Parma and Knitting.....

Fiona using Angus Beefcake as a cushion

I returned from Parma, Italy on April 10. What a whirlwind trip. While I do have all my pictures uploaded I have yet to print them to put together my photo album. I enjoy putting albums together it brings back the vacation memories. I suppose I could have bought lots of souvenirs for people in Parma, olive oil, compotes, balsalmic vinegar, parmesan cheese, it was a cooking school and tour of Parma. However the only souvenirs I bought was yarn. Mom bought yarn too, just putting that out there. We found the shop about 12 blocks from our hotel past a square on the left. It's called Zuccheri. They have some very beautiful yarns and they have the cotton out in front for the warming weather I assume. However I did buy 4 skeins of said cotton to give as gifts, along with a ball of cotton that has a nice sheen to it with 2 balls of kid mohair. I don't know what I'm going to do with them but have since been added to the yarn outlet shelves.

My Twinkleberry socks in KawKaw

Marcy's Twinkleberry Socks in Muddy Bottom Breakdown

I finished my Twinkleberry Socks in time to give them to mom, Marcy finished her and we are both starting new projects. Sweaters for little girls. She is knitting an adorable sweater for her granddaughter that is going to be fantastic for summer. The yarn is a rayon acrylic and I had a great picture of it on my cell phone, thought I sent it to my email and deleted it. Well I'll have a fantastic picture of the sweater next week for you all to see. The pattern is from Patons and I can't remember what it's called. There you can sit on the edge of your seat waiting till Tuesday when I see Marcy again and will gleen the information from her.

I have started Helena, a free pattern from Knitty.com and I am making it in Berroco Comfort DK. The color is a kind of sagey green. 50% Nylon and 50% Acrylic and very reasonably priced at So Much Yarn. The sweater is top down, has i-cord ties and a lacey torso section. Sizes go up to 4 years old. I am knitting 2 of them for a friend of mine who has two girls. Everyone in my family is producing boys at the moment and while I think they would appreciate the work that goes into the garment they wouldn't appreciate the style.

My cherry trees did finally bloom! About halfway through my vacation they came full tilt and I was able to see them Saturday morning when the sun came up. I was awake at 4:30 a.m. that whole time change, jet lag thing really did a number on me last week, which is part of the reason it's been a while. I am going to throw some pictures from my trip in it's own blog post tomorrow. I have to go through them, all 560 of them, and see what I want to put up there.

On the knitting front again I have started a new sock in Count Cluckula by Blue Moon and the pattern is by Cookie A. and you can download a free copy at Knitty.com. The pattern is called Monkey and it's super fun and easier than it looks to knit. Since it is Spring I have been knit with the planting bug, so I went to Ace Hardware and bought a few flower pots, some pansies and such and planted them along with doing some weeding in my front yard. Please keep in mind that it's my mother who is the master Gardener and the gene didn't transfer to me.

Happy Saturday.