amelie soundtrack are 1 step closer. What's the next step?



Stella's found the box good for rubbing against.


I got into the groove on the sleeves for Jesper's sweater tonight too.

N.Y. Times Reporter Jailed

I didn't know reporters could go to jail for not revealing a confidential source.

Summer weekend finally!

Saturday was very laid back. I sorta helped with the fixing up of Jesper's catamaran (Prindle 16). It first involved watching Kris saw off a branch of the tree above where the boat is parked at the UW canoe house. Then Kris injured his finger and I bandaged it up. He went to ER to see if he needed stitches - it was that bad. Luckily it didn't need stitches.
After the boat was all fixed up and ready to sail another day, we had a lovely BBQ dinner on Impulsive then headed to the local pub to watch the Tour de France. I left Jesper at the pub and went to Amy's b-day party at Howl at the Moon Piano bar in Pioneer Square. It was fun. I'd never been to a piano bar. We all had a coupon that we printed online and got $1 drinks until 11PM and free admission. I skipped out on the dancing afterwards at Cowgirls Inc. - I know - I'm lame!

Sunday Jesper left for a hike at 6AM and I accidentally slept in until noon. Cleaned house to make up for not thinking of anything better to do on a beautiful sunny day than knit. Luckily, Jesper returned around 2PM and we decided to sail the catamaran - the wind was blowing and it was 80 degrees out.

I've never actually been on a catamaran when it was windy enough to move. I was nervous, but since Jesper promised to do everything possible to avoid a capsize, I felt better. It's wierd how I get nervous becasue there's nothing I'm actually afraid of. I have a wet suit - was quite hot and was happy to get splashed and wet. I knew if we capsized we could get help from a ton of boats out there and have even done a capsize recovery when I took the class when there was no wind during my class 2 years ago. The speed was the part that got me nervous when we got on the water, but hiking out solved the healing part. I wonder when I'll get over this feeling - for now - sailing is still like an extreme sport to me. Luckily when you crash into water - it's softer than cement. I'll stick with sailboats over motorcycles I think.

knitting news: I fed Jen's cats in Duvall on Saturday AM and had to stop at the "Yarn Addiction" store on the Duvall main drag. It happened to be her 1 year store anniv. and I helped her celebrate by eating the first corner of her cake. She even gave me a pencil she had printed up with the store name and ph#. I felt obligated to buy something and she commented on every yarn I touched. I got 2 balls of Cascade Fixation to make socks with.

I am done with the front + back of Jesper's sweater. Onto the sleeves now. Maybe I'll be done in a week or two.

Why is it that the RAM sportsbar had some award show on the BIG screen and we had to ask them to turn on the Tour de France on a tiny TV - then have to ask for closed captioning too? Isn't Tour de France hot news with Lance Armstrong and his yellow bracelets and this being his last year? I have to admit, I've never watched cycling on TV before, but I just thought that a big sports bar would be showing the hotest sports, not a hollywood awards show.

Tonight I am going to Purlygirls, the bonus is Rebecca is giving me an accordian! Watch out - I may be learning a polka - I'm not sure how that will be possible without lessons. Maybe I'll take a group lesson in the winter? We'll see.

This is a very interesting article:

ThePost-London, spotlight on terrorism

"Suicide terrorism is not so much committed by religious fanatics looking for a quick trip to paradise as it is by a variety of secular and religious individuals who fear that their societies will be unalterably transformed by a religiously motivated occupier," says Pape, a University of Chicago political-science scholar

The "boyfriend sweater" is going well - and it fits!






Stella was happy I was up early this morning also...

I biked to work today! It took 15 minutes - mostly downhill. (Why didn't I do this before??)

But to get myself appropriately dressed and arranged at my desk -another 15. This can be streamlined I'm sure.

I even listened to my mp3 player.

Pro: quick ride mostly on a bike trail
Con: I had to pack a lunch
Pro: and my knitting
Con: I got confused by the shifting - had to stop and examine - mid-path.
Pro: the chain didn't fall off - even though it felt like it did
Con: It will be in the 80s on the ride home today
Pro: I will get that commuter bonus of $25 torwards REI - I'll be getting bike shoes I think since the pedals are for clip in shoes.

I got a new (to me) bicycle! A surprise from Jesper. It is a red mt. bike with shocks. He totally reconditioned it. He said he even soaked the chain in a bucket of oil and cleaned it off nice. It has modern shifting and will be my stylin' ride to work tomorrow. (I really need to find my bike lock!) My only disappointment is that it doesn't have a kick stand and I've been told that only sissy looser babys have kick stands and I'll never be taken seriously if I have one on my bike. I am considering contacting the leading celebrities in biking to tell them to change this stereotype. I think people who lay their bikes in the bushes look pretty dumb.

I've made great progress on Jesper's sweater. Perfect project for knitting tonight at Jerzy's. He assured me that the "boyfriend sweater curse" is at a "low risk" status. But.. said he wants it to fit. Ahh!! the pressure!

Daunting news on my NW lace shawl... the shell lace border 28 repeats of 24 rows is going to take me a month to get through. I am really perplexed as to how this 17 year old Fruitcake completed this shawl in 2 weeks. Is she a robot? I guess summer vacation affords a lot of free time. She should be at the beach!

I didn't mention... I like coffee now... BUT I am VERY picky. So picky, I rather not drink it than risk it. I found the perfect coffee for me. It's PCC flavor #3781. Anyway. It's smooth and not bitter and perfect mixed with 2 scoops of Nestle Quick chocolate milk mix + milk and topped with Redi-whipped cream. Yum. Still, it's tough on my tummy and I can't finish a cup. I think with this sort of pickiness I will continue telling people "I don't drink coffee, but I like tea!" They probably have no interest in the details of what coffee I do like - mainly because they wouldn't be able to offer it to me. UNLESS I was on S.V. Impulsive. Which is where this coffee was discovered after if was left from the Swiftsure Race.

Update: I got the flavor number of that coffee!!

Oreos - an illusion of health

I just realized after eating 8 "reduced fat" oreos that they are NOT mint flavored. They just have green packaging. Green on the packaging = HEALTHY not minty. Darn it! I was hoping for both.

I'm going back to Newman's Own Mint "chocolate sandwiches."

Still working on Jesper's sweater. I made too many armhole decreases so I have to rip back again.

Non-knitting related...
I am going to try to excercise more regularly. After being on the boat for 8 days, sitting more seems not the best medicine. We got in some good walking on 5 of the 8 days. But the sitting for long periods of time stood out more to me.

My company offers a commuter bonus gift certificate, all I have to do to get it is ride my bike to work 4 times in one month. I know I am up for it. Especially since I meant to do it last year and never managed. Anyway, I got myself some moderately padded bike shorts and some bike gloves. No more excuses. I want my $25 coupon every month!

Since excercise is stepping in on knitting (just a tiny bit) I am going to miss many Seattle Purlygirls meetings, but I'll try to be there next week for sure.

• Mondays: Weights at the gym after work
  
• Tuesdays: Innebandy darn it! It's off until Fall... now I need another cardio activity! Pout.
  
• Wednesdays: KNITTING!! Eastside Stitchers
  
• Thursdays: Aerobic activity - running/biking/gym options
  
• Fridays: Bike to work day
  
• Weekends: At least one activity where I break a sweat
  

I'm back! Here is the photo album from sailing in the San Juans.


I was so excited to find my favorite purple starfish on Mathias Island.

I knitted EVERY day and got really far on Jesper's sweater.

I got to the end of my rows on the Pacific NW shawl. I am ready for the border - I am hoping I don't screw it up. I think a life line will be run at this point.

We had a little bit of all weather. Overall, it was great weater. Lots of wildlife like crabs, seals, porpises, eagles and cute little Pigeon Guillemots. We circumnavigated the San Juans.

Roache Harbor is a great place to spend 4th of July. It was very festive and there were a tons of fireworks.

The Sock Calculator

Yes - oh yes - I can make socks out of ANY yarn! now where to start....

Projects for the week will be:

NW Lace Shawl
Marquoir X-stitch
Start - boyfriend sweater (risky business due to sweater curse)
Branching Out scarf

I think I'm all set! I was sad my Interweave Knits Magazine never came - but I think my subscription ran out. Oh well, that's probably a good thing. I can always go to the library. I REALLY have enough projects planned for 2 years. Best not to be looking.

I'm off sailing tonight, not back until July 10th.

Jesper & I will be on S.V. Impulsive in the San Juan Archipalego.

Tentative schedule:
Tonight - Port Madison
Sat - Anachortes?
Sunday - Roache Harbor

The rest of the week??? I know we'll definitly be visiting Sucia Island - which is exciting.

My thumb is feeling better - probably perfect in a few days. I can knit slowly and cross-stitch too - no major crafting emergency :) I decided not to see a specialist in case there was a fracture - that seemed like a waste of a $25 co-pay. It would have been fun to see my hand x-rays though!