just under the wire

this miniature lime-green hosta has such pretty dark purple flowers—about the only new thing blooming at the moment. hard to believe that july is almost half gone and the flowers are petering out. sigh.
we do have one more wave of blooms—the stargazers, with their outrageous fragrance are about to burst open; hopefully, tomorrow.

this weekend just zoomed by—i can’t believe that the post i meant to write first thing this morning is just now pulling together and it’s almost tomorrow already. time flies when you’re having fun and so forth . . .

friday night i talked to all seven of my texas nieces and nephews—awesome conversations. it was one of those rare nights when they all had a lot to say; i love that.

yesterday i went to debby’s to knit in the morning with susie and debby and debby’s friend diane.

i brought along nightingale and got another repeat added. i SO intended to spend a few hours more on it today but alas, hasn’t happened yet.

debby tipped me off that talbot’s was having a sale so i went over there and found some twill pants that actually fit really well (SCORE—they don’t really carry my size in the store but they had a few catalog returns in the back that were perfect. and on sale). they are basic pants that i can wear for teaching or if i need to look nice, but not dressy. i had never shopped there before, but i might have become a fan.

last evening we missed out on our usual bike ride because the weather turned weird all of a sudden—it got really dark and very windy like it was going to storm . . . and then . . . nothing. it eventually cleared up just in time for the last of the sunset; too late to go out then. arrggh.

but it meant that i got a little more knitting done anyway

i’ve got one sleeve just about finished for the maze sweater; i’m closing in on this baby, finally.

later that night, while we caught up on watching the bike races, i worked on the new nate sock in the 2-ply merino sport and got the leg done

as well as part of the heel flap before i conked out. i’m knitting this pair in a different size, which i might keep or i might give as a gift. this sport merino is heavier than the yarn called for in the pattern so i’m knitting a smaller size on bigger needles and so far that seems perfect for my foot.

i was up with the birds this morning and took some time to do a few things around the house that needed attention. i had a good-sized pile of squash to be cut up and blanched before putting up in the freezer, so i got that out of the way while i waited for my spinning class to arrive.

five more bags done. hehehe, while i was downstairs putting them away, i happened to count the bags i’ve gotten done—ten total—i think we might have enough. i’ll make it an even dozen just to be sure, then i’ll quit (i know. that’s what they all say . . .).
i’ve been giving it away too, but i have a feeling people might start avoiding me if i try to foist it off on them too often . . .

i have a plan, though—i figure if i rotate the spoils between all 15 knitters that come here weekly for class (plus the ones that come for random knit nights), i can stay within the realm of socially-acceptable vegetable pushing.

i meant to take photos in spinning class this morning because everyone is working with such pretty fiber, but we were all distracted by the finished sweater that barb showed up with—she just finished an ondulé sample for chris using grandma’s blessing. anne marie was kind enough to model it for us

(she telling you that her shirt doesn’t “go”)
we all drooled over the rich blue-green colorway (i think that might be close to color 9080, but i’m not positive). it needs some buttons but chris will add her own. you can see it in person at sock summit or any of chris’s upcoming shows.

after spinning, i took care of a sewing task that i was anxious to get done and then hemmed the pants i bought on saturday. then i took a great nap—not enough of those this week; i’ve had trouble falling asleep in the afternoon, even when i’m tired. but not today . . .

when i got up we did a massive photo shoot of several items that you’ll see rolling out soon, like the fruit of the vine scarf, nate sock, and a couple of other treats. it took a couple of hours, but it was worth it—the light was beautiful this evening and it was smart to take advantage; you never know when it’s going to turn hazy.

david was sporting his “king” hairstyle—when his hair gets in the way he flips it up over his head and it stays put, like a crown. i asked him to give big grin for the blog

(head shaking) that’s it.
who cares, though—he made dinner, too and it was one of my favorites. david doesn’t really enjoy cooking seriously, but he has a few original dishes he makes that i love

this curry pasta dish has a melt-in-your-mouth blend of flavor and texture that encourages me to eat too much every time we have it (which is rare). fresh greens are mandatory for its success and since we happen to have lots of them handy . . . he cooked. sigh. it was deLECtable.

so yeah, another very full weekend has come and gone, no wonder i’m so late in posting . . . more later; i have to go now and get that scarf pattern ready for release tomorrow.

oooh, but what’s this we spotted in the wilds of the back yard?? stay tuned . . .