Mommy-Gam has been on a cross-stitching binge. First she made a sweet little pink and green piece with Lydia's name and birthdate on it. Then she did a sampler to commemorate my 2002 wedding, and now she wants to do a similar one for my cousin in honor of his 2003 wedding. (Some more cousins better hurry up and get married to keep her busy!) She asked me to meet her at The Strawberry Sampler to help choose her next project. I knew it would be dangerous to say yes, but I went ahead and accepted the invitation.

Just as I feared, I saw a lot of tempting projects like this and this and a more contemporary one I am going crazy trying to locate online...*

Well in all my eager naivete, I am itching to design my own sampler. For that part I think I need just graph paper and a sharp pencil. But I'm pretty sure that when it comes to selecting colors, linens, and knowing how many strands of floss to use, I will be out of my depth. I'm not worried though, because past experience tells me I may never get that far. Lucky for me, the fun is in the planning.

*Found it at Wyndham Needleworks! Thanks for the link, Nicole!

Now we have a day or two of rest before we hit the road for Memorial Day weekend. We're headed to Maine for a Baldwin baby fest. John's cousin is bringing her 6-month-old from San Francisco and we're bringing Lydia, and it's going to be banjo-pickin', black-fly-slappin', baby-worshippin' family fun. (Really!) Meanwhile, John's dad is off to Seattle to await his second grandbaby in almost as many months. So if things are quiet on the blog for a few days, you'll know why. But just wait 'til we get back!

Tiffany's selection

Kate's selection

I finally found a string of jobs in the arts, which kept me employed right up until John and I decided to have a baby. I can't say I miss working, or even that I minded quitting my job. In fact, I was so ready I quit months before Lydia arrived! (Good thing too, that reserve of me-time is going to have to carry me through the next 3-5 years, I think.) Now I know how challenging this housewife stuff is and I've got a whole new respect for 50s TV moms! This is on my mind as I look forward to the weekend. I want to relax and spend time in the same room as John since during the week we often are reduced to shouting at each other from room to room while one of us holds the baby and the other races around trying to accomplish a day's worth of laundry or dirty dishes or window screen installation or cat litter cleaning or....

It really helps my feeling of accomplishment that I've lowered my expectations about the amount of work I can finish in a day. Now pulling 5 weeds in the garden counts as gardening and rinsing and stacking the dishes counts as cleaning the kitchen. Bathing the baby and myself counts for taking the rest of the day off! Cooking is non-negotiable, though. Lydia seems to be sensitive to a number of things I eat (used to eat) regularly: dairy, eggs, tomatoes (probably citrus and strawberries) and nuts. So we are eating at home a lot, and I have a lot to learn about cooking. The good part is that food I don't normally care for becomes a lot more appealing if I've cooked it myself. So tonight, we are having beets with dill vinegar dressing, sauteed beet greens and NY strip steak-- surprise, honey! The food combinations are kind of odd as I experiment with new things, but at least it's summertime and fresh foods are all over the stores to inspire me.

It's a whole new adventure, and I am certainly not feeling overqualified.

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In knitting news, I am still struggling with that lace scarf. I may have to accept that my brain is just not up to it right now. I went back to the croc socks which are blissfully mindless rounds upon rounds of stockinette. It's just knit knit knit and try to stop before it's longer than my foot. With 420 seconds of knitting time per day, that should be no problem. Have a good weekend everyone!

We are hoping to meet again-- if any Chester County area (or Delaware or Montgomery County or wherever seems not too far by car) knitters are interested, let me know and I'll keep you in the loop!

Things are moving slowly here. I ripped out my azalea scarf because John jinxed me. About 5 perfect repeats into the lace pattern, he asked innocently, "How do you keep track of what row you're on?" I hadn't been using a row counter, I'd just been keeping it in my head. Suddenly, I was incapable of knitting 2 rows without a problem. The problems were so persistent (like, 3 hours to make 5 rows of progress, and then STILL having a mistake), I felt the scarf and I would both be better off starting over.

I hope it won't take long! It's been said before, but I can't help saying it again... So many projects, so little time. I'm itching to start the pirate sweater, and I'm warming up to seaming the baby aran. And then, I've got to learn how to use Movable Type! If my mom can do it, so can I.

At least John posted Lydia's photos finally! Avid Lydia fans, you know where to go.

I decided to make a scarf from my azalea-colored MDSW yarn. I pored over my stitch dictionaries and came up with this lacy basketweave, which is knitting up quickly. After two repeats, I realized I should have included some edging to prevent the curl-- now I'm hoping blocking will do the trick. I'm also slowly working on my croc socks, and beginning to think about seaming the baby Aran. When I get all these done (next September??) I hope to start Lydia's pirate sweater. Won't she look cute toddling around Newfoundland wearing this next summer?

*Hang in there grandparents! The month 3 photos are languishing in the camera, but John promised to post them in the next 24 hours...Hope the above will tide you over!

Depending on how you keep score, I did really well... or really poorly. The center photo shows my purchases:

• Eucalan - trial size
• Crystal Palace 6-in bamboo dpns, size 0
• One skein of azalea-colored yarn for playin'
• Two patio tomatoes and four basil seedlings
• One bag of Moth Beware! from gotsoap.com

Not shown: one indoor broom, one outdoor broom, two festival shirts.

Don't let the size of my haul mislead you about the size of my enjoyment! We left bright and early and made it to the fairgrounds in time for Lydia's mid-morning snack. After feeding the baby and popping her in the Bjorn, we were walking in the gate at 10 am. Not bad for traveling with a 10-week-old baby with no visible interest in sheep. John gave me a great early Mother's Day by wandering around with Lydia while I hustled all over the fair-- alone! I visited my favorite booth: Greenwood Hill Farm, where last year I bought 8-9 skeins of white merino wool for Fife (from Rowan, A Season's Tale, as yet untouched). This year Greenwood Hill Farm had a gorgeous pattern for a 3/4 sleeve lacy-vee cardigan which I hope to use instead of Fife. Dare I hope it will get made before MDSW 2005? I'm not holding my breath.

MDSW is like Christmas-- 364 days of anticipation, 4 hours of sensual overload. Now, in the aftermath, I am savoring the sights in my mind's eye, and looking forward to next year. Maybe I'll become a spinner between now and then and start buying pounds of gorgeous roving.

By the way, I have an extra 2004 T-shirt(size L) in bright turquoise to trade-- anyone interested?

John was inspired to make a bingo game based on the festivities. Go play Maryland Sheep and Wool Knit Blog Bingo!

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