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Yesterday I took 19 people to our nearby amusement park for a year end party. What's not to like? We had fun in the sun, roller coasters, rides, water fun, food and games.
Too scary for me.
Making phone calls to other parents...
I managed to knit two more Boy Scout socks during the day, but other than that, it was just fun in the sun.
I think I have a new crush. You already know of my favorite BBC mini-series, Pride and Prejudice, but I've recently watched more and more BBC time period mini-series and have fallen in love with the characters, cinematography, and storytelling, time and time again. It wasn't until recently that I realized a common thread in all the series I have been enjoying. In fact, this past week, I watched Charles Dickens' Bleak House and saw that Andrew Davies received top billing.
After further investigation, I realized that my favorite mini-series of late have all been written for the screen by screenwriter Andrew Davies.
These are just a few. I think it's safe to say that Andrew Davies is the master of the time period production of English classics. He brings them to life in such amazing detail and makes them utterly believable. I'm not sure which series to watch next.
I managed to switch from my baby bootie obsession to a new itty bitty obsession.
I made four new Vintage Boy Scout sock ornaments for the campership fundraiser. We're in the homestretch before Jambo and I still need to raise $500. Each mini ornament sells for $10 each. Additionally, I'm sewing on patches (up to 15) on Scout uniforms for a $50 donation to the Troop Campership Fund.
Any help is greatly appreciated! It's going quite well.
Last night was our year end Court of Honor for the Boy Scout Troop. We generally have a pool party and dinner at someone's house. The past few years have been at my house. It was easy when our Troop only had a dozen Scouts. Now we've grown to more than 30 Scouts, so it was quite a house full of guests last night. After we gave out the awards and advancements, we gave our mentor a gift for serving our Troop and Boy Scouts faithfully for fifty years!
Then the Troop surprised me with some really amazing gifts including this wonderful handmade Boy Scout quilt.
Look at all this wonderful Boy Scout fabric (most is from Kaufman.com)
I love this vintage fabric.
Cyndy, Scout Mom and amazing quilter, embroidered the back panel with this:
For Jennifer Jackson
Scoutmaster Extraordinaire
BSA 1910-2010
It was a wonderful awards night for all. I don't think I ever remember anyone (other than my Grandmother) making me such a big work of art all by hand. I was so touched.
And because I know you'll ask: No... this quilt will NOT go on campouts.
This weekend was our year end campout at Block Island, Rhode Island. We pitched our tents, rented our bikes, toured, enjoyed the sunshine, beaches, views, ice cream, candy shop, entertainment, and local restaurants.
Atlantic Ocean and brilliant blue sky
The path from the North Lighthouse
The North Lighthouse
And when the boys were watching a movie, the adults had dinner at the Harborside Grill. Lobster anyone?
And yes, there was lots of knitting this weekend.
There's a new cute, adorable, vintage sewing shop in town and I'm head over heels in love.
Look at this whimsical bicycle adorned in vintage looking fabrics. Makes me want to hop on and ride!
It was Michelle's birthday, so we went out for breakfast first at Isabelle et Vincent in Fairfield, CT before visiting Make & Mingle. I had a $15 gift certificate, so I picked up some notions, needles and other sundries. Did I mention how cute everything is? Even their gift certificates are adorable.
I hope you can make it to Fairfield's cutest little fabric store (and so much more). Michelle and I are hoping to take either a sewing class or a quilting class this fall. Ooh la la.
I received numerous comments encouraging me to knit one more pair of Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties to make an even dozen. How could I resist? I picked up a solitary skein of unlabeled Lorna's Laces shephard sock from my stash (why did I have a single skein instead of two, I wonder) and cast on for the twelfth pair.
This last pair of booties was easy to knit as I watched the 2009 BBC production of Wuthering Heights
This version of the Emily Bronte classic is by far my favorite. Tom Hardy does wonders for the dark, brooding Heathcliff and Charlotte Riley gives Cathy a sympathetic portrayal despite the poor choices she makes along the way. This rendition makes me truly get a feel for the shocking state that the book's release caused upon its publication. While it didn't receive the critical acclaim at first, upon Emily Bronte's death, the discovery that this story about an unconventional married woman in Victorian England roaming the the moors at night for trysts with her lover was written by a vicar's daughter caused it to be reconsidered. Today it is revered as one of the classics of English literature. Not bad for a first book.
Check out this version of Wuthering Heights. Tell me what you think.
I cast on for some Madder Ribbed Socks last week. These are supposed to be my background knitting - for when I'm on the go. But other than baby booties, I haven't picked up any other projects all week, so I guess these are my go-to-knitting project of the moment.
I'm using one hank of Socrates Alpaca with a Twist - but I neglected to get out my scale and weigh it into two neat little balls, so I'm knitting from two connected balls of yarn which is creating a bit of a mess.
Unfortunately, this picture doesn't really show the subtle ribbing in this Madder Ribbed Sock. I like it. It's just enough of a pattern to give it some interest while keeping the sock simple. It's also a perfect pattern for a man's sock.
Here's the sock, inverted, so you can see the detail of the ribbing. It's subtle, but adds a nice touch to the sock when it's worn.
Yesterday a package arrived at our household that was wrapped in about 50 feet of bubble wrap. Secundogeniture quickly claimed it for his own use, but it wasn't long before both boys and Wilma were in on the bubble popping mania. It was loud. It was noisy. It was pandemonium. Those vuvuzelas have nothing on two boys, their dog, and 50 feet of bubble wrap.
Who would have guessed that Wilma would enjoy popping bubble wrap more than the boys?
Change is Good
