The Summer of Yarn (and More!)

Remember Woolapalooza? Remember the yarn I bought? Well, it apparently was not enough. Then again, is it ever? 

No. No, it is not. Bwaaahahahahaha! 

Anyhoo, there's an annual knitting retreat in Minnesota, and I have wanted to go for several years. Even with the pandemic that was 2020 (and beyond), 2021 was finally my year to attend the Zombie Knitpocolypse in Rochester, MN! Here's my "haul," my stash enhancement, my potential knitting (if you will) from the event:

I had met several of the Zombies online through Zoom since attending the all-virtual ZK2020 at Home, and it has been so much fun to make new yarn friends! During lockdown, I wasn't even seeing my local knitting group in person, and Zoom knitting was a balm to my crafting soul. As a bonus, my Cleveland-area soul was not the only one anxious for the ZK retreat!

Lauren messaged me from New York, and she asked if I'd like to ride in her car to ZK. I jumped at the chance, and we had epic road trips, both there and back! 

We were well-matched traveling companions, with similar bladder capacities, which means our longest drive-time on the way out looked like this:

Yep, it was pretty impressive! (Spoiler: on the trip back, we beat that time, with a cool 6:16!)

Once we got there, we were greeted by knitters everywhere, and they just kept coming! It was really good to see these faces in 3-D after all this time, and it is noteworthy that everyone had actual bodies (it's good to see your legs!) to go with those faces!

Knitting in the hotel lobby.

Cast on Party in the ballroom!

You may be wondering what a knitting retreat looks and sounds like, so I took a quick video on Friday night, right before our keynote speaker addressed the crowd:

So much happy chatter, and most of us were nonstop smiles!

There was a 5K run/walk/choose your own adventure, and I actually won 1st place! (Spoiler: I was nowhere near the fastest, but I did come closest to my predicted walk time, so I celebrated!)

There was a pajama party, with indoor s'mores, and I toasted my marshmallow to absolute perfection!

Don't forget the photo booth...

...and all the smiles with friends!

New foods to try...

...matching sweaters, in public even...

...and yarn to buy at the Market! Hmmm, which grey should I get, the light or the dark, to go with this rainbow??? (Spoiler: I got them both, 2 of each in fact!)

The last night was a little bittersweet, but Lauren and I had 10.5 hours in the car ahead of us, so I didn't stay up too late. The next day, we were off early, and we arrived at my house around dinner time. 

The cats were less than thrilled that they missed the adventure, but they are not good companions for a road trip. At least they got to meet my new friend, and snuggle up to her bag of yarn!

To sum up, if there's a hobby-related event you've been wanting to go to, GO! Even if you've never been, and even if you don't really know anyone there, give it a shot! At the very least, you will learn new things. At best, you'll meet a new friend and download Marco Polo so you can talk to her often. YOLO, man. You only live once.

Now that I've acquired all this yarn, I'll have to sign off and go knit something! (Spoiler: I have plans to knit many things! Wait, that's not a spoiler, that's just regular life, lol!)

I hope you have some refreshing thing planned for this long, holiday weekend (in the US), and I am so glad that you stopped by to check in today! 

May you always Knit in Good Health! (Even if you're a Zombie!)

Chaos Coordinated?

Some have dubbed me the "Chaos Coordinator." Most notably, my boss...during a pandemic. At first, I didn't see it like others did. I mean, I know that I find chaos uncomfortable, and I know that I am a textbook version OCD/type-A personality, but I thought I had it under control. Then I started working on a puzzle. 

It's been years since I've really worked a hard puzzle. Well, there was the one I started at my son's house last summer, but my OCD cannot say that I "worked" it, because I left it unfinished. And I left a piece of my soul behind with that unfinished Harry Potter puzzle (a gift for my Potter-fied, 10-year-old Peanut!).

When I started this puzzle, I had plans of working on it until it was finished. Of course, at the same time (words every knitter "loves" to read), I started a sweater (now finished) 

and I was planning on attending a knitting retreat several states away. Guess what? I left on Tuesday, and the puzzle was not finished. Not. Finished. 

I may or may not be twitching, but I did not bring the puzzle with me. Of course, since I am leaving behind two cats, 

I knew that I could not leave the puzzle out either. And since I don't have a puzzle mat to slide under a sofa (heck! up until two months ago, I didn't even have a decent table to work a puzzle on!) I did the only thing I could think of to manage the chaos. 

I took apart each of the four corners, and slipped the pieces in labeled baggies, to make putting it back together a little less tedious when I get home. 

Chaos currently coordinated, or something like that. 

I am still in Minnesota today, and I will return home tomorrow. This has been an awesome time with friends and yarn, and friends with yarn! I almost wish it would never end, but then I think about getting back to that puzzle...and I realize why I love it so much.

So much of this life is puzzling, chaotic and totally out of my control. A puzzle is something I can do to create order from chaos, and I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from finally finding that one piece and slipping it into place. So satisfying! Puzzle therapy, if you will. Again, I am looking forward to getting back to it!

Knitting all the yarn also does that for me, so I am glad to be returning home with a little "stash enhancement" today! (More details on this next week...I promise!)

What do you like to do when it feels like everything is out of control? Do you just go with it and spin? Do you meditate? Do you like a good puzzle, or maybe a strong drink? How do you cope? If you're still figuring that out, do you want to come help me with my puzzle this week? You can bring your knitting...

Yes or no, I am glad that you stopped by today. I hope your day is good and that you will Knit in Good Health!

Super, Super Saturday!

The best part of being a grandparent is the super, super smiles.

Even our non-local grands send us smiles in the mail, and we love all of them with super, super love we never really knew was possible before they came along!

(By the looks of these letters, the feeling is mutual...)

Other great things are that you can finally let go of the super, super stress of "Am I doing it right?" that comes with parenthood. We don't worry too much about that, we just focus on the next adventure...

(Color this turtle "not impressed.")

the next trip to the playground...you have 13 seconds to watch this, right?

(He is saying, "Let's see how high I can go! 

And I go super, super high! Whoa-ho-ho!"

the next climb up the super, super high tree...

the next run through the sprinkler... 

and the next trip to see the out-of-towners! (Which will be super, super soon...I promise to share girl faces here then!)

One of the really great things about being a knitter and a grandma is being able to knit little sweaters that finish up super, super quick!

All that's left for this one is the collar and the zipper, then my grandson will have his "How 'bout Rainbow" sweater to wear! I've even woven in the ends already! I've even woven in the ends already! 

Now, off I go to do some more super, super fun things with the super, super grandsons! I hope you have a super, super day!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Busy, busy Saturday! Cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more...lol! Now we're off to snuggle a couple grandsons, and I almost forgot about the blog! So, my apologies for this short, disheveled post from my phone, but here are a couple highlights from the week:

Craft room decorated? Check! 

Rainbow Sweater started for grandson number one? Check!

Driveway poured by builder? Check!

I suppose it's been a busy, busy week! And now the cat is ready to relax and worry about whether the corner of this rug will ever lay flat...hahaha!

I hope your week has been productive, and that your Saturday has brought you some joy! I'll be back next week, probably with more words (and pictures)! 

Until then, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Woolapalooza 2021!

Breaking out of the Pandemic, our beloved Great Lakes Fiber Show returned this year, and the little knitting group that could had our first public adventure together in over a year. It was a blast! 

The start of the day was a little unsure, as wind and rain had pelted northeast Ohio all day Friday last week, and more was predicted for Saturday. Still, we pressed on, determined to see all the yarns we could and have fun! #yarngoals #friends #turnaroundforapicture

(Pictured: That time I yelled, "Turn around for our first picture!," but only half of them heard me.)

I do love to document the fun, and there is usually an arrival selfie. But first the setup... #smile

(Is she taking it? I think so, Diana...lol)

Then the perfect shot! 

#notgivingawaymyshot

(Wait! Where did Andrea go??? Ugh! Oh, well...)

It was a chilly day, though it did not rain, and we had such a good time. We saw sheep...

(And a random guy in the back also saw the sheep... #photobomb)

We shopped outdoor vendors... 

#yarnbyrds #yarntruck

We shopped indoor vendors... 

#decisionsdecisionsdecisions #leadingmenfiberarts

Alice bought a hat!

(As you do, when it's that cold and you did not bring your own. FYI, even in NE Ohio, it should NOT be this chilly on May 29th! #butwedidgettowearsweaters #knitterwin)

And there is this picture of me and Diana that I keep, even though it shows several of my chins, because Diana looks fantastic (as per usual)!

(There's the Pretty selfie we all know and love...lol! #badanglesareus #imprettytoo)

Finally, in agreement with Alice, we decided that it WAS cold (the high temp that day was 52°F), and we were about shopped out. So, we headed out for lunch. #toochillytositintheparkinggrassthisyear

We headed to lunch, then a little side trip into Amish Country, then home to sort through the newly acquired stash! And just about the time I remembered that I don't have that fantastic porch for photo shoots any more, I also remembered these granite countertops! Ooooohhhhhhhh!

All in all, another great trip to Woolapalooza, and we can't wait to do it again next year! Of course, we will keep knitting (and looking for more fun opportunities to laugh together) until then! If you knit, and you're local to me, come join us!

Oh, and gratuitous pics of grandkids, because, well...LOOK AT THEM! Sooooo cute!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!