For Sweet Adeline

Pattern: "No Gauge" blanket, hat, and socks by Kristin Spurkland, available in from Blankets, Hats, and Booties to Knit and Crochet
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy
Colorways: Some Summer Sky; Cool Fire; Tea Party; Happy Forest; Chinatown Apple
Mods: Added 1.5 inch log-cabin garter stitch border



Plus: The beauty of this "no gauge" pattern is that you can use what ya got! Knit up and out from one tip of the diamond until you use half your yarn, decrease back down to the other tip. I bought two skeins of Dream in Color for the blanket (one for each half), and threw together the hat, shoes, and border with scraps from the stash. Brilliant.



Delta: My "cute" idea of adding this border gave me a great deal of trouble. The blanket fabric is super stretchy, and I had to experiment with how many stitches to pick up along the side. 1 for every row--too tight. 2 for every row--too loose and ruffley. 11 for every 10 rows--too tight. 6 for every 5 rows--finally!

Well, lot's been going on around here! Jake got two full-time jobs for the summer. One is as a PAID research assistant for a W&L professor, work he can do from anywhere. The other is as an unpaid intern for Judge DeMoss of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals!!! That is especially exciting because Jake dreams of becoming a federal judge; he basically couldn't have found a more perfect job than working for one all summer. It is especially depressing, however, because the judge works in Houston, and they need him starting the first week of May. My last day of work here in Lexington in June 7th. That leaves FIVE DREADFUL EMPTY HORRIBLE GODAWFUL weeks of being here alone. Lord help me.

I completed my first 10k race. It was so exhilarating, so empowering, so emotional. It's hard to believe that after 27 years of being a sweat-phobic couch potato, I've been able to strengthen my heart and legs to this point within just a year. I can't wait until I can start training for my first half marathon! It's a whole new world. And that world has a much perkier butt.

I also sang with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and 250 choral members from the Shenandoah Valley area in a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. As I try to capture how magical this experience was, I find words are terribly inadequate. Suffice it to say, I will have to continue this practice of singing with community choirs. I need more art in my life.