The Giving Flower

At our house hair has been growing like a weed,

but surprisingly enough germs haven’t been growing very well at all.

Don’t worry, these germs are behind bars plastic so there’s no need to be scared of them. (This is what I’ve been telling the kids and secretly chanting to myself-yuk)

We’ve been experimenting with how things grow in our house, and incredibly enough, the grass has won over the germs. We took samples from the toilet, our hands, the kitchen sink, our noses and the soles of our shoes. We’ll be redoing the germ experiment because the only one that grew was the sample from the bottom of our shoes. That’s the ugly one in the middle. Who would have thought? This is a great way to show the kids why I have such an aversion to wearing shoes in the house. Call me anal.

On the flip side, my crochet bolero hasn’t grown as much as I’ve wanted. Sabine and Angelika are both making great progress but mine hasn’t changed much. Blame it on this week being horribly busy with lots of after-school activities.

Here’s an action shot from today in the grass for my crochet partners, Sabine, Angelika and anyone else who may be following the race of the boleros.

I’m off to crochet.  Oh gosh, I never thought I’d be saying that but it sure is horribly addictive.  I just wish I knew what they meant by fast, I find crocheting to be rather slow.  Maybe I need some tips.

and I like it that way.
It’s another WIP Wednesday Tuesday with some proof that I’m never quite alone.
Here you see progress from my very first crochet project from my last post.

I find this sooo addictive and hard to put down once I start. More on that later.
Do you remember this sock I started on the plane to the States last summer?

Well, I’ve started working on her again but for some reason she’s really not that much fun to work on. The regia silk is fabulously soft but when I knit a few rounds I begin to yearn for other projects. We’ll see how far I get.

I have 500 grams of Lana Grossa Point that I bought last year at half price and I’m not quite sure what to do with. What’s a girl to do but knit a swatch and envision the possibilities.

Here are my Opal Hundertwasser socks in progress.

Wait, was that a picture without an miniature appendage?
Did you honestly think I could get one single picture without a little body part flashing by?

Nope.

I’m off to knit or crochet and watch Dangerous Housewives and Grey’s. I love Tuesday night TV.

Oh, the swim meet was great and we came in second with about 14 trophies and over 50 medals. More on that later with maybe even a picture or two. I’m still trying to recover from a 7-hour bus ride with 32 kids and getting in at 10 pm on Saturday night. My weekend was just too short!

Yes, you are seeing that correctly, it’s a crocheted swatch. My very first crocheted swatch done all on my own. Thanks to the amazingly talented and super helpful Gisela from my knit and bitch quatsch (can we call it that, girls?), I was able to crochet this swatch yesterday. Vielen Dank, Gisela!! Here’s another view of the full pattern.

Do you really think I need another addiction?? I guess so.
Sabine, did you get your yarn yet? Is your hook out because this baby is ready to fly.

If anyone else is interested in a crochet-along, Sabine and I are going to be tackling this pattern from Online.

It may take me months to finish but I’m so up for the challenge.

I’m off to a swim meet in Frankfurt with my kids from school, so I won’t be around until next week.  I just found out today that I have to be at school tomorrow at 5 am. Am I nuts?? Of course, for the 6 hour bus trip I’m taking my knitting.  Wish us luck!!

Here we have the latest new, soft and cozy addition to the family. Welcome home, Bonita! Or should I say Bienvenido!

Thanks to the incredible summer weather we’ve been experiencing, I’ve worn her out and about and I think she’s going to be seen quite a bit in the next few months. Here’s another picture of her where it doesn’t look like I’m holding my breath.

My photographer doesn’t take thousands of pictures like I do, so picking a good one was not easy.
How about some specs.
started: March 24, 2007
finished: April 10, 2007
pattern: Bonita from Interweave Knits Summer 2006
yarn: Patricia 100% cotton, 120m/50 gr.
inspiriation and fun knitting partner in crime: Angelika, thanks babe!

One of my favorite aspects of this sweater are the i-cord armholes and neck.

Bonita, I have a feeling we are going to be gooooood friends this summer.

Here is a picture little man brought home from school today. I hope this makes you smile like it made me smile. Notice the new flower coming out of the soil in the rain? We planted the balcony with lavender and seeds this past weekend, I guess that left an impression.