Bang!

Yesterday was my fourth of July, so to speak. I am working the evening of the Fourth, so I will not be able to partake in the countless barbeques, parties, and fireworks displays like everyone else. (Boo-hoo.) So my mom, my brother, and I went to visit my sister in Farmville for a barbeque. First though, we stopped off at the Green Valley Book Fair for some bargain books. This book fair happens about 4 times a year, and lasts 2 weeks each time. It's held in an old building and the books are CHEAP! You can't usually find the brand new titles there, but if it's about a year old they've got it. They have everything from kids books, adult fiction, computer, how-to, crafts, nature, travel, etc. I beelined for the craft section and ended up scoring huge! I got 3 baby knit books (no secrets here folks, just grabbing the deals-plus I know lots of babies who need knitted items), a stitch dictionary, and a log cabin quilt book. The quilt book is an acutal quilting book, but I thought with all the knitted log cabin hysteria going around, I could interpret it into knitty goodness. Or maybe I could just put my sewing machine to use again. I also picked up a few Curious George books for my nephew, and a couple of fiction novels for me.

Galen, my little brother, enjoyed a popsicle before diving headfirst into the nature and animal books. I think I see a vetrinary career in his future?

I did manage to finish my first pair of socks for the Sumer of Socks KAL this week, and I actually remembered to take a picture!Photographing one's feet is quite a difficult thing to do. I think we should get points for flexibility in the contest! The recap: Art Yarns Supermerino 4, US 4, You're Putting Me On sock pattern. It's a toe-up pattern, done on DPNs, but you could easily adjust it to circs if that's your preference.

When we arrived at my sister's, I hauled out the huge box of unused acrylic that I was gifting her way. She's not the yarn snob I am, and will actually use it. Plus, with a 2-yr-old who wants to use fancy yarns that are difficult to care for? Once she was done pawing through her new stash, she dragged out her knitting basket to show me all her WIP's. First off, the beginning of a sweater for her son, who is now too big to wear it. I suggested she turn it into a pillow for decoration.
Next up, her May/June Project Spectrum knit, a pillow case. It is complete, just needs a pillow to fit it. Very soft and fluffy!
This is/was her Olympic knitting project. She even has the bag lined! All that is left is the sewing up to make her cute diaper bag complete. This bag and the fishy sweater from above are from Family Circle Easy Baby Knits book. Very cute and easy kid knits, if anyone is looking.
Last, but not least, a blanket for her son which she has been working on since he was tiny. It is crocheted, and all that is left is finishing the scallops along the edge.
Joey is excited to be receiving his blanket soon!
After the food was demolished (we had the best juiciest steaks ever!), we went outside to delight in the fireworks. Joey was very impressed with the sparklers, Galen brandished his like a weapon, and the kids all clapped and whistled when we brought out the fountain. Fun had by all!
May I present, my next sock-in-progress (SIP?). This is my very first Jaywalker. The yarn is KnitPicks Dye-Your-Own that I dyed using Jaquard dyes. I named the colorway Maryland because these are the dyes that I picked up at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. (I'm so original I can hardly stand it!

And here is my sock-to-be posing by it's new home, my new Retro Pinky bag from Trek . She has lots of cute sock bags, spindle bags, and DPN cases available for swap, so stop by and take a looksie. My bag is the perfect size for all my sock necessities and fits in my purse so my yarn doesn't get tangled in my hairbrush or meet up with the dust bunnies of crud at the bottom of my purse.
Hope all of you have a wonderful Fourth! Come back soon for the Flip Flop Swap announcement!