The Big Poetry C

I volunteered to knit a letter for the Poetry Society in London. There are over 7076 volunteers each knitting a 12-inch square containing an intarsia letter - mine is C. They're going to sew all the letters together and reveal the finished poem in October. I started mine with two shades or purple, then found out after about an inch and a half that my light purple was stained (it was a ball given to me by someone who found a bunch of yarn at a yard sale). So I had to start over with beige and dark purple. The photo I took shows the original colors.

And I've finished the Johnny Sweater for GGS#1 Lucas. I found little blue buttons for the finishing touch. I think it's pretty big for a 3-month old baby, which is what he'll be when I give the sweater to Mom at his baptism in early August. I have a pair of tiny little blue jeans to go with it. So cute!

It's been raining so much the last two months that I actually haven't had to water the pots on the deck at all. I have coleus and pink petunias - they're looking great right now. No picture, though.

Former Sweater and Bear Shirt

So this is what I did last night - I started with this baby sweater purchased at a yard sale,

and turned it into four skeins of yarn. I think the fiber is acrylic,

but it looks like a bulky wool. I think a lovely bulky scarf would work well for this.

I love this tee-shirt, which I bought a couple of weeks ago at a huge art/craft fair in Minneapolis. It was held in a large park on the shore of the Mississippi, next to the old General Mills and Pillsbury plants. I bought it directly from the artist, Sue Rowe, who specializes in bears - it was hard to make a decision but I knew I wanted one of those shirts, so this was my final choice. Kind of fits my philosphy, or so I like to think.

Minnesota

Here are a few photos from the recent trip to Minneapolis, to visit S3 Randy and his family. We had a little celebration for the Birthday Boy - the girls made the big banner on the way and decorated a cake like a baseball field (Red Sox, of course).

Randy, GD4 Emma and I spent an afternoon at the American Swedish Institute - they have a gorgeous mansion built in the early 1900s by an immigrant who became rich by publishing a Swedish newspaper for the thousands of other immigrants who moved to the area at that time. My souvenir is a silvery pendant with an illustration of a Viking rune meaning Strength.

Randy and GD3 Ally participated in a father-daughter dance recital - he'll kill me but I'm putting the picture in the blog anyway. Bet you can't guess he's a caveman.

And lastly, here's a picture of the University of Minnesota Arboretum's peony garden in full bloom. This is such a spectacular area with acres of different types of plantings - the hosta garden is one of my favorites, but seeing the peonies in full bloom was a very special treat this year.

And I saw my very first soccer game too - Ally is a strong player for her team. And all this in only 3-1/2 days!