Last weekend I went cabin camping with three of my homeschool mom friends. It was amazing. We hiked. We ate. We drank. I knit. I read. Eventually I just sat. I don’t remember the last time I sat and listened to the world around me.
I needed some time to recharge and relax. We are already planning our next cabin camping trip.
I read five books last month. They were fine.
Reclaiming Body Trust by Hilary Kinavey. Don’t read this. Read Intuitive Eating instead. I give this book two out of five stars.
Lessons at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan. Boarding school series by the queen of “woman moves to a new place to find herself….and love” genre. I give this book two out of five stars.
My Favorite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren. The popcorn book I needed. Same plot as all Christina Lauren books, but slightly better written. I give this book three out of five stars.
The Danish Way of Parenting by Jessica Alexander and Iben Sandahl. This is a book that would have been much better in the Readers Digest format. I give this book two out of five stars.
The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids by Helen Olsson. I’m heading into tent camping season and I need to know more about it before we spend as much time as possible in a tent this summer. This book has great tips, but she shit talks wools socks, so I’m not giving her five stars. I give this book four out of five stars.
I hope I find books that I love in May. April was kind of a dud reading month for me.
My mom recently told me how much she enjoys hand knit socks. Mother’s Day is coming up. I did what needed to be done.
I made her a pair of socks out of Kroy. I think she will love them. Now to get them in the mail before the holiday. I still have to mail my niece’s cowl, so it may not happen.
We stay pretty busy, so I thought I would start recapping each month. It will be e a quick way for me to look at what we’ve done. When I look at this list I understand why I’m tired every night.
April 1 The kids had a party at a trampoline park.
April 2 – We went to the Lion King with John’s parents and sister’s family.
April 3 We visited an arboretum and played outside with friends
April 4-6 We went to Cedar Falls to visit my parents.
April 7-9 We headed to Kansas City to visit my brother, visit Legoland, and see Kirsten.
April 11 I dyed yarn with egg dye.
April 12 The kids tried fishing, which turned into our first beach day of the year
April 13 Elliot got his hair cut.
April 14 Elliot turned seven! We went to a local resort to play in the pools.
April 16 The kids went to a party at Pump It Up.
April 17 We celebrated Bat Appreciation Day with our coop.
April 19 We hiked and saw the second snake of the year. I went for years without seeing snakes, but now I’m actually out in nature enough to see them.
April 21 We had a coop class outside. It was cold enough for winter coats, but Elliot played barefoot in the sand.
April 22 We had a family birthday party for Elliot. It was a full house. I made a gallon of grasshoppers mid party. They were gone within an hour.
April 23-25 We cabin camped. Elliot skinned his face. We saw the northern lights. Elliot got to use his croc lights.
April 27 We had a homeschool party. Audrey loved it. Elliot and I had the opposite reaction.
April 28 Girl Scout Day at the Capitol
April 29 My spinning guild had a fiber festival, so I supported them
April 30 The kids had a pool party
Today Audrey and I were able to experience Girl Scout Day at the capitol. It was really cool.
We met the governor as she was walking to her office. I do not know if she used to be a Girl Scout. I do know that she wears very nice blazers and does not agree with me on any social issues.
After some crafts (see Audrey’s supreme court collar decorating above) we went on a tour. It was a tour that was about an hour longer than my attention span. It is a pretty building, but I don’t really need to know how they change the lightbulbs in the house chandeliers (if you want to know, ask. I can answer that question for you now).
After our time at the capitol we headed to the cupcake store, as we both needed a treat after our busy day.
We get to do so many cool activities with Girl Scouts. I’m incredibly thankful to help out and tag along at fun activities.
A word on my blog: I’ve decided to use it more as a journal than a knitting diary. I like writing about all aspects of my life, so I’m going to do it. I’ll still have knitting content, but you will see more life content in future posts.
I had a batt and some mini batts in my stash that I didn’t love on their own. I decided to spin them up together to create a combo spin.
The batt was Amsterdam Bricks from Knit Spin Farm, which was 68% Texel, 32% Zwartbles, Angelina, and Sari Silk. I originally had two Amsterdam Bricks batts. I spun the first batt long draw months ago. I don’t love the finished yarn, so I knew I needed to change things up. I filled one bobbin with the entire batt, which I spun short forward draw.
The mini batts were Muddy Rainbow from Knit Spin Farm, which were 77% Corriedale. 23% Black Welsh Mountain, and Sari Silk. This set had red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink-purple batts mixed with black. I considered spinning this as self striping, but decided not to, as I am not a fan of chain plying. I split each mini batt into four and spun four repeats of the rainbow pattern to fill the bobbin. After plying the bobbin of Muddy Rainbow with Amsterdam Bricks I had some Muddy Rainbow left, so I practiced chain plying with it. It is OK, but I do not love it as much as I love the two ply combo spin.
I love the finished yarn. It is a bouncy worsted weight. I have 362 yards of it, which I think will become a shawl. Please let me know if you have any pattern suggestions.
mildlygranola 