It HAS been a while, hasn't it?

Wow. This has been a busy few weeks! I've been having a pretty good summer, actually. It hasn't been too hot, and work has been bearable--I've had a few adventures, and I'm still running (3.5 miles with hills now!), so life's pretty good. The downside is that I haven't had time to really blog, although I have been taking pictures, so this post is going to be a bit long, I think. You've been warned! Although it does have an FO at the end of it...

1. A couple of weeks ago, some of the awesome ladies from my knitting group took a trip into NYC to attend a knitting picnic in Central Park. It was a beautiful day, and we met a lot of other really great knitters from around Manhattan. The park was bustling with families laying out on the grass, or playing Frisbee, or waiting for tickets for Shakespeare in the park. There were also robins all over. We had one visitor, who eyed our spread and then came in for a closer look:


He came up onto the blanket:


Saw that there was fruit and decided to go for it:




And finally:


This one is kind of blurry, because he was moving so fast. I can't believe I captured the whole raid on film, but there you go. It was so adorable. Shortly after he made off with the grape, another robin attacked him to try and get the bounty for himself, and they had a little tussle, wherein the grape dropped to the ground. Our plucky hero managed to drive off the interloper and find his prize again though, and he flew off with it, triumphant.

2. I had to take a business trip to Springfield, IL, birthplace of Lincoln. It is hard to imagine that the town was once a lot more important to the country than it is now. You would never think so by driving through it. It seems really out of the way, but apparently back in the days of Lincoln, it was a bustling metropolis compared to what was around it, and even today, driving up from St. Louis, I passed more farms than anything else.



It was all very surreal. Last year I had to go to Kansas for work, and this was what I thought that would be like, and that was nothing like this.



It was flat and empty the whole way, except for the corn, which was planted everywhere.





You should click through to look at them bigger if you like that sort of thing. Those pictures were all taken in the car, as per usual during these trips, and I'm pleased with how in focus they are for the most part.

I also stopped in Mt. Olive, IL, where Mother Jones, the labor organizer, is buried. There is a sign directing you to the town, which is idyllic, actually, and once there, just go straight to the cemetery. It is the biggest monument there, and you can drive up right in front of it.



I probably parked in someone's yard, but there were really no directions on where to park or anything. Anyway, it was eerie, being in the cemetery in a town where I stuck out like a sore thumb, the only one staring at this huge monument to an all-but-forgotten labor leader.





I was also surprised to learn that southern Illinois was big coal-mining country, because I thought that was all in Tennessee and Kentucky. Anyway, the whole trip was so weird. I've been to Chicago before, but other than that, I've not been anywhere in Illinois, and I somehow didn't expect it to be so rural. I'm seriously glad I rented the car though. I did manage to make it to one yarn store even, where I bought the yarn for the next baby knitting I will be doing.



Ho Hum. But I have high hopes that I can make this at least a bit more interesting, at least by changing colors or something. The store was called Nanncy's Knit Works, and it was ok. Not the worst LYS I've run into, but not the best either. It was quite big, and they did have some good yarns, but they didn't have much in the way of books or accessories. It struck me as an old lady's yarn store, if that makes any sense. Although the fellow working there was very helpful and sweet, and I enjoyed talking with him a bit. I also got some souvenir yarn that was on sale:


Two skeins of Classic Elite Waterspun, which I think is a type of felted yarn, which I'd never heard of before. I think I'm going to use it to make a beret or slouchy hat of some sort. I haven't decided which one yet, but it won't be in my stash for too long. It won't, Sue! I mean it! Anyway...


3. If you've read this far, then ta da! FO #24:


Pattern: Cassie's Cowl This pattern was perfect for what I wanted, and I'm glad I stuck with it. It's knit flat and then seamed, but I don't think that is any big deal. The seam isn't very noticeable, and the chunky lace pattern is worth it.



Yarn: Misti Alpaca Tonos Chunky--the second of the two skeins I got when The Point closed. I love this yarn. I love the deep color and the variations of the dye, and the softness of the yarn. Both the cowls I made with this yarn turned out awesome. I want to make more cowls now! But I don't have anymore yarn. Sigh.



Needle: US 10

Notes: Not much to say about this. It went very quickly. You can see in the pictures that it is a bit slouchy and big, and partly that is because I washed it (although I didn't block it heavily or anything) and partly because it is supposed to be a bit slouchy. I love it! I'm sure that I'll use it a lot this fall.