May Day Morris Dancing Schedule

Please note:

 Westminster Recreation Center should read Westminster Swim and Fitness Center. 

 

Please note:

 Westminster Recreation Center should read Westminster Swim and Fitness Center.

January Aran Completed!

 
Well, it took me nearly 3 months instead of 1, but I finished Finn's January Aran late last week. I forgot how much I resist sewing up sweaters, but once I made myself sit down and do it, it went pretty quickly. As you can see, he was pretty glad to have it even though it was 70 degrees out that day.

If I were to knit it again, I would have added a couple more pearl stitches on either side for sleeve steeks, as there wasn't much wool to sew into between the twisted stitch in the center and the twisted rib cable next to it. I solved that problem by tacking into the center stitch of the cable on the back side each time I took a stitch. It came out pretty sturdy, and I think it looks great, but it did make me a little twitchy at first.

It will definitely fit him next year and the year after, but it's still perfectly wearable this year too. I suspect he'll wear it when we dance up the dawn on May Day.

Next item from the Almanac: April Mystery Blanket.
I had thought I would do the months in order, but tomorrow is April 1 and I've thought about knitting this one for a while. Since the sweater took so long, I'll just pick up February and March next year. ;) I have to dig through the stash on Monday to see what I want to use. I think this will be a good carry-around project to work on during breaks and lunches at work.

Rough Weather

It's hard to believe I haven't blogged in almost a month, but it has been a busy one. The high school musical was Sweeney Todd, and we has the pleasure of watching Devi play the long-lost, crazy wife, and got to see Tara do scenery and such in the background. Finn's instrumental ensemble concert and choir concert was a few days later, as was Tara's band concert. All the morris teams danced at Solebration (including the longsword team), and there were also a couple of paying gigs for the border team. Lots of practices. Oh, and the actual holidays and attending rituals and get-togethers, plus a couple of birthdays too. Wonderfully fun, but some thing fell by the wayside.

I finished my December socks on the 20th, in plenty of time to give them to Tara for Christmas. There was much rejoicing. ;) To my immense satisfaction, she proceeded to wear them around the house for the next 3 days. Her colors, her size, great pattern.

I also got a couple of good shots of Finn goofing around in his Ogre Slippers.

 

I finished my February Lady this month, too. I knitted the cuffs three times, finally deciding the sleeves needed to be full-length and decreased towards the end so the garter stitch cuffs don't flare out. I wear it almost every day.

Finn's Birthday Boxers

Finn turned 10 last Thursday, so I made him some boxers, too. I used a plain old Simplicity pattern (9958) because I couldn't find a kids pattern without a seam up the back. He picked out this fabric last spring, but he doesn't remember that and was, frankly, underwhelmed. I like 'em, but they won't fit me. He did like the Crobots book, though, and has asked for a crochet lesson so he can crochet some robots.

This weekend we danced a lot! Friday night at Jane's, Tommy practice on Saturday morning, dancing out with Maroon Bells and Breathless at the Westminster Rec Center and Promenade all afternoon, medieval dance practice last night. Now it's Monday morning and I feel great! No more dancing until Thursday, though.

Miniature Lace Tablecloth 2

I finished it this weekend. It's a nice new addition to the collection on the kitchen table. It blocked out to 12" across. Quite a bit larger than the one in the magazine, but I knew it would be. I knitted it on size 1 needles with size 10 thread. If I had it to do over, I would use size 0 needles instead. It's a little more open than I would like. A very fun knit, though! I'm thinking about starting something from Sonja Esbensen's Kunststrick II, maybe Bertel, Lars, Miki or Mikkel. I'd dearly love to knit Valde but that's more of a commitment than I feel comfortable with now.

There will be much dancing this weekend, yeah! Maroon Bells Morris will be dancing at Oktoberfest at 22nd and Larimer in Denver at noon and 1:30pm, then on to English Country Dancing at Berkeley Church after dinner. Sunday night is SCA Medieval dance practice at Berkeley Church again. I'm going for tired but happy. ;)

Take 5 border morris dance

After the kid's practice today, the members of Breathless in Berthoud Border Morris worked on a dance we've been learning, Dave Brubeck's Take 5. It's in 5/4 time, so we've had to really stretch to get the rhythm right, but it's really starting to come together!

Happy holiday weekend!

We're going to take it easy and enjoy. The only thing we have planned is dance practice on Saturday morning. Two of my kids are on a children's morris dancing team, the Tommyknockers. The kids meet once a month in Berthoud so they can practice and learn new dances. If you're in the area and are curious,check it out. The kids have a blast!

I've also started sewing pillows out of worn out rugs for Oriental and Navajo Rugs Co . I just finished the first batch and will be delivering them next week. They have a gorgeous showroom! I was delighted by the variety.

Next weekend, the Maroon Bells morris dancers will be performing at the English Village Fete
at the House of Windsor Tea Room in Lakewood, CO. This is the first time they are having the event. We're all pretty excited about it!

I'm almost ready to publish my next knitting pattern, Morgana fingerless gloves. A little editing, a few pictures and we should be good to go!

happy dancing!