Rest Day

Since it was a rest day for the Tour de France, I decided to work on things other than spinning and knitting, kinda like when the bike riders go riding for fun on their day off.

Potato chip rings were the project of the day - these are going to Marie (blue sparkly one) and Rachel, including this hair clip for Addison. And this batch is going to some of my knit night friends - The part that takes the longest is not the ruffle on top, it's sewing the bands down on the underside. This band was not in the original pattern but one I came up with. I like it much better - it holds its shape without twisting and looks like a 'real' ring.

Not a bad lot for one day's work.

To Each Her Own

While I was busy spinning*, Leia was busy building a house for Princess Tiana. A productive day for everyone.

* 18 grams spun today, which puts me a quarter of the way done.

Touring the Progress

Tour de France KAL - 2nd back piece almost done. Hope to start the fronts tomorrow. Or I may try working this pattern in Tunisian, making a 2nd sweater at the same time as the knit one. Can you say "crazy pants"?

Tour de Fleece - 34 grams/1.2 oz (45.4 grams/1.6 oz total) of superwash BFL spun today. Hoping to get all 8+ ounces spun and plied by Tour's end.

Random Friday

• Hubby had a routine doctor's appointment today. The doctor was running an hour late - no surprise - so I got to spend more grandma time with two of my favorite girls. Leia loves Leanne but she's also just a little jealous. I am, after all, HER "gamma". Glad they're still small enough that I can fit them both on my lap.
  

• Marie wanted some lightweight cotton blankets for Leanne now that summer has hit with a vengeance. A quick trip to Joann's, a little pinning, a little sewing, and voila - colorful cotton blankies. The pink blanket has a turned hem; the red, a satin binding. I love the crayon motif in the red one; may have to go buy more to make a blanket for Bre.
  

• Good thing I love my cats. AJ's trip to the vet today set me back almost $300. Results from the blood work should be back tomorrow. We're hoping it's "only" thyroid disease, which is easily treated in cats.
  

• Tour de Fleece continues - I spun up 3 ounces of Lulu, the Lincoln-Corriedale that I thought would be my main Tour project*. I've decided to experiment with this to see what technique(s) gives me the most bounce and softness. This 60 yard batch was spun using a modified long draw, then 2 strands plied together. Tonight I'm planning to Navajo-ply what's left on the bobbin. Tomorrow I'll try another 3 ounces, spinning it worsted (my usual method) and plying it both ways. Hoping that will give me enough info to decide how I want to spin the rest of this.

* Waiting around to see the Lulu results is kinda boring, so I'm breaking out some Bee Mice Elf BFL from the stash. Yum!

My Little Helper

Leia decided she needed to help me spin.

Click to enlarge

Gotta start 'em young!

Daddy's Girl

Want to see how Naia and her dad spent Sunday night? All of Sunday night? Naia had an appointment to get her hair re-braided on Monday but first all the old braids had to be taken out. Slowly. Individually. By hand.

Before

And since Naia has a lot of hair, it took almost 5 hours for the job to be finished.

Was it worth the effort? Oh, yeah. I love how great she looks with her hair in long braids. And the best part to Naia (and dad) is that it won't need to be done again for several months.

After

Wash and wear hair - a great summer 'do.

Spinning For The Tour

Decided to call it good, skip the last 22 grams of the crap roving, and ply up what I had on the bobbins. And guess what? Love this yarn. 424 yards of Navajo 3-ply goodness that shades from deep purple through blue, into teal. Now I'm feeling guilty about not finishing off that last little bit of roving. Think I'll put this aside for now and use my newly freed bobbins to work on my originally planned Tour de Fleece project. But I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be back to finish this sooner than I thought. Can't you just see it as a shawl?

Tour de Fleece

Happy birthday, America! I spent the day comforting Leanne, who is not enjoying her first teething experience; spinning for my Tour de Fleece challenge;
and working on my Tour de France KAL* project. I need to finish spinning the 7.5 oz of Polworth so I can use the bobbin for my real Tour de Fleece project. I'm down to just a small bump, thank heavens. This stuff is poorly prepared and pulling out all the nepps and VM (vegetable matter) is slowing me down and making me crazy. Just.Want.It.Done.Already. Maybe by tomorrow night.

*KAL = Knit-along

Christening

It took me until 1:30 a.m., but Leanne's dress and booties were ready for her christening today. I'm really pleased with how both turned out, but especially the booties. Every girl needs a pair of MaryJane's, right?
The christening was scheduled - we thought - for 2 pm but wires got crossed somewhere. We were all there, including Scott's entire extended family, but no priest. Scott's sister finally tracked one down and the ceremony got under way only 45 minutes late. (The problem was either: a) the ceremony was on the schedule for 3, rather than 2, or b) it was calendared for July 17 rather than today.)

Leanne was a doll throughout the wait and the ceremony. She watched everyone with her big eyes, smiled during lengthy games of 'pass the baby', and took having cold water poured on her head with good grace.

This is the same pattern I used for Addison's christening in 2007. I changed out the booties and forgot about the bonnet altogether; Leanne hates hats. Wonder how long it will be before I make this for another grand baby.

Flower Princess

Matt took these while Leia, Naia and I were doing yard work this afternoon. I was cutting off dead flowers and laying them on the sidewalk. Leia's job - which she loved - was to pick them up and put them in a trash bag. Perfect division of labor. Which came to a screeching halt when she found this bloom among the fallen. It was love at first sniff.

Guppy Girl

No surprise that Leia was promoted to the next level - the Guppies - in her swim class. She loves the water and is totally fearless. We had to keep a sharp eye on her as she tended to go exploring into other class areas every chance she got. Leia and Callie were the only two in today's make-up class and they loved the almost one-on-one attention. Robert had them kicking, floating, fishing rings off the bottom of the pool, and jumping off the side. And the whole fearless thing? Callie has that nailed.