Kicks, Jumps, and Twirls

Last night, I remarked that our laundry room looks like it belongs to an athlete. There were several sets of jerseys and shorts hanging to dry. The reason that it looks like an athlete lives here is because he does! I've said it before, but I am still amazed that Young Man is coordinated and athletic. I do hope that he inherited Mr. Engineer's knees along with his eyesight.

This spring, Young Man has joined the soccer team at his school. They play intramural games with other small private schools in the county. This is his first year on a soccer team and we are all very impressed. He plays defense because he really has that gift for stopping other players from scoring. I have been lucky enough to juggle my schedule until I could attend two of his games. On Tuesday, the team played their third match and tied it at 3-3. Today, they won 8-0!

He brings the same intensity to soccer that he brings to lacrosse. It is amazing to watch and more than a little surprising to people who know that he hasn't played soccer before.


Okay, so where are the twirls? Well, I needed to come down slowly after sewing all those costumes. One cannot just go cold turkey, you know. Young Man's cousin loves twirly skirts and dresses and it will be spring in her part of the country some day soon. It was time for a sundress!

Pattern: McCalls 5572

Fabric: A fun seersucker from JoAnns

Notes: Definitely not a beginner pattern, but it was not that difficult. I modified several things. Some were accidental (size 7 and up was supposed to have a 9-inch zipper, not a 7-inch) and some were on purpose. I detest hand sewing (it gives me tendonitis flares) so I add a bit of extra topstitching.

Head to Toes

More finished items! Today was also a soccer day, but those pictures (all 576 of them - eep) are still in the camera awaiting download and edit time.

Project: Noro Striped Scarf, by Jared

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colors 234 and 47 (2 skeins each)

Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm)

Notes: It took me two tries to find a color scheme that I liked (and I'm still not too keen on that tan on grey section in the middle), but the final version is very nice. I suspect that my main problem was that I wasn't bold enough in my choices. I have some very nice Silk Garden in my stash that I didn't want to use, but it would have been wonderful in this project. I used a tubular cast on and cast off for this and I cast off while watching (and photographing) the last regular game of the last lacrosse season. It was quite the challenge to alternate working the tapestry needle and the camera. I perservered and the result pleases me. It also kept me warm during that chilly game and the even colder playoff game that night.

Project: Step Socks, by me

Yarn: Austermann Step

Needles: US1 (2.25 mm) dpns

Notes: I do love this yarn. My really local LYS had this colorway that I hadn't seen before and I thought how great it would look with jeans. I did a 10 x 2 x 2-twist x 2 pattern that was easy yet spiffed up the striped yarn. I think they might be a little short so they may end up being gifts for a friend or maybe I need to rip back the toes and add a few rows.

Knitting? Oh, Yes, We Have That!

I did promise finished objects and I aim to deliver. Today, this tale of woe and redemption is all about the babies. One of my nieces just had a baby and I had an urge to knit a hat and a sweater for her new daughter. I wandered through a LYS and found a new (to me) yarn called Jeannee and found a delightful shade of lavender. I don't really do pink (even though my phone is hot pink) and I detest yellow, so lavender seemed a good pick. I blogged earlier with the finished hat, but then ripped it back a bit and made it larger. Unfortunately, I didn't buy quite enough yarn for the hat and the sweater, so I went back and bought more. I finished the knitting and seaming in February, but didn't manage to get the buttons on until yesterday.

Project: Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater, by Carole Barenys

Yarn: Jeannee by Plymouth (Cotton/Acrylic blend)

Needles: US 4 (3.5mm)

Notes: This is an easy pattern, but do pay attention. I seem to recall that I had to rip back a few times when I lost track of where I was. Still, a little confusion is worth it to avoid those seams! This yarn is really nice to work with and the end result feels nice and soft.

The really funny thing about this project is that my estimation skills are just plain wonky. I not only bought enough yarn to finish the sweater, I realized that I had enough for another sweater and hat. So I made another hat and cast on for Trellis. Some of you may remember what happened next. Yes, I was again short on yarn and needed more. Sadly, the store seemed to be out. Weeks passed while I sewed costumes and the little sweater languished, neglected, in my craft room. Finally, I made another break for the LYS and they had more yarn! I bought two skeins. No more!

Pattern: Trellis, by Britta Stolfus Rueschhoff

Needles: US7 (4.5mm)

Yarn: Jeannee by Plymouth

Notes: Okay, for someone like me who hates seams, this pattern could have been a nightmare. For a tiny sweater (12 month size), there are miles of seams! Okay, I exaggerate, but I spent quite a bit of quality time with my tapestry needle. There also was the challenge of kitchnering cabled shoulders and a seed stitch collar. Don't forget that most favorite instruction that had me knitting the collar halves to fit the neck edge and then seaming. Ack! Still, I fell in love with this pattern when I first saw it and it was a nice challenge.

Can you guess the ending of today's tale? Yes, I have one skein that hasn't been touched. I could return it or I could get more...

It Was a Great Night of Lacrosse

The evening started off with new shorts and some intensive coaching by the head coach. It was still very hot, but the boys listened intently and proved later that they were paying attention. The parents were the only ones who got any shade for this first game. We were warm, but could only imagine what the boys were dealing with out in the sun.


Even with the heat, the boys showed lots of hustle. Young Man was on his game and showing his stuff with his new long pole. Defense was name of the game during this match. The opposing team was good, very good. Our boys just didn't let them get too close to the goal. The final score was 5-0, but that score really didn't tell how hard Young Man's team had to work for that score.

After the first game, the boys stripped off their soggy jerseys and the hoard wandered over to the parents' side of the field to forage. The parents are all experienced and were able to handle the hungry swarm. We had water, oranges (some of those 25 lbs. that Young Man had carried earlier), watermelon, grapes, granola bars, and chocolate filled Joe-Joes. The boys headed back to their side of the field ready for play.

It was a bit cooler for the second game, but our boys were still hot and tired. This opposing team was fresh and quite a bit bigger on average than the first team. There were some amazing plays including one where #13 came out of no where to scoop up a dropped ball and flip it into the goal. At the half, it was a tie game, 2-2. The third quarter was a battle of defense as no one scored.

The fourth quarter included even exciting plays and one that had all the parents shaking their heads as we didn't even see the boys gain possession after the face-off, yet they kept the ball moving to the goal until they scored. We watched one boy pour on the speed late in the game and we all wondered where he managed draw that from. With under five minutes to go in the game, our boys lead 4-3 and the parents were on their feet cheering. Still the heat and the intensity of playing two hard games was too much. The opposing team made two quick goals in the last two minutes and left the final score 4-5.

It was a great game to watch and all the boys could be proud of their effort. These two teams will face off again in about a month and both teams will be fresh for that match. It should be another exciting game.

Heads up: This next week will feature a parade of finished items!

Running Tired

It was a very long and exciting day. We started out with a trip to pick out frames for Mr. Engineer's new glasses (that's two pair, to be precise). The second stop was far more fun. We went to the Irvine Farmer's Market and came home with all sorts of lovely things including leeks, strawberries, and 25 lbs. of oranges. Young Man was thrilled to carry the oranges all the way to the van! All that speed and endurance training seems to be paying off.

After a quiet afternoon, Young Man and I went off to the lacrosse field. Mr. Engineer wasn't feeling well so he missed two very exciting games. I'll save the details for tomorrow, but there was one win and one loss that wasn't a loss at all.