One busy summer

Let's see.....it's been a crazy past two weeks or so for me. Scooter and I have been shopping for the tile we want in our sunroom and have still come up empty-handed on that one. It will happen though. It has to. He already started ripping up the linoleum that the previous owners had put in, and has painted along the edges of the walls with Kilz. That side of the house (west) stays a bit damp and we want to prevent any moisture from seeping through and causing mold. He also sealed up the seams and any cracks along the outside of the room, so we're good to go as soon as we find what we want. I have a feeling we're going to end up back at the flooring store that we bought our hardwood floors from. Meantime, I have a certain look I'm going for in the guest bedroom, and Scooter is bringing it to fruition. It's going to be very shabby chic, or at least crisp and light. Rather than a headboard above the bed, I want a fireplace mantel, which Scooter has done an excellent job of building. I'm so excited! I found a picture of one in a magazine used as a headboard, and next thing I know, he's walking through the door with all the materials from the hardware store. It's very close to being done. I wanted it white, so it has all the primer coats on it, and as soon as we get a chance, it will get its final coats of paint and I can show you pics. I would show you now, but it's in the garage and the lighting wouldn't do it justice.

The day before yesterday, I got the idea I wanted my front bathroom to have a makeover as well. The oak vanity is about six feet long. I wouldn't mind a smaller one, but if I do that, I lose a lot of storage space. I decided to sand it down and paint it white as well. I'm on a white look roll apparently. I figured the worst that could happen is I won't like it, and I'll just go buy one that I do like. Our house has never had anything like this done. When we bought it, it was only ten years old, and was inhabited by an elderly single lady, that was pretty much alone most of the time. Now, it has a family that is in and out all the time, and the wear and tear is beginning to show in the small places. I want to take care of that, plus, I just like change in decorating. We've been in our house nearly five years and I'm ready for the change. Watch out kitchen cabinets!

Ready for some yarny goodness? As most of you know, my daughter and her fiance have opened up their own yarn shop. We're still pinching ourselves! I hung out there for her grand opening last weekend, which she had coincide with World Wide Knit in Public Day. What a wonderful way to spend the day!! I just love the "knitting parlor"...lots of light, comfy seating and decorated so nicely with chandeliers and a bistro area. in my opinion, people in Butte County (California) are so lucky to have Aimee's Yarn Cafe in their backyard!! Aimee brings over ten years of knitting experience and knowledge, and she has even taught her fiance, Mike, to knit. For now, he's mostly the business side of things. They had a successful turnout for the day and I also had a great time teaching my niece (we'll see where that goes), who came for the opening to knit! If you happen to be in northern California, make sure you put this LYS on your list of places to visit. You won't be disappointed!! I just wish I had gotten pictures to show you, but I was too excited to even think about it. My granddaughter did take pictures though and maybe in a future post, she will let me share them with you.
I think I've mentioned before that my yarn stash has gotten crazy out of control, and if I haven't, I'll say it again. It's bordering on ridiculous now. That's not counting all of the fiber I've begun to collect for spinning my own yarn. Before I get ahead of myself though, I want to point out that I was simply being a good mom and doing my part to insure a successful start for my daughter. Here's what I snagged off her shelves. Aya, by Noro, four skeins of it. It was all I could do to exercise some self control and I think I did very well at it. This yarn is a must see and touch!! I haven't felt Noro this soft before. It's 50% cotton, 35% silk, and 15% wool. I love that composition! It's a worsted weight, and at first, I was thinking a lovely scarf that would feel very nice next to my skin. Then I realized at 147 yards in each skein, that's 588 yards total. Even though the Multnomah calls for a fingering weight, I may try it with this yarn and see what comes of it. I love the colors and am anxious to see how the skeins unwind themselves into the project.

The Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi (above) that I'm knitting for one of my granddaughters is coming along nicely. I'm very pleased with how it's looking, especially in the Cascade Pacific, another new yarn to me. While I'm not a big fan of acrylic, it sometimes has its place, like in children's wear. This yarn is 40% superwash merino, and 60% acrylic. To me, it seems rather splitty, but it is very soft and has a nice drape to it. I have finished the body and have picked up for one sleeve, which I hope to have completed sometime today, so I can start on the other one. That leaves just the button bands and shopping for buttons, once those sleeves are done. It looks like the sizing is going to be spot on, and in fact, I'm hoping it might run a little big. Our weather here in northern California has decided it's going to be summer now, so with temps in the 90's, I doubt there will be much need for a cardigan. One never knows though and there are times when it can turn a little cool-ish in the evenings. Hopefully, it will still fit my granddaughter, Kayahna (pronounced Kay-ah-na) when fall rolls around. If not, we will do it all over again. I love the way she puts in her requests. She's ten years old and she tells me, "Nana, I would love it if you would knit me another sweater!" Cute, huh? I took that as flattery, which will get her everywhere with this grandma!!!

The day is getting away from me, but I wanted to share one last picture with you. Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying spinning? I haven't had a whole lot of time for it lately, but last week, my friend Toni, aka coolpinkone, and I brought our Ladybugs to knit night. What a blast! We certainly garnered a lot of curious onlookers, and had so much fun spinning together. I'm trying to get a merino tencel blend spun up and am hoping for a fingering weight. I just love the colors, and it's only an 8 ounce braid, so we'll see how much yardage I can get from it! I need to get some bobbins freed up before Tour 'd Fleece begins. I've signed up for it and like I said, I've been stashing the fiber for it. I refuse to order more bobbins. Where do people find the time to do it all??? If you are one of them, I'm in complete awe of you!