Doin' Some of This

In a few short hours we'll be off on our vacation. Hope to do A LOT of relaxing, visiting, reading, eating stuff we can't buy here...shopping...

I'm bringing Meital's cotton top to try and finish that up, plus I have what I think is probably enough leftover sock yarn (for making small socks) to last until we get back. I hoping to do some genealogy research, but most of all I want to relax. Just relax.

Even if I don't post regularly here, I will likely be tweeting on Twitter, and checking in on Facebook. I hope to see you at one of those places!

Endpaper Mitts?

Here is the start to my Endpaper Mitts. I love both of these yarns from the Periwinkle Sheep, but I have a feeling the variegated blue yarn isn't the right choice. Not enough contrast in some places. Sometimes when I look at it, it looks okay, but otherwise...meh.

I think their ought to be more contrast if I'm going to all the trouble of doing the colorwork. Do you agree?

By the way, are any other Blogger users having trouble positioning a second photo in their posts? I used to be able to upload more than one, then just click and "drag" it into position. Now when I try that, nothing happens.

Still, one picture is better than none. In fact, I've heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. Or is it ten thousand?

And speaking of words, I have joined the ranks of Those Who Tweet. You can find me here. I've even broken down and joined Ravelry, so if you're on there, you can find me there, too. No cute pseudonym, just my name.

If you'll excuse me, now I'm going to get back to banging my head against the genealogical brick wall that is my great great aunt Anna Blau of Paterson, New Jersey. She's hiding somewhere, and one of these days, I will find her!

Washcloths

Here are the two washcloths I made as part of a hostess gift. Yarn is Sugar 'n Cream, and the patterns are the Waffle Knit Dishcloth from Homespun Living (cream) and Baby Fern Stitch Dishcloth (pink). They made a nice change of pace from my usual Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth (the one knit on the diagonal) of which I have made many. These used up more than half of a 2.5 ounce (I used size 8 or 5mm needles) skein of cotton, but I was able to squeeze a Grandmother's Favorite out of the leftover cream colored yarn. Haven't tried with the pink yet, but since the pink cloth is a bit larger (though of course it is lacy which means it uses less yarn) I don't know if that will work. Or, I suppose I could knit to, say, 42 stitches instead of 44, before starting the decreases.

Meanwhile, I have been making some cards and am pretty pleased with them. They are a gift for someone, so more to the point - I hope she will like them! I am also trying to come up with a clever idea for a bookmark swap over on Club Posh. I'm having second thoughts about my first idea for that.

I hope everyone had a lovely Fourth of July. Ours was very un-Fourth like. Often we spend the Fourth in the U.S., which of course is way more fun than trying to celebrate it here (which we sometimes do. Just didn't work out for this year). Two years ago, the girls and I went to a parade with my father, where Uncle Sam was walking around randomly asking kids if they knew which birthday he was celebrating. Liat was the first person he asked who knew the right answer!

Happy Fourth!

Things have been hectic here at Bag of Chocolates. I have finished objects to share, but haven't photographed them yet. Instead, I share the lovely wonderfulness that is two skeins from the Periwinkle Sheep (Google that, you won't be sorry!) These have already been wound into balls (the old fashioned way) and are seeing how they like the idea of becoming a pair of Endpaper Mitts. I'm halfway through the first repeat of the colorwork pattern and can't quite tell yet if this is going to work or not. Stay tuned.

Other than that, I finished up some washcloths which I hope to photograph and share soon. I am also doing a little card-making, and am nearly finished with the 5th grade layouts for Meital's scrapbook. I was hoping to finish 6th grade before we leave on our vacation (in ten short days) but I have decided not to sweat that too much. There are too many other things that need to get done!

I am hoping to be at least somewhat organized, genealogically speaking, before we head to the States. I am planning to do some research while we're there, and I want to be sure I have all of my notes (and my questions!) lined up. I need to stop for a minute and remember that I want to have fun, too! I am sure I will. With luck, I will get a chance to meet up with some friends on this trip, and that will be wonderful.

Congratulations, Meital!

Last night was Meital's graduation party/show. They do things somewhat backwards here, with the celebration happening before the actual end of the year. The kids got today, the day after the party, off, but there are three more days of school left next week.

Meital performed in three dances, and my completely fair, balanced and unbiased opinion is that she was wonderful! Some of her friends have been taking dancing lessons after school for years, and perhaps did even better, but for a girl who learned on the job she was marvelous.

Not only was this party the culmination of six years for Meital at this school, but eleven years that Avi and I have been parents at this school. More than that, Avi finished up seven years as president of the Parent's Association. He made a speech, as he always does at these events, but this time (as with Liat's graduation five years ago) it was personal.

Liat and I helped him write out his speech, and as usual Liat typed it up for him. Unbeknownst to me, Avi added a few handwritten lines right before we left the house for the party. After saying everything he wanted to say, and thanking those who helped him in his work as PTA president, he thanked me for supporting him all these years! I was completely surprised and of course almost cried. It was a moment, to be sure.

But more than anything, Meital's happiness and satisfaction at a job well done made the evening one we will always remember.

I Can't Count

As you can see, the problem with my browser seems to be fixed, thank goodness! I finished these Sockotta yarn socks for Liat a while ago, but couldn't show you the photo until now. This is actually the third pair of socks I've made in 2009; I forgot about the pair of toddler-sized socks I made early in the year. Now I'm working on a baby sock using leftover Lorna's Laces. Looks like it will be baby and toddler socks for the duration at this point, until the weather cools down again.

I still haven't finished the sleeve-less cotton top for Meital, but I have worked on it. And I finished one washcloth and started another; I need to make four to give as part of two hostess gifts I am putting together.

We've been busy with translation work, and I finally cleared out the carpet in the last room to still have any. I've made some progress in Meital's scrapbook, but hope to get more done. I've also been writing a family history narrative that I hope to finish in time to give to my father when I see him next month.

And that's mostly it from here. Tonight is Meital's graduation from sixth grade party and show. She will be performing in three dances, so it should be fun!

Photo Op-less

I have just discovered that the annoying problem I've been having lately with my browser has made it impossible for me to upload photos to the blog. Probably to anywhere on the Internet. Since I have no idea what is causing the problem (the one thing I thought to try didn't help) I am not sure how I can fix this. I need to talk to our friendly computer guy and see if he can talk me through a fix.

Meanwhile, I finished a pair of socks for Liat, and realized I may not have shown you a pair of toddler socks I actually finished earlier this year and then forgot about. I hope I will be able to show you photos soon.

Other than that, I am nearly done with a cotton washcloth and have made a tiny bit of progress on Meital's sleeveless cotton top. And I started a baby sock with some leftover yarn. I've also been doing some scrapbooking, and some translation work.

Liat has finished classes for the year, though she still has several matriculation exams to get through. She had her first call up last Thursday, where the army's doctors examined her and she took a "psychotechnical" test, whatever that is. Eventually they will contact her again, probably to interview her and start the process of figuring out what they're going to do with her for two years.

Meital's graduation party (from 6th grade) is next week, and she finishes school on the 30th. Most of her school hours are spent in rehearsals for the big party/show (she's in the dance troupe). She had a great group of girls over for a swim yesterday, and has invited them to come again next Friday.

That's the news from here!