I have a reprieve on the little baby set. I thought the baby was due mid-June, but is actually not due until mid-July. So, I can procrastinate, and knowing me, I probably will! I get to the sewing up point and come to a screeching halt!!

However, I’ve been knitting furiously on other projects. That seems to be about all I want to do lately. I’ve found the news to be so depressing. One of my very good friends has a son in Bagdhad and is very worried about the reports coming from there. Sometimes it gets overwhelming for me and I cannot even imagine having a son in such harm’s way. Knitting seems to provide a sense of peace and calm in what can be an otherwise chaotic world. I am so thankful that my family has not been touched by terrorism or violence and can only ache for those who have been affected.

On to happier things – yesterday we drove up to Canada to the Highland Games in Coquitlam. It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time. Anyone driving a British car was allowed in free and could park on the field. The only downside was that, contrary to published reports, there were absolutely NO signs directing us on how to get into the park. We drove around the perimeter three times without luck. Finally, on the directions of a passerby, we drove down a very small road only to be thwarted again by a chain link fence. There, on the other side, were all the British cars lined up neatly. One of the people there directed us to the correct entrance and then said, “Did you know you were driving down a walking path?” Uh, oh. At least we were small enough to do so! And, here are pictures to show knitting was accomplished:

And a picture of this handsome guy:

It was almost 80 degrees, and you gotta think this guy was hot, but he took it all with great aplomb.

The sweater I was knitting on is for CIC. I have waffled a lot on what to do for charity knitting. I have finally settled on Children in Common because the need is great and one that I feel I can fill. However, I’ve found that I really don’t care that much for knitting worsted weight socks. So, I thought knitting little sweaters would fill the bill. Only, I couldn’t find a pattern that I could get excited about. Then, I got the bright idea of writing my own pattern for a seamless, plain stockinette sweater. The whole idea was that I could whip out little plain sweaters in no time flat. What a dreadful idea! I should have known that knitting little plain stockinette sweaters would be boring in the extreme. I got up to the armholes on one and thought I would die!

Then, I remembered a book sitting on my bookshelf – Beth Brown-Reinsel’s Knitting Ganseys. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Of all the sweater styles I have knit in my career, I love ganseys the best. There is enough going on to keep you interested, an infinite variety of patterns to plug in, armhole gussets that are just too cool, a fit that is comfortable and (best of all), once you’re done, you weave in a few ends and you’re done! NO SEWING!!! So, I cast on and I think we have a winner. Here is the first in a series, the Snakes and Ladders gansey from the book:

Next time, as promised, I will try to discuss the burning question of floats vs. weaves. I know you are waiting with baited breath. And those of you non-knitters in my family that read my blog might just want to take a snooze.