I talked myself into it...

One of my co-workers has been buying the blank muslin dolls we sell by the armfull.  She makes little dresses for them and then sends them to Africa.  I had actually received a bunch of fabric to make those pillowcase dresses to send over.  I'm thinking that it might be too cute if for some of them I include a doll wearing a matching dress.
Then I got to wondering if it was worth making them over buying the premade dolls.  While it would cost less (in theory) to make them, it would take a lot longer to make them.  I'm sure the people would rather have more than worry about if I made every single detail of the two.
I'm not sure when I will get a chance to, but I am going to head to another store to see if they have any.

I went and did it again.

Last night Bill somehow convinced me to go for a ride on the back of his new motorcycle.  We went out to dinner.  He took me on a quick ride around the neighborhood to make sure I could handle it.  I had to practice some deep breathing exercises and my back muscles were still tense.

He convinced me to go back out again today.  I wanted to take some knitting so I could take pictures of it to make it seem like it fit in more if I posted about it here, but he wanted me to try it without the backpack.

Our first stop was at this little park/monument on a small island. I thought it looked kind of like he wanted to give you a high-five, though I don't know anyone tall enough to reach.

From the road you could also see the really cool looking church that is on the upper left of this picture.  I also liked the clock tower and that bridge going over the Potomac River.

This tree has a kind of funny story to go with it.  This is the first picture Bill ever sent me after he got his first motorcycle and went out riding with it.  In the text he said "wish you could be here" and now I have finally gotten to go out there.

After all the fun we stopped at Milwaukee Frozen Custard, pistachio was the flavor of the day.
On the ride I both discovered a very uncomfortable way to sit, and how to fix it.  When I was first getting on I was centering myself while the bike was still tilted a little.  This caused me to be off center while we were riding and for my knee to start hurting.  Once I fixed that it was a lot better.  I have also started holding on to the side bar when we are stopping so I don't feel like I am just running in to him with no way to stop.

I promise there has been progress on projects.  It's way too dark to get any pictures tonight, but I promise you will get some.

Still fighting those germs.

I have been battling with germs since last Wed.  I feel like I'm making progress, but I sound like a frog.  Hopefully this will be better before I have to go to work tomororw.

I had had plans on getting some stuff done outside of the house, but I have not felt like I had enough energy for that.  Some of it also involved talking to people, which I can't really do right now.

Instead I am trying to get some of the easier to get done projects finally done and out of the way.

 

 The headbands finally have buttons on them!  I added the one button to the end because that was the headband with the gradient striping and I wanted to let the wearer decide which side they liked best.

 

This thing I finished a good while ago, but then I forgot I had it.  I have no idea what to call it.  I based it on the rectangle hat that gives the appearance of cat ears when being worn.

 

Only I left little openings on the sides.  I am not sure why I did it, but I like it.  This second picture is closer to how the colors look in person.  I didn't show it, but it was one of my first times doing Kitchener stitch, so it is a bit uneven along that line.  When I made it I knit around until I got to where the gap was going to be, then I knit only one side until it was long enough to fold over, I then grafted it together with the body.

Anyone remember this bad boy?  I was sure I had finished it and donated it, but I found it in a bag in my craft-stuff storage room the other day.  I was also then going to drag out all my buttons and try and hope there were enough matching ones for it, but it turned out I went and bought buttons for it.  I only used about half the buttons since I knew I would get bored before I could sew all 11 that it called for on.
For anyone who doesn't remember it is the Very Versatile Top Down Cardigan (Ravelry link) that was last seen June 19, 2012. I don't blame you if you don't remember it.  Right now it is soaking to get blocked, but I don't think that will change how it looks too much.

It is getting dark out or I would also include the picture of my mini-Skywalker (yes, let's pretend I made it that size on purpse) and of the mustard yellow blob that is the almost done baby blanket.
Getting stuff finished is fun! (someone remind me of this when I have a pile of these things laying around again)

Knit in public day!

Why yes, it does sound scandalous.  It is also kind of something I already do twice a week...though this one is usually outside in a park and not in a building.  Either way, it seems there are a few of them.  The first knit in public day happens on the second Sat in June, which is usually why I can't participate.  I usually have to work on Sat.  Though word was going around on knit-night that is it this Sunday.  A few of us whipped out our phones and did a bit of a search.  We still have no idea.  We all found multiple listings for multiple days.  One said it already happened, another said it still hasn't happened, and yet another says it is a whole week event.

The swirl scarf has made another appearance.  The blue Skywalker shawl should be dry soon and the baby blanket is in time out.  It might not look like it, but I swear it is getting longer.  The smaller piles of yarn are my only proof that I'm really not just adding every free pattern on Ravelry to my library when I go to knit gatherings.

Back to only a few posts.

I have started a few different posts a few times.  I was unsure how to point out that after much thought I added a donation button to the side-bar.  So there it is, no big deal.

I have also noticed how much this blog has generally changed over time.  When I first started it I was going to talk about only things that had to do with making things to donate for charity.  It has slowly grown into someplace that I put many more things.  I do try and talk mostly about the items I am making, but I do like the fact that I don't feel like I'm going off in another direction when I post about things like my vacation I just went on.

Speaking of charity things, I'm working on the edging for the Skywalker shawl.  Like I mentioned before, I'm really hoping some lace blocking magic will happen because it is looking a bit small.  I also already have another shawl planned out, but I'm not sure if that is the right project for me right now.  I'm thinking it might be smarter to go around and dig through filled project bags.  I know there are quite a few that I've shown pictures of here but still sit around unfinished.  I also don't mean that final step unfinished, I mean, still needs to be knitted/crocheted/sewn before the final finishing touches.
I think that would be the best idea and that way I will have more needles freed up for newer projects!

Home again.

It does feel good to be home again, even if I didn't want to leave.  I know Mr. Jag is glad to have me back.

Some random thoughts and things:

• I already miss the ability to get currywurst almost everywhere I go. 
• I will need to bring smaller knitting if I want to have it appear with me as I go places and not just get mentioned at the end of the post. I don't know if it is just me, but this blog's content doesn't seem to be matching it's name right now.
• There are a lot of things I will need before making a trip like this: hiking boots, keyboard for my tablet, water proof backpack, and comfy rain coat are a few of the things.
• German road signs are more interesting than ones I've seen in the states.  They also don't always need words to get their point across.
• Though the math isn't hard, kgs make you feel like you weigh less and kph make you feel like you are going faster.
• Kinder eggs are super cheap at the grocery store over there, only about 0.99€ for 3 and I can't get them anywhere but the internet at home.  Bill is making fun of me for eating one already...but I wanted to see how it took to being melty...then I had it opened and all so I couldn't let it go to waste or go bad or anything.
• If you want to read some posts with more historical facts about this trip, check out: The Munchkin's Notebook (heck, even if you don't, go there anyway)

Some fun facts about Kinder Eggs:

Picture borrowed from the internet.

Kinder Surprise
 To me these are a bit more fun, but it is harder to have that fun.  The toy capsule is being held withing a very thin shell of milk and white chocolate.  It is fun to be able to break that open and get to your toy.  The downside is that they are only wrapped in foil so it is easy for the shell to break.

Picture borrowed from the internet.

Kinder Joy
 This was a good way to do this.  It looks like an egg, but it is divided down the center when you open the packaging.  In one half you have a sealed section with your chocolate in it and a tiny plastic spoon thingy to eat it with.  The other half is where the toy is.  This prevents the worry about protecting the delicate chocolate shell, but you still get the fun of the small toy.  I do miss the cute capsules though.

Here is Skywalker.  I got most of that done on the way there.  I had all the harder lace bits, and longer rows for the way back and I only got about another 14 or so rows done.  I had imagined that I was going to be on the edging by the time I got home.  I'm also hoping some lace magic will happen with it because it is coming out smaller than I had thought.  I'm following the pattern and using the right needles for the right yarn.

The baby blanket grew faster than I thought it would.  Some people worry that they will gain the ability to craft at super speeds when away from home and it seems I did that.  I'm also not sure why it is starting to get woobly on the edges when I have been increasing at the same rate the whole time.

Who got to sleep in a castle? This gal!

Maybe we didn't ask for the right kind of sun?
We headed for the castle today!  How is this different than any other castle you may ask? Well, we are staying in this one over night!

I may have to learn how to make this at home.  Currywurst is very good here, though they use a different sauce than I've had before on things currywursts.

We found a castle that is an actual ruined castle!  Holes in the walls and missing bits and everything.
 

We even found the "secret" tunnels the map told us about.  It was fun to "crawl" around in.  As you can tell from the picture it was very dark in there.  Heather opted to go out the regular cave we came in through before the tunnel.
However it was a lot warmer than I thought it would be and the present chocolates became liquid.  Very lucky for me the store packaged them very, very well.  There was no horrible mess in my backpack.  They got put straight into the mini-fridge once we got our room.  I'm not sure if that was better or letting them slowly cool, but I didn't want to risk the packaging anymore than it had been.

The room had those silly two beds again.  This one even had a wooden divider between the two.

The bathroom is behind a secret door!  Though it is very loud, so not that secret of a secret door.  I want a secret door to something in my house...I wonder how hard it would be to add a secret door to a room in my house.  Bill says no though.

I was told there were going to be sweet breads...I was even curious to try them.  We get here, no sweetbreads.  Oh well, maybe someday in my life.
Most of us got the sparkling elderberry, it was lovely and perfect to toast with.

 Since in my head being a food critic sounds like a lot of fun, I am going to run down the meal and my "super professional" opinion of it all.  This was our bonus dish that the chef sent out.  It tasted a bit like very good roast stew with mashed potatoes.

 I think we were all expecting the big cocktail shrimp...these are the shrimp those would beat-up for their lunch money.  It all tasted quite nice though.  The guacamole was a surprise since it sounded more like slices of avocado, but I like guacamole, so I didn't complain

It was...soup like.  I have had beef consume before.  This was very bland and watery tasting.  The egg custard and mushroom cubes were a bit odd, but not too bad.  I think they would have been better with a stronger soup base.

This is where the sweetbreads were supposed to appear.  In their place was a very good plate of food.  No white asparagus for us though, even though it is the season for them.  The meat was perfectly cooked and the sauce did not overpower the flavor of it.

Yummy, yummy dessert.  I could have lived without the mint chip ice cream.  The odd sour berry that we saw at one of the other places was back.  It turns out that it is from Africa, though our waitress did not know the English name for it.
The leaves were very sweet and good.  Our waitress called them honey crisp.  She was not 100% sure sounding and we did not know any better, so that is what we are going to go with. 

We all went for a walk in the garden after eating.  There were a few tadpoles in the ponds.

We also found a few small buildings with seats and books.  This one was my favorite.  I told Bill that if we ever decided to just live in the woods that I want a house like this.  To get to the porch from the second floor you had to squeeze between branches.

It would have been nice to have another night here to spend lazing about in the garden.  Something to plan for another trip.  Bill and I spent the last bits of our evening drinking apple brandy and smoking cigars.
I also decided that it might be a good thing we are leaving because it seems our key chain is starting to get bigger the longer we are here...