It’s a girl! Or at least that’s what the ultrasound seems to indicate. Of course, ultrasounds have been known to be wrong, so we’re being cautious. But for now we’re anticipating that our new grandchild will be little Ivy. My mind is now racing with all kinds of ideas for little matching dresses and girly-girl things (watch – they’ll both be tomboys and hate dresses!). When Ben and Abby got married on the London Eye, Ben promised me granddaughters if I would go on the Eye (I’m terrified of heights). So far, he’s coming through in grand style!

On the knitting front, I’ve finished the back and both fronts on Abby’s sweater and started a sleeve. If all goes well, I should be able to take the finished sweater with me when we go back in September.

I’ve also engaged in some stash enhancement:

The dark grey is Opal handpaint destined to be socks for yours truly. This stuff is luscious! I can see Marguerite’s preference for it. I got this with a gift certificate that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. The Crystal Palace Kid Merino was also bought with a gift certificate. For the past few years my parents have given me a gift certificate to the Kirkland Yarn Shop close to my sister’s house. Sadly, I just found out that they are closing. The owner is retiring. It was such a neat little shop – low on atmosphere, but always stocked with a great selection of yarns and patterns. The easter-eggy skein is Trekking sock yarn. I saw this on Sue’s blog and fell in love (go over to her blog and look at her very cute decorating with yarn idea – cute son, too! At least I think it’s her son – sorry Sue, I don’t know your age! Could it be a hubby?). Several nights later I was at knit group at our LYS and saw one of the members knitting socks with the very same yarn. I asked her where she got it and she pointed to the back of the store. So, needless to say, it came home with me. However, I am showing great restraint by concentrating on current projects before casting on with these!

Speaking of current projects, I think I’m ready to unveil my little bear project. Here is the center:

And the corner (a little fuzzy):

This cute little tablecloth will fit a child’s table or can be used as a table topper on a circular table with an underskirt. Here are the matching napkins:

I’m hoping to be able to sell a few here and there to help fund my yarn and thread habits! This set will be donated to the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra auction in June. Eventually I hope to have a website up and offer different styles, but this is it for now, although I have ideas for different styles of bears (a Panda and a darling bear couple with a Valentine theme). I’m only doing them as special orders now, so if anyone is interested, just drop me an email or a comment and I’ll get back to you.

The next few weeks hold some fun opportunities! Today I’m going to Friday Harbor with a friend. We drive to the next island over, walk on a ferry and take a sail through some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. We’ll get off at Friday Harbor, poke around the shops, have lunch and then come home. Sometimes I get a little frustrated living on an island and having to go so far for so many things, but this definitely makes up for it! Tonight my Round Robin group meets to finish the Mystery Quilt project. Tomorrow the Community Quilt branch of our quilting guild meets to work on charity quilts. Next week I only work three days and then hubby and I and another couple are driving over to Leavenworth, a little Bavarian village in the heart of the mountains of Eastern Washington. We have a condo reserved there for 5 days. The hubbies are only staying a couple of days and then coming home, but my friend and I are taking our sewing machines and supplies and having our own little sewing retreat! There is a dynamite quilt shop just steps from our condo. We have been planning this for months and we SO need this vacation. Once we leave Leavenworth, I don’t even get to come home. My friend and I will meet hubby on the way home and I will join him for a drive down to California, where on his birthday we will pick up his new toy. I’ll wait to surprise you, but I don’t think you’ll be surprised to find out it has four wheels and an engine.

So, I need to start planning what to pack – not only sewing projects, but knitting projects for the road trip. I have this paranoia bordering on the pathological of getting bored or running out of projects. I always overestimate the amound of knitting I’ll accomplish and take way too much yarn. But such is life. At this point I think I’ll take the sleeve to Abby’s sweater, a pair of socks (second sock of Austermann Step started months ago) and maybe yarn to start a new CIC sweater. Until then!