S&MMM...

Have you ever worked on a project that seemed to laugh at you and your every attempt to finish it? You work diligently and yet you never seem to get closer to it's end. When you think you're almost there, you realize there's another chunk you have yet to even start chipping away at? Through all this work, though you may be tired, you find that you're not truly irritated by it, because even when you hate to admit it, you realize you're enjoying the item.

Well, S&MMM was that project for me. She's finally done after I sat up refusing to go to bed the other night until she was done. I finished the last chart and happily pulled out the pattern only to realize that I overlooked that she has a knit on edge. Arrrgggh! So, away I went at 11pm refusing to quit until I had cast off every singe one of those 220 some odd stitches. But when she was done, oh my was she pretty.

Now, let's hope her recipient thinks so too. The person she is going to looks wonderful in deep jewel blues and chocolate browns and I think this little shawl is the perfect thing to class up a pair of dressy jeans. No?

Oh, and here's a shot of the kids on the way home from South Dakota after we hit the Reptile Gardens in Rapid City.

They actually allow dogs on leash inside so I took the four of them in. We sat through a snake presentation and all our snake training paid off. There was no whining, barking or trying to get to the snake, and when they brought out the prairie rattler Tucker tried to crawl in our laps and Sullivan quaked like he was trying to poop out a peach pit. Good dogs, that's what I want when snakes are present. You don't mess with them and give them their room. Shiela of course is deaf as a door nail and didn't know there was a thing to be concerned about.

Last night I went to some friends house for dinner and picked the last of the apples I could reach in the tree to take with me. These are the few I have left. They are so wonderful and crisp. Next year if we're still around I'm going to see about some options to get more of them and make my own alcoholic cider. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Last night I blew my fingers out finishing up spinning up some silk that I plan on giving as a thank you gift. I never realized how hard that stuff is on the hands. I've sat and spun on other fibers for longer but never had I gotten blisters from it. I'm hoping it's dry enough to give to her tonight and I hope to get better pictures.

The second colorway batch I bought to ply with the blue wasn't near as good a quality of hankies and therefore I couldn't draft it out as finally so there on the left is the single ply blue still. I got about 170 yards of plyed and another 200 yards of the unplyed. Not much I can do about it and it's still wonderful. Now I can say I know how to spin silk.

Anyway, I have to get ready for work. Hope you all have a great weekend!