trish ca-lives.

I totally finished the shawl in time for the wedding. In fact, I finished it long before the wedding, wore it a lot, and then had to block it again so it looked nice and fresh for the event! That was exciting.

So, let's see. I finished the shawl, I finished a Baby Surprise Jacket for a co-worker, I've made several dishcloths (although I haven't woven in any of the ends yet - that's not my job!), I've started reading with a vengeance, and it's park season. That's my favorite part - I love sitting in a park, reading or knitting, while watching small children shriek and play. Or watching large children shriek while throwing a Frisbee.

I joined a group on Ravelry intent on reading 52 books in 52 weeks. Only a little ambitious. I decided that I'm going to try a series approach. I started with a series that I partially read as a child - The Ship Who series by Anne McCaffery and various other authors. I'm zipping through them, with only a few pages left in the last book to go. I'll have 5 books with the first two weeks, so that's a nice head start. (A head start I'm sure I'll need later on!) I've got the Pern series lined up next. I never read any of the pern books, although I surely should have. I read an excerpt once, and I think I remember enjoying it. We'll see - the first four books are ready to start this weekend.

I start another shawl - without a deadline this time. It's Laminaria (Ravel link), and so far it's entirely beautiful. I'm using Misti International Handpaint Lace, 100% Baby Alpaca. It's to die for. The ball is so squishy and soft and I love it, but the part of the shawl that's worked up already is even nicer to cuddle with.

We're going to try going camping this weekend, so we're headed to Dad's house this evening to grab Little Brother's tent and camp stove. I'm excited. We're not going far away, but there will be water to swim in, a fire to sit by, and stars to sleep under. I haven't been camping in a while - I tried it a few years ago, but the weekend we went was cold and rainy and it was miserable. This weekend is supposed to be damn perfect, so it should be a much nicer experience.