The awesome vacation we had but can't show you

Last week, from the 7th to the 14th, we stayed at a cabin at a family resort in the Black Forest region (about an hour from Munich). The resort is called Edelweiss, and is run by the US Military MWR.

We spent a lot of time bike riding, swimming, hiking, and eating at fantastic restaurants (TripAdvisor is a great tool for scouting out restaurants before traveling!) We came back with tons of pictures -- over 200, actually, and I loaded them into our computer. Before I could get a chance to upload them to my Flickr account or back them up on our 2nd hard drive... the main external hard drive crashed. I dearly hope that I can find a company that can retrieve all of the lost data, but this means that those pictures are currently lost. So you'll just have to believe me when I say that we had a wonderful time as a family, and saw gorgeous mountians (the Bavarian Alps), visited a castle (Neuschwanstein, which Disney used as the inspiration for their logo) and rode all over on our bikes with our cute little kids.

I can, however, show you what I knit during our trip. First, I started the Revontuli shawl:



It's currently in it's Tangled Spaghetti phase, so it's not much to look at. (I'm using my handspun Aspen singles: Merino/Tencel.)

I finished up a pair of Sweet Tart socks for my mom -- no FO pick yet -- and then started on another pair in a bamboo blend, which I'm keeping in this brand new project bag from MADE by rachelm on Etsy.






I'm in love with this bag. I want 8 more.

Also, I've started up work again on my Auburn Camp Shirt.



This photo does not even begin to convey the calm, perfect teal of the true color, but oh well. You get the idea.

Now this photo, especially for my mom: my tomatoes are finally all staked up!



Also, I just got these new shoes in the mail. I'm suddenly obsessed with 80's inspired shoes.



You can get your own here if you're similarly inclined.

And last but not least, here's the final pictures of the shawl I wove for Aunt Susie. It's currently on it's way over to her. I hope it makes it there safely!









I decided to twist the fringe after all, just in smaller groups than in the sample. If she doesn't like it, she can just untwist them, or cut them shorter, or whatever. It feels good to be done!

Final specs: 29" wide, 94" long (not including fringe)

Now we're off for another two weeks of adventures!

Oh, and Greg says that if you are a Ghoti Hook fan and were within 1 hour of Philadelphia last week but did not see the Ghoti Hook reunion show, you're a total looser. But if you click on the link, you can pretend you were there anyway.

Shawl progress...

Aunt Susie's shawl has been cut off of the loom.



I'm half-done with the fringe twisting. I look forward to sending this off to her!

In other news, these little cheeks are terribly delicious.

I sewed!

Oh yes my friends, you read that right. I broke out the sewing machine the other day, just in time for a little friend's birthday, and whipped up this little dog:



It's got these little pleats on the insides of the legs to help it stand.



Ingenious little design element. I was rather charmed by it. Pattern is from the book that Alke lent to me

I don't know how long it's been since I sewed last, but I really enjoyed it. I'd forgotten how fun it is to put something together so quickly.

My children took one look at the little dog, and immediately felt the need for their own little creatures. I was able to get some of that started, but at the moment, I'm weaving like mad, trying to get Aunt Susie's shawl done by the end of this week. I'm pretty close to the end now, so I actually might manage it. Pictures to follow!