My Irish Hiking Scarf

I made this scarf in March. It is a free pattern from www.helloyarn.com - very nice and easy pattern to make, don't be intimidated by the cables. These are my 1st cables ever and they weren't as hard as I was thinking they would be!
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I got my yarn from Knit Picks - 5 skeins of Terra Cotton Shine Worsted (60% Pima Cotton, 40% Modal). The skeins are small (50 grams/75 yards each), but I only paid $2.49 each. If you haven't tried this yarn - oh, it is soooo soft!!! Maybe not super warm, but just perfect for a fall or spring day. I want to make this scarf again in another color - but first I have a few other knitting projects (yarn on hand to use) to knit.

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There are 2 things yet to be done on this scarf... just to "fix" minor issues - thanks to my SIL (an excellent knitter) for her solutions! 1st - the yarn ends don't like to stay woven in and keep popping out. My SIL recommended that I take regular sewing thread the same color as the yarn, tie the ends together and "weave/sew" more. The 2nd thing is that I don't like how the ends are ripple-ing. My SIL recommended crocheting a little border at the top and bottom to stabilize them. Nothing major - just little things that I notice - not that these little things have kept me from wearing my new scarf!

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Since I finished this scarf I haven't started a new knitting project and I am a bit at odds about that. I am a fairly slow knitter and many days my fingers hurt too much to knit, but I do find it relaxing as long as I just do a few rows here and there. And I do love to wear this scarf. Did I mention how soft it is yet??? I have a skein of cashmere and 2 skeins of sock yarn, plus yarn for a little jacket - just got to settle down and start something. Then again - I always could just pull out the sweater that I started YEARS ago and finish the last few rows needed for the sleeves. Oh but wait - that would mean that I would need to get the tape measure, measure a sweater that I like the sleeve length on, compare that measurement to what I have knit so far, figure out a little bit of math... sigh - so there sits my sweater, almost finished. Well, maybe, just maybe I will find the tape measure tonight, but right now I am off to go pick dandelions with my son!

Finished Again!

* Purple Strings Again 62" X 87 1/2"
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Anyone remember this one - I finished it in November. Then I decided to "re-arrange" things a bit (oh, just change the direction of the strips, among other things - easy peasy right?) and got to work with my seam ripper. I'll tell you right now - I hardly ever ever rip. Honestly. See this quilt? I made it in March of 2006 and as soon as I sewed that 4th block down on the right - I KNEW the piece was wrong. Did I rip? Just 1 little seam. Nope, I did not. So why I ever thought I was going to rip out rows and rows on a scrappy string quilt (which doesn't even really have a "pattern" anyway!) is just beyond me. But that was the plan - back in November.
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I started to rip and then ripped some more. And then shoved it into the closet... until today, cooped up inside due to rain I started poking around in that closet. I spread everything back out on the floor and took a look. And then decided it would be so much easier just to put it back together again the way I had it instead of trying to re-orient the quilt. You know what? Sometimes it is easier to start over than to try to fix. Which is why I hardly ever rip in the first place - I usually will just let my mistake be and keep right on going. And as an afterthought - this quilt really doesn't need to be "fixed". It won't fit my queen bed, like I had originally wanted, but it fits a twin just fine... and you all know that is a good size for a couch snuggle quilt too, right?
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So, Purple Strings is finished. Again. And I even have a BIG enough piece of fabric for the backing. Here is a close up of my little anchor block, the funny frogs on the outside edge - see you CAN successfully use lime green in a purple quilt! and if you look closely - the very top fabric is from a sun dress I made my Mom in maybe... 1985? Scrap bins are amazing things, yes? Oh the memories!
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I plan on binding the top and bottom with lime green and the outside edges with dark purple.
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And, yup - I think I did use up almost all my purple/pink/blue scraps! That leaves yellow/brown/green/reds in the scrap bin. Hmmm.

Bathroom sinks

When you have a little person in tow- you have the opportunity to see lots and lots of public bathrooms in your travels. As far as being clean - I don't think you can beat an Irving gas station - especially those Blue Canoe ones. Besides the fact that there is almost always fresh coffee on! I do limit my coffee on a road trip - opting for water instead - but you know, sometimes a fresh cup of coffee just hits the spot. Irving excels at having clean restrooms and the truck stops even have extra facilities for truckers which I am sure they appreciate.
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This is a photo from a Wal-Mart bathroom. These are the new sinks that seem to be going in at many public restrooms and they are very nice for 2 reasons... 1st off - by expanding the size of the sink basin and eliminating the huge countertop - Little Boy manages to keep his sleeves/jacket front reasonable dry while washing his hands. Many times I have to change his fleece jacket when we get back to the car after a trip in to a bathroom. Not that it is really the sink users fault that there is water everywhere - most bathrooms have those super high powered air dryers now without a paper towel in sight - so how is one to wipe up the water that spashes onto the counter in the first place? LB is pretty sensitive to the noise - those super high powered ones, yikes! so we don't even use them - I usually have paper towels in my bag and if I don't - we pat down our hair with our wet hands.

The 2nd great thing about this sink - it has a little black sensor - wave your hands in front of it and out comes the water. Turns off automatically. A great water saver, I am sure, but also very nice that you don't have to touch a faucet that may not be so clean after washing your hands.
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As usual - I had to pick Little Boy up so he could reach the soap dispenser, which you can see is up above his head in the photo. It would be nice if they started installing these things a tad bit lower. But at least the sink is nice!