Clematis, On and Off the Vine

Been spending my knitting time working on lace projects--participating in the Seasons of Lace and using the great wine collection of lace yarn I bought from KnitPicks. First finished project was what I call the Clematis scarf, since it reminds me of the clematis I planted in my back yard that winds up and around and through the tree (sometime of ornamental spring blooming tree) in my back yard. The yarn is my favorite alpaca--well, 80 % baby alpaca and 20% silk. It's soft to die for!

I completed two more lace scarves and I have one Monkey Sock completed. I still intend to get back to my Candle Flame Shawl, a pattern and yarn I bought two summers ago and never got past the first five or six rows!

It's a wonderful time of year--long days, bright skies. I enjoy working in my yard. Two years ago, I had all the grass dug up and I've been working at filling it with flowers. A mixture of perennials and annuals, lots of Butterfly Bush and other butterfly/hummingbird-attracting flowers, a Smoke Bush, and of course, to add smiles, some sunflowers.

The smaller side front yard is filled with miniature roses. All summer long, I take small vases of these roses in to work to share with my coworkers and friends. My favorite miniature, for both its color and fragrance, is called Vista. It's a shade of lilac. (Can you tell I like purple in all its varieties??)

I buy the roses on-line from Nor-east Roses, which is now in California. But my brother worked with the original owner (now dead) outside of Boston and has wonderful stories about how he developed roses and insisted on perfection.

Besides working full-time, gardening and knitting, I keep myself off the streets! Not that the streets in Moscow, Idaho, are that dangerous anyway!! It's hard to believe that August is just a few steps away!l I better get away from the computer and spend more time outside!!

Cast on Lace! Cast off for San Jose!

So, it will be a summer/season of lace! Just had to buy the Wine Tasting Lace Sampler from KnitPicks--what's not to love--wine-colored lace yarn, lots of alpaca and merino! And I cast on Misty Garden from Scarf Style to carry with me on the plane to San Jose.

Sad to say, it's a working trip and not a vacation. But thanks to the wonderful people on Ravelry, I know where the best and closest LYS (local yarn store) will be to San Jose State, where I'll be meeting with folks from all over the country involved in transportation research and education. Since I'm a facilitator at a couple of sessions, I won't have my yarn and needles in my hand except on the plane.

I also discovered Ravelry on that at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, there's an exhibit called Beyond Knitting: Uncharted Stitches! Since I'm a quilter, too, that will be a must stop during my few free hours!

Had to spend this weekend cleaning--I'm obsessive about trying to take care of messes that should have heen taken care of weeks ago when I'm going to go on a trip. The only thing that made this weekend fun was the chance to visit a new cria (baby alpaca) only hours old, at my brother's farm Big Meadow Creek Alpacas. Alpaca mothers are very protective of their young, and Derica was no exception. As I was carrying the new baby to get weighed (a nice, healthy 17-pounds), Derica walked along beside, talking the entire time to the cria--and to me--not sure of what was going on. After the cria was weighed, I just put him down and the two of them went back up to the pasture. It's so much fun watching the new babies walk--every step or two they sort of stumble a little as they

But, I better go pack clothes to go along with my knitting for the trip!