a little break

I'm still here.

All of my kids are home for Spring Break and this is the first time in a long time that we are all together at the same time. We are taking advantage of it and getting family photos taken this afternoon.

Earlier in the week we went to the beach at Gulf Shores, AL. This was the first trip there and the beach was incredible. The water was too cold but the sunshine was abundant.

Things have been very busy, but there has still been time to knit.

The Lacy Tea Top by Erika Knight is nearly finished. The original sleeves were knit in a rib pattern which seemed to contrast with the delicate lace pattern in the sweater body. I've converted the sleeves to the same lace pattern and they are being knit at the same time. I've contemplated the finishing and think I will use thread to sew this up by hand.

My FYS turned 16 and is driving his very own truck. Reality sunk in that there is more time on my hands than usual and a trip to my favorite clothing store resulted in a new part time job for me. I will start next week after the kids head home. I am so excited!

My view

Time just slips by and March arrived before I knew it. Every day has been a good day since we've moved. Even I am amazed at the turnaround of my outlook.



Every morning, I awake to this view from my coffee pot. There may have been one or two days that the sun hasn't shown at some point. That is pretty good for 3 months. Whew! we have been here for 3 months already.



It has turned a bit colder, but it warms to the upper 50's during the day. The sun shines and there is no snow...no chance of snow. I am happy.

Sunshine is good!

The days do fly by quickly. I have found a nice stitch shop which has open stitch once a month and a very friendly yarn shop. My LYS has much to offer and I don't just mean fabulous selections of Rowan yarn (they carry other brands, too). I can stop by any time and find a multitude of different knitters talking fiber, planning their next project, or just enjoying the camaraderie. Jason's intro in the newsletter hit home and describes my exact feelings this move brings.

A word from Jason about .Who.s ya mama?..
The phrase might seem cliché by now, along with .Can you make a roux?.. But even so, it.s one of the most frequently asked questions in our area . but not because folks are being nosey, no. It.s all about establishing a connection. In the big picture, there really are no strangers: everyone is connected somehow, even if it.s through a close relative or as distantly as the neighbor of your aunt.s baby sitter. That.s just the way we are here in Acadiana . an intriguingly fascinating people salad.
We belong together, and that.s fine. We search for connections, because they unify us, knitting us into a network of friends. Besides the yarn, needles, hooks, bags, patterns, and notions, this is what Vermilion Bay Yarn is all about: bringing people together and establishing a connection, building a community of fiber friends. .Jason, why don.t your chairs match?. My answer: .Why should they match?. A strict designer might advise that our knitting area would look trendier, classier, glitzier, slicker, were everything the same, a uniform circle of perfectly coordinated seating and perky side tables. That.s nice...for a bouncy magazine spread, but that.s really not our look. Our knitting area reflects the beautiful diversity of the folks sitting there: Cushy upholstered love seat, fluffy ottoman, leather lounge chair, wicker settee, art deco seats, farmhouse rockers, cane rockers, and often for Knit Café, plastic folding chairs and a 1960.s pipe organ bench. Who is VBYC? We.re teachers, artists, nurses, homemakers, engineers, lawyers, musicians, counselors, designers, paralegals, office managers,
secretaries, dreamers, administrators, bankers, husbands, wives, partners, children and everything in between. The binding thread? Our fascination for and love of working with fiber and creating wonderful, delightful things for ourselves and the people close to us. .How do you know her?. .We knit together on Tuesday nights, and we both love Rowan Kid Silk Haze.. What a tremendous, amazing gift! VBYC celebrates difference, because just like our dear Acadiana, we seek to establish connections with our neighbors to create the most beautiful
patchwork of friends. Pass the word to those you know, whom we may not yet know and
invite them to join the community of knitters, crocheters, lace-makers, sweater creators,
and lovers of fiber at Vermilion Bay. Oh, and by the way, to start your gumbo, take
equal parts fat and flour to make that roux. Let it cook in the pot until it.s a dark, mahogany
brown like your Nana.s sideboard. All the while, keep stirring so it doesn.t burn!

...I LOVE it!


I must divert to a cute little fellow that FYS brought home

This is the tiniest frog I've ever seen. FYS found him on a plant outside the door.

As for knitting, there has been activity. It was instant love when I saw this pattern by Erika Knight. My LYS was on the way home from the bookstore and the Kidsilk Haze fell into my possession. This color is difficult to match, but interesting alternatives have been chosen and we shall see how that works out. My original intention was to make this in every color - heh, heh, no surprise that the plan has changed and this will be one of a kind.

Angella and I also started making Rivolo out of some Malabrigo Sock. Mine is in the Velvet Grapes colorway and hers is in a beautiful green.

We opted to double the scarf sized pattern to make a wrap. It will be incredibly soft in this yarn.

It doesn't look like much right now, but the proof is in the blocking.