"Palette" Cleansers

If you've been reading for any time at all, you know that I love all the colors! Whether in my wardrobe, on my lunch plate or in nature (check out these cool fungi we saw at one of our fave walking parks!), 

I am happiest when surrounded by bright, colorful things. As you might suspect, this preference punctuates my knitting as well, including everything from bright-pink-and-speckled-white fingerless gloves (3 pair knit this month!)

to basic staples like dish-/washcloths in all kinds of colors!

Lately, I've been doing these simple, garter stitch cloths as an in-between project while I wait for yarn in the perfect yellow and red for my next adventure. Gramma's Favorite (Grandmother's 2nd Favorite) Dishcloth is my pattern, which I have thrown to the internet freely for all, and the square cloths in these bright colors are knit from this free pattern.

The round one is based on another pattern, also freely available at a price (Link to Almost Lost Washcloth Pattern), but the more I knit it, the more I like it...and the more I tweak it! 

If you are looking for a reliable pattern for a round dishcloth with points, this pattern is a great start! If, like me, you are always looking for something new, stay tuned. I'm taking notes and seriously considering writing  up an alternative pattern very soon. I have even taken some very detailed photos in prep for the plan!

As I cleanse my knitting palate and my yarn-colors palette, I've also knit some little coasters from this pattern: Teeny-Weeny Garter Stitch Coasters

As you can see, they are the perfect size for mugs full of coffee or cocoa or cranberry tea, and they are super quick to knit up. But I've tweaked that pattern, too...and you guessed it...I may be writing it up soon! At just about 5 inches, it's a great coaster. In soft, cotton yarns, it would make a lovely makeup cloth or face scrubber, too. Need something cushy to wash baby in the bath? A tiny circle of cotton yarn might be just the ticket! (Not sponsored by anyone, but FYI: I really like Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton and Knit Picks' Dishie for this idea...both are super soft and absorbent, and they come in so many colors!)

So, that's where I am: Kindof in-between projects, but still knitting...as one does, when one is Pretty! Don't worry, there are still trips to America's Roller Coast pretty regularly. Check out this dusky shot of the entrance, enrobed in one side of the spectrum...so many coasters! None of them pair well with coffee, lol!

So far this season, I have 18 visits, and Cedar Point has 18 roller coasters! Yes, readers, I have ridden them all...the only ones I have not been on this season are the Camp Snoopy coasters. Anyone have a 4-year-old I can borrow? JK, I have a grandson that fits the bill in my family, and HalloWeekends run through the end of October, so there is still time!

I hope you are finding joy wherever you are, and if you see me at the park, let's ride! Until then...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Celebrate Good Times, come on!

To kick off the celebration of my favorite guy's birthday (which is today) I met friends at Cedar Point yesterday and let him have some time to himself! (Fair warning to future friends: If you leave early, you will be photoshopped in...perhaps poorly...and it will be hilarious!)

That's right, Sweetie was not there. He's not a big Cedar Point fan, so his gift was that I did not invite him. Because yesterday was his birthday eve, I did kindof ask if he minded that I go right after work. I don't remember his answer, but I wore jeans, good walking shoes, and my fanny pack (with glasses strap inside) ya know, just in case. When Amanda texted that a bunch of friends were going, I was powerless to resist!

I didn't ride much, and took fewer pictures. I'm kindof smacking myself for not taking any night photos, since we closed down the park waiting in line for TT2! But I did take pics in line, 

and I pilferred photos of funpix...

Gosh! My friends are way cooler in these photos than I am...I've got my hands in the air and a full, toothy grin the whole time. I love being on roller coasters!

Oh, and Amanda got this video of that last ride, at 10:37pm! You can't really see us, but it's a pretty cool 11 seconds either way! 

Psst...don't tell my family. I'm not sure they support my coaster habit...but the doc said no restrictions after 3 months, and it's been nearly 6...and I've been doing a little at a time, adding in coasters that don't seem too intense, and staying away from the ones that are most likely to dislodge something...I'm looking at you Blue Streak and Steve! Millie's pretty gentle though...and last week, I didn't ride any coasters at all, but I still had a ton of fun with some of my favorite riders and smilers!

Today has already been a little lower key, spending time with the birthday boy, finally moving my daffodils to their proper place...which you can't see, because the bushes are too big with their summer growth...lol!

Knitting on my next pair of socks and summer decor for my office...

and our grandson's baseball game this afternoon! Is there anything as entertaining as first and second graders playing baseball? 

Photo Cred: Tom Apathy Photography (aka Pappy)

Later, we may head to one of our favorite, not Cedar Point, parks for a walk. Last week, we saw a great blue heron,

tons of tiny toadlets,

a pretty good sized snapping turtle,

and dozens of ducklings and other birds of many varieties!

I wonder how many of them would have enjoyed this worm for their dinner?

Summer is really shaping up here, and we are certainly celebrating these good times! I hope you are as well.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Weird Mom Injury #437

So, I feel like I have to start at the beginning, when my son and his family got into town on July 3rd... If you're a regular reader, you know that they arrived in time for the annual 4th of July party, and both girls also started new, yarny projects.

Things were moving along swell, as we were all meeting friends Cedar Point on Monday, with the hopes of riding the big rides, which we did...

including Siren's Curse with this crew, 

Top Thrill 2 with this crew,

Wild Mouse with this crew, 

and many more with zero photos, lol! All in all, the day was great, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I did not come away completely unscathed...

As a designated rider and kids companion for those lacking 48-52", I even got to spend some time on the round-and-round rides! That was super fun, but some of those seat belts are ridiculously small, impossible to buckle around me and one, tiny child. Being committed to companioning and following rules is how I ended up with the start of a hand injury, as I tried to force a belt to buckle until my hand slipped...ouch! But I soldiered on, riding and snapping pics of the funtimes! 

On this one, The Atomic Scrambler, my grandson said to me, matter-of-factly, "Gramma, nobody wants to ride with you. We're all gonna ride by ourselves!" So they did. 

He was feeling less independent when it came to the purchase of Dippin' Dots...

We ran around the park until the sun went down, and then one last ride, Magnum 200XL! Though it is a roller coaster with an initial hill of 205 ft, we only had a 10 minute wait, so it was a no-brainer for sure ... until I grabbed the lap bar while going around a curve, cementing the injury. Here is the swelling after a shower and ice on Monday night...and Tuesday morning, no better.

As it turns out, I have a partial radial saggital band rupture, which means at least 4 weeks immobilized (aka Weird Mom Injury #437), and maybe surgery later. For now, I found the little "hand socks" I was given to wear under the splint to be flimsy and uncomfortable... and I can knit for a limited time if I take off the brace, so I whipped up a couple small, fingerless gloves...

...then returned to the rule-following wearing of the brace for everything but showering. Looks like knitting will not be my go-to hobby for a bit, so maybe I'll make use of that season pass to visit the roller coasters and thrill rides a few more times before I return to work next month...but I'll steer clear of rides with static seat belts...Power Tower and Siren's Curse, brace or not, I'm comin' for ya again!

What will you be up to for the rest of the summer? Whatever it is, don't be a stranger, and if you're headed to the Point, hit me up! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and Ride!) in Good Health! 

Picture Pages

Picture pages. Because I was looking through my photos, and realizing that there were many that should be in the blog, but were not yet! I've had a busy last couple of weeks at work, and today was my last day for the next 6 weeks...🎼🎶School's out for Summer! (Or, as I said, the next six weeks.) To celebrate, my daughter suggested that we take an impromptu trip to Cedar Point, so we did, as soon as I was off the clock! The 6-year-old, now 48 inches, picked the first couple rides including the Corkscrew (his first time!)...TWICE! In line with his daddy and me, he was pumped!

He enjoyed the classic coaster (hence twice, and eventually a third ride later in the day!), and the afternoon was off to a great start! Eventually, it did start to drizzle...but it was ok. Not too cold, and we were moving a lot, so it was still a great day!

Before we headed for home, my son-in-law checked the wait time on Top Thrill 2, just 45 minutes! I wasn't sure I'd fit in the seat (last year, I had to take the fat-lady "walk of shame" from Millennium Force...sad face here), but I DID fit this seat! And IT WAS AWESOME! As we got to the front of the line, the guy assigning seats said, "You wanna try something for me?" I didn't even think about what he could mean, but I was pumped to be assigned to the FRONT SEAT!!! So fast! So flippin' fun! No photos (you can't take ANYTHING on TT2, rightly so, but then I also couldn't even buy the pic they took) but the one pic I took in the car on the way home shows that I was still running high on adrenaline an hour later!

Pretty sure those black dots are the pieces of bug I did not get off my face...lol! I rode Top Thrill Dragster back when it was new-ish, and it was awesome then, but also a super, super short ride. You barely had time to react to the thrill, then it was over. Now, with three launches and a max speed of 120mph on the last one, I have no words...just shouts of excitement coming into this park every time! 

In other news, we have started taking that very adventurous 6-year-old to one of our favorite parks, with rocks to climb and waterfalls to find. Know what we learned? This kid, like his Pop Pop, is part mountain goat, apparently!

His mom used to go with her dad (aka Pop Pop) when she was a kid, so I'm sure this random Thursday afternoon trip she took with her father and her son was a walk down memory lane. 

In between those trips, Jess and I took the boys to a children's museum, where they all had fun...not that they'd show you that in the photos...

and next week, I head out to the Zombie Knitpocolypse 2025! So, I have things to do and people to see before then. Will there be another ride on Top Thrill 2 before I leave? Most likely not, but when I get back, I'm going sgsin! Hopefully I'll get to head to CP with my granddaughters when they come to town this summer! 🤞🏼

Got Summer plans? Tell me about them in the comments! Want to get to "The Point" with me? Hit me up, I am so ready for a fun summer!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!