...52 weeks of happy (13/52)...

1.  new counter top and back splash in the kitchen.
2.  my favorite soccer player.
3.  new baby sweater design coming soon.
4.  new shawl design in process...
5.  Coming Home!

A week full of remodeling and knitting.  How was your week?

...Mother's Day, part III...

My Mother's Day weekend was really full.   On Sunday I went hiking with our daughter Kate.  We headed out to Multnomah Falls and hiked the trail to the top and back down.

 It's only a little over a mile to the top of the falls but I'm here to tell you it's a long way up.  There are 11 switchbacks to get to the top and with each one the trail gets more steep.  

 It was a cloudy, drizzly day but the view from the stop was beautiful.  

 It's been more than 30 years since I've hiked this trail and believe me when I tell you I won't be waiting 30 more years before I do it again.  What did you do this weekend?

...Mother's Day, part II...

When our girls were growing up we spent a lot of time at various activities.  Between the two of them they danced, tumbled, cheered, golfed, ran, dribbled, shot, spiked and probably a few more things that I am having a hard time recalling.  Well, this weekend I got a glimpse at what Erin and Kris' lives are going to be like for the next 18 years.  

Yes, it was Paytan's first soccer experience and it was absolutely fun!

There is nothing quite like watching a bunch of 2-3 year old kids run around after a soccer ball to make you laugh.  Not that we laughed at them.  This was pretty serious stuff.  All I can say to Erin and Kris is this:  hang on for the ride of your life...

If you missed the post yesterday, I just released Coming Home in honor of Mother's Day.  Go have a look!  It's pretty special!

Elliet and Coming Home...

...Mother's Day...

I am very lucky to be the mother to 2 great daughters.  I am even luckier to be the grandmother to 2 beautiful granddaughters.  When our second granddaughter was on the way I set to designing a baby blanket for her.  Because she was due in July I knew that the blanket needed to be light and lacy.  I started the design process and was busily knitting on it  while we were on our Italy trip in early June.  Image our surprise when Elliet Harper Cook arrived the day after we left for Europe.  

While I had planned to have the blanket

done for her so she could come home from the hospital in it, this just wasn't her plan.  She was on her own time schedule and has been ever since.  

I continued to knit on the blanket while we were traveling around Italy, getting daily updates on the new little girl we would meet when we got back.  There were many photos, videos and skype conversations with our daughter and son-in-law while we were away, but nothing could compare to them meeting us at the airport when we got off the plane.  And so, the blanket is named Coming Home, not so much for the reason I had originally intended but because it was the our coming home that finally got us our introduction to her!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

~ Coming Home ~

Yarn:

600 yards Sport/DK yarn

Suggested yarns:

Valley Yarn Colrain 

(color way:  natural)

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu

(colorway:  china rose)

Knitted Wit Superwash Merino DK

(colorway:  canopy)

Supplies:

US 8/5mm 24" circular needle

or sized to obtain gauge

cable needle

markers

yarn needle

Gauge (after blocking):

3.75 stitches/inch on US 8/5mm needle over stockinette stitch

Finished Measurements:

Length: 34 inches

Width:  34 inches

~ enjoy! ~

...up next...

I have a little surprise coming out on Mother's Day.  Stay tuned!

...pioneer...

I've just spent the past two days at A Verb For Keeping Warm in Oakland, California where the owner, Kristine, has launched her new yarn. Pioneer is a beautiful, soft 100% organic merino that you can read all about here.

natural colors

some of the beautiful, naturally dyed colors from Kristine

This project is really as wonderful as the finished yarn is. I was lucky enough to meet and visit with the farmer, Sally Fox. She is delightful and has so much knowledge to share.

I'm so proud of Kristine for doing this. And it seems to me that Kristine and Sally are a true match made in heaven.
            
I did buy a few skeins of Pioneer.   They were just too beautiful to resist.