what I did on my summer vacation

Well, I'm back. And to be honest, I'm not really happy about it. I'd much rather still be at the cottage, sleeping much later than I am, slopping Kahlua into my morning coffee, and generally enjoying the day with my family. This sitting in an office stuff is seriously lame. But I'm only here for this week, then I have another week off (one of those "take it now, or lose it" weeks). Since Hubby is not off, Son and I are going to do the "tourist in Toronto" thing for a few days - The ROM and the CN Tower on one day, and we'll even take the subway as my son really wants to ride a train. (One thing about living in the suburbs - you take your car everywhere). Then there's some minigolf/batting cage stuff to do, and some back to school shopping - and maybe some yarn shopping for me, you never know... Actually, depending on the weather, we may just head up to the cottage later in the week to extend the Labour Day weekend a little.
As far as vacation knitting - I got a fair bit done. Mostly small stuff that would fit in my lap easily and not overheat me, and was easy to cart down to the beach and up to the deck. Also, simple stuff I could drop a moment's notice if someone wanted a game of horseshoes, or a swim, or a boat cruise or a fly... yes, a fly. Our neighbour has a float plane, so we took Son up for a ride - great fun! It's fascinating to see the landscape from that perspective.
Right, back to knitting -


Rainbow striped socks, yarn from my LYS. I have to say, this colourway does NOTHING for me. I think its the expanses of cream between the colours that turns me off. Whatever - these are for a SIL who will love them, so that makes it alright. I'm about an inch away from the heel on the first sock.



Green regia striped socks - yarn from Elann. These I like alot. The colours are strong on their own, but together they are nicely muted, and these will be a perfect Christmas gift for a dear friend who was the best man at our wedding. One sock done, toe of the second done.



Chenille scarf in a feather and fan pattern. I dyed this rayon chenille myself, using RIT dye - I used a grey and brown, and dipped the chenille in for a very short period of time to keep the colours light. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's a rayon chenille, so the sheen of the rayon comes through and gives the colours a pewter and bronze sheen. Originally, I though of making a rectangular shawl of this, but after starting and ripping and starting and ripping and starting and ripping yet again, I determined that there wouldn't be enough for a shawl, so scarves it is. I have two people in mind for this - a SIL and a dear friend. I'm pretty sure there is enough for two scarves of a decent length.



Icarus returns! I've got 4 repeats done of the ladder like lace pattern. THe pattern calls for 5 repeats before starting the bottom feathery charts, but I may do 6 or even 7 repeats. I certainly have enough of the alpaca, and I like a shawl to have some size to it. Once I get through 5 repeats, I'll stretch it out and decide then.



A log cabin test square. Originally, my thought was to use up all the odd balls of Briggs and Little 2 ply I had lying around (there's alot of it!), and make a blanket of many colours. But after doing this test square, I think I will make the squares out of fewer colours that are more complimentary. I have 4 different shades of green, some reds and blacks, some blues and greys, so I should be able to grab a few colours to make the squares. The entire blanket in multi-colours doesn't do it for me. I am lovin' the whole log cabin pattern though! Thanks Kay and Ann!
There are also two other socks - a red/brown striped one for my nephew for Christmas, and a cotton/elastic one (plain colours this time) that I think I will give my son's daycare provider for Christmas. I just forgot to take pictures of them. Both of them are around the heel of the first sock.
So, a productive week, I think! As much as I love lazy holidays, I do seem to have a need to use my time well. And I consider knitting to be time well spent. I knit while sitting on the beach, while lazing on the deck, having a drink with friends, while watching TV or movies at night.
Now, off to get caught up on other people's blogs! (Oh, and maybe a little work thrown in so I can continue to buy yarn...)