August

My blog posts haven't been creatively titled lately, have they? I used to try for alliterative or otherwise catchy titles but recently they've been fairly bland. Hope you don't mind, it's just a slump.

Have you seen PurlBee's latest project? Reuseable market bags. The fabrics they used make the bags look quite elegant, so much so that I may just dust off my sewing machine and make a few for myself and/or gifting. I already have quite a few I've purchased from Ikea, but I'd love to make some prettier ones. Check it out and see what you think. They can't be too difficult, even with my rusty skills. I need to make a few curtains, and this might just be my gateway project.

Speaking of projects, I finished my Nurmilintu shawl today.

 

 

These photos are before blocking, but you can still see the lace. I don't usually cast on a repeat of a pattern immediately, but I did today, using another skein of yarn from the stash. I hardly ever gift shawls, but now that I've made so many, I think I'm going to start. It's really the only way I can use some of the gorgeous single skeins I've purchased over the years and I can't justify keeping them all as I don't wear them enough. My friend, Lori, wears her shawls all the time, but I am just too warm natured to get much use out of mine.

Lori, Kristin, Melissa, and I all took a mini-road trip today to Knitting Addiction, so we could visit with Jeanne, the owner, and treat ourselves to a knitting day. It was so much fun and so relaxing to sit in her lovely, comfortable store, knitting and chatting the day away. We ate a delicious lunch at Trio, the wine shop next door, then came back and knit some more. This is the same group of women I went to Rhinebeck with last year, as well as two knitting retreats, hosted by our guild, the past two years. We are all teachers who knit and we have a wonderful time together.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention my two day conference in Richmond, at the Library of Virginia. I went on Monday and Tuesday and learned a lot about the First Admendment. Although I'm an English teacher and the program was intended more for history teachers, I can definitely use what I learned in my classroom, as I like to use primary documents whenever I can. Plus I got a free night in a beautiful hotel suite! And the library was gorgeous too.

 

I also got to eat at one of my favorite Richmond restaurants, Kuba Kuba; dessert was this luscious Tres Leche cake. I shared it with my stepdaughter, Stephanie, and a friend of hers.

I came home to my sweet Gracie, who approved of my shawl as a pillow. Look at those ears!

Hope you are all well as the summer enters its last month. I will be watching the Olympics and working on my Olympic knitting project.

 

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