Is it a Mudpuddle?

or a wonderful place to play that didn't exist the day before?

Camping in Drumheller, July 24-26, 2009

Guess who came to visit.
The new sweater, knit in the 12 month size almost fits.

Once again, I have a guest blogger.

So this week my Mom asked me to write her blog. (Okay, so I nagged her.)

This past weekend was the Bonar Invitational Golf Weekend Or BIG Weekend for short, which means we drink alot of beer, eat alot of food, and play golf.

My Mom golfs once or twice a year. She rather be knitting , but she is a good sport, she plays and has fun with it.

So the hottest day of this summer (so far.) My Mom decided that this year she wanted to win the cup.

Her team won the cup... but she still rather be Knitting!

All I can say is Thank goodness for Best Ball tournaments. It's the only way my name was ever going to get on that trophy. AuntyTink

Cowboys and Horses aren't the only things you can find at the Stampede.


You can also find yarn.
Buffalo Gold. 40% Bison down, 20% cashmere, 20% silk 15% Tencel. Soft squishy yarn in laceweight. I think it's destined to be the Heartland shawl....the one with all the hoofprints on it....a perfect match.

Mom asked me to do a guest blog...sorry, this blog doesn’t include much about knitting, well maybe a little bit, sort of...I’m on the hunt for some cute crochet baby hats, you know those cute trendy ones – do any of you knitters know where I can find some in this city?? Also, the only knitting talk around the house these days is the lack of knitting that is getting done...I don't think Grandma is too unhappy about that!!

Hello from Oklahoma...we’re here, and funny enough, we heard those words during the first few minutes of the stampede parade from a cowboy on his horse! We enjoyed watching the floats and big horses go by, and Carson made Grandpa’s day when he was dancing to the bagpipes! Heather treated us to a Tim's coffee (which I've been dreaming about for 6 months), and tim bits ('cake') for Carson...leave it to Auntie to get him hopped up on sugar!!! We’ve also made it to a pancake breakfast where C charmed the line-ups with his dancing! Paige has been smiling so much, she must be a Canadian at heart! She is sleeping a lot, which I can’t complain about, and she rolled over for the first time just the other day! I think Carson reallllllly impressed his Uncle B when he sang that the "pirates on the bus go yar,yar,yar!". Both Grandparents have been playing hard, and due for some time to sleep!! So many things to do while we’re here, including a bus ride, the zoo, Riley park, Nose Hill...and of course relax and put our feet up!

Kari
PS. no time to edit video today, so hopefully I can add it tomorrow!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Tonight it rained again.

My Rainbow socks are finished.


They are the first socks from the Wizard of Oz Sock club.
They took longer to knit than I thought they would. Originally, I started with 2.5 needles. They were the perfect project to take to a guild meeting. I had the pattern memorized and I was past the heel so I could knit without worrying about making a mistake. I was confident that I wouldn't need to rip out the sock the morning after the meeting.
What I hadn't considered in all my careful plans was that everyone I was sitting with was going to tell me that the socks were knit too loosely and that I should rip them out. I had the whole leg done. I was past the heel. There was no reasoning with my fellow knitters. Good Grief, before I knew it, Lucy had pulled out the needles and I was ripping the whole sock back...back to the beginning.

I started again with 2mm needles.

I'm not feeling the love for these socks. I agree that they had to be knit at a smaller gauge, but I liked the pattern of the yarn more when it was knit on the 2.5 needles. They will wear longer than a minute and a half but the colours are all mixed up. The short row heel keeps the pattern of the yarn more consistent but I like the way a round heel fits. The toe is just plain weird but it fits with the rest of the sock.

If there's a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, I haven't found it yet.

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The 10 days just before the Stampede are some of the longest.

For those of us who enter our projects in the competition, the days drag on. We wait anxiously until Sneak-a-Peak so we can find out who won in the various categories. Will there be a red ribbon beside our stitching? A blue ribbon beside the socks we knit? We are the ones who are waiting at 6:00 for the doors to open, pacing, impatiently waiting.

The 10 days before Stampede are also very long days for the volunteers on the Creative Arts and Crafts Committee.

It starts the last Wednesday in June when people line up to enter their projects. Invariably there are mix ups with the computer registrations, projects that have been entered in incorrect categories, Artists who didn't read the books and who have to be told that their projects are ineligible for one reason or another.

The space is in such a disarray, it doesn't seem as though it will ever be ready in time.

Before 8:00 that night, all the entries will have been delivered to Hall D. Over the next two days, Judges will arrive, and every item will be examined.

The Volunteers continue. You might get a day off for Canada Day but the displays must be ready and there are no days off for Volunteers.

Finally, on July 2, at 6:00, the doors open.

We race, past the vegi-matics and the sham-wows.


There, in the middle, are my socks.


And there's my shawl.


The Committee works on. They are the people who are walking around the displays constantly cleaning the fingerprints off the glass. They are also the first one's to hear complaints about the displays or disagreements with Judging.

When you go down to check out the display, tip your hat to the ladies with the spray bottles. Once again, they have done an amazing job.

* Thank you SpinKnit for the pictures of the display. I haven't been down to the grounds yet. It's on the calendar for next Sunday!