To Pennsyl-RAIN-ia or BUST !!!

Indeed it was almost "OR BUST", but I made it for the wedding and was so glad I was able to make the trip!!!
Here's what threatened to stop me ... (by the way, in the midst of it all I did learn to "Praise the Lord no matter my circumstances!!!")

First it was the switch to RESERVE fuel just after a potential gas-stop exit. Here are Dan (left) and Cletus looking over my bike. You may think CITGO is not a service station, but I beg to differ! (Thanks Cletus). And Dan of Ohio's DOT kept us safe with his vehicle with caution flashing lights.


Next - THE CHAIN INCIDENT

Still in Ohio, just south of I-270 and Columbus, the engine revved and then nothing. I pulled off quickly, there to stay for over an hour. I love you PROGRESSIVE with roadside assistance for my motorcycle. Thanks Shamrock Towing and Carlos for getting me safely to ASK - Grove City. Thanks to Austin and the rest of the service department at ASK for getting me back on the road by Friday afternoon -- about 24 hours after I had stopped.





Carlos of Shamrock Towing -- You're GREAT !!!


Thanks to the ladies at the Headline Styling Salon for letting me sit in their lovely shop and hear great stories all around while I knit on my Sockotta sock. Thanks to James Wheeler of Hilton's Guest Assistance for getting my hotel arrangements straightened out for me in the midst of my drama.

And a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to my cousin Jon and his wife Linda for being wonderful hosts. Their home may not look like a B&B from the outside but I found this little basket of goodies sitting in my guest room.


The Weddding
Jenny and Brad were wed in Christ Church at 12:30 pm on Saturday. I was there to read scripture as originally planned.



Here's the happy couple (and perhaps they were a little hungry by this time -- Jen is posing, actually).


The chocolate and raspberry and blueberry wedding cake.


Here's some of the goodies we had after they cut their beautiful cake.


Oh yeah, back to the people -- really what it's all about, anyway ...



Here's my brother-in-law and his youngest (oldest was the bride).


Back Home
I made it back just after midnight on Sunday. Ahh it's good to be home so I could see my little birdie. What a treat to come home to.


More to come later this week year. Thanks for stopping by!!

Sidetracked

A shout out to Ian and Wendy - thanks for sharing about your all's activities on the 4th! It rained and thundered here. I snuck into the office and worked a bit to keep up with the week's taskings -- then was worn out and only vegged on the sofa working on the "other" two socks opting to not watch Jason Alexander with the Capitol Fourth.


I'm tempted by the Fleece Artist yarn Wendy is currently using for socks. Must knit faster...

Okay, I'm obviously blogging early to avoid getting ready for work -- avoidance is one of my biggest faults, followed by procrastination -- although it's likely the two are closely related, if not two sides of the same coin.

Nuff said -- catch ya later!!

PS Samson sez "HI" to cousin Jenny and wants to say to KOARC -- "I sprechen" (as learned from mama repeating the line from Madagascar by Marty the Zebra when asked by the penguin leader "You, quadruped, sprechen ze English??")

Thank You www.knittinghelp.com !!!

Yes Indeed-y!!! I have 10 books that tell me how to do the mattress stitch, but my real hero (heroine!!) is Amy Finlay of www.knittinghelp.com !!! Her 3-minute video tells me what I needed to know to have a beautiful "invisible" seam on the sides of "the shop sample" (as we've come to call it) of Plymouth's pattern C125 - Ladie's V-Neck Shell as done in Fantasy Naturale in color 2550 (known in these parts as "UK Blue" for the University of Kentucky's school colors).

Here's a final shot of the top now that it's done.


For your reference, please please please learn from my mistake and be sure to do a gauge swatch!!! I should have been using a size US 7 needle (or maybe even an US 8). As it was, I used the size US 6 called for (4 mm) and had to use an additional hank of the heavy cotton yarn.

I had to block it before I sewed it up, which put me off a couple of weeks (at least) and then I had to get the confidence to try the mattress stitch. It's not that the stitch is hard -- not at all -- it's just feeling ready to do it. And now I've done it and am ready to sew up anything I knit that needs it!!!

Sock # 2 has begun
Work has begun on sock # 2 on the circulars. I'm doing better at getting the pattern right, but today realized I had cast on 8 less stitches than I did for the other sock. My solution? Once I'm done with this one, I'm gonna re-do the first sock (maybe). I figure I'll have them on under pants or boots and no one will see them anyway, so they may stay just the same. :-) My perogative!!


The start of a beautiful friendship
We had brunch this afternoon at our friend's home after church. Here are two gals from the Bible study class -- we're all sittin' pretty awaiting the call to feast! (and feast we did -- thanks Dottie and all!!) As I prepared to leave I was asked what knitting I've been doing, and I showed the socks around. Then someone suggested a couple of us teach the class how to knit. Now there's a project! I'll let you know what becomes of that!


Samson Sez
"Breakfast? Breakfast? Breakfast?" No really, that's what he said most of the morning today -- even after I'd given him his breakfast. Silly birdie.