Tour Progress

The Tour has had it's ups (Cavendish, anyone? Evans?) and downs (Ricco, you cheat!) this week. The sprint finish on Stage 12 was super exciting! I'm glad that Cavendish got the win, but I thought my QuickStep man Gert Steegmans had it- oh well!


I'm almost done with my main project, the French-flag market bag! It is a super easy knit- I can watch the Tour and knit- and I'm really happy with the striping. It's striping exactly as I wanted it to! Yay! I plan on finishing it tonight, so I can use it tomorrow at the farmer's market.

I'm thinking I might make more market bags, in kid-friendly colors for all of the kiddos. I have plenty of cotton yarns in kid-approved colors, so market bags for all!

Quick update for Team QuickStitch

I'm still chugging on with the peloton! Coverage is so exciting! We've been watching each stage multiple times- and it's just as exciting on the third viewing as the first.

Intermediate Sprint entry-

Here's my knitting project, inspired by the Tour de France-

I've just gotten started, but I should pick up speed coming down the mountain stages. I saw the red, white and blue yarn, and instead of thinking of Old Glory, it immediately gave me the thoughts of Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite and the Tour.



Seems pretty self-explanatory to me!

I chose a market bag to knit with this yarn because it seems like the sort of bag one would use to shop in your local village, buying the freshest produce, and the freshest bread, to make your simple, but rustic ratatouille, enjoying a glass of chardonnay as you cook.

I only regret that I failed to take a picture of the ratatouille I made last night in celebration of the first week of the Tour. It was delicious, served over couscous, and we enjoyed a bottle of Ugni Blanc/Viognier, from the south of France, with our lovely dinner. The kids were skeptical of the meal, even with the Pixar connection. C'est la vie!

More knitting content later!
Till then-
G

Le Tour, Stage 2

We sure get sucked into the Tour quickly around here. Stage 2, and we've already taken to watching it multiple times a day. The kids are already asking "the bicycle race again?" Um, yeah. We've seen enough SpongeBob for a lifetime- we're watching le Tour.

For the TdF KAL- I'm finishing a UFO for a Ravelry swap, and will count that towards my maillot jaune. Next up- a QuickStep/QuickStitch blue hat- maybe a beret even! And the French Market bag- tres bien!

My favorite riders so far are Thomas Voeckler, whom I've admired since he started trying for the Polka Dot jersey back in Virenque's day. I remember him getting the white jersey then- and now he's going for the King of the Mountains. Way to go Thomas! I also like Thor Hushovd- he sure put on the jets today! Just a great rider to see get a stage win.

I better round up some needles, put the kids to bed, and get some knitting done during the re-broadcast.

Till then-
G

So that didn't last long...

Gosh, I sure fell off the blogging wagon with a tremendous thump square on my behind. Ouch.

Anyway- new motivation! The Tour! I'm part of the Tour de France KAL again this year, and hope to do better both with the blogging and the knitting! Last year's project, Wisp, remains a UFO. Ahem. This year, instead of going for the Polka Dot jersey, like my favorite all time Tour rider, Richard Virenque, I've chosen the goal of just keeping up with the peloton in the maillot jaune category.

Also new this year- teams!


I'm part of Team QuickStep, or Team QuickStitch, as we're now known. Seems like a great bunch of gals to pal around the peloton for the duration. My project plans? I'm planning on knitting a lacy scarf, possibly the Branching Out scarf from Knitty, in a deep golden (maillot jaune) Silky Wool. I'm also going to knit a market bag from red, white and blue cotton yarn, much like the French flag. And possibly a beret, for osme French style along the way. Sounds like a lot, but I'm not going for the sprint win, so if it doesn't all happen, it's a-ok with me!

In other news... it's my Sweet Man's birthday today. He's been suitably gifted, and will be stuffed with cake (cream cheese cake) later tonight. Chicken fried steaks for supper, some good brews, and a low key day- sounds good to me!

Till then-
G

C is for Construction

C is for Construction.
Yes, dreadfully late with this entry, but the camera gods were against me.

We've had almost 90 inches of snow this winter, which is way too much! Sweet man and the kiddos have been constructing an igloo in the side yard. They used the huge snow bank that the never-ending plows have left behind as a foundation, and used all manner of buckets and a small trash can for the blocks. It's taller than me, and really cool. Alas, it's supposed to rain in the next few days, so it may remain roof-less. Although, the rain might fuse everything together nicely, freeze, and the igloo remain till May.

Spring is around the corner, right?

B is for Boy

B is for Boy.
Goodwin was a surprise after having three girls. We were expecting a quartet of girls... but added some testosterone to the house instead, much to my husband's relief.

He's very much a boy- loves trucks, cars and trains, is boisterous and active... but will still play dress up with his sisters, and demands ponytails and dresses when they're wearing them. He has an endless fascination with how things work- toilets, dishwashers, DVD players... but can be such a snuggle bug when he wants to be.

He is most definitely a Daddy's boy. He loves sitting on him, watching tv, and prefers him when he has owies or wakes in the night.

He'll be three in June. We can't imagine life without him. Love you buddy!

A is for Angle

One of the things that really drew me to our house were the quirks and angles in the ceilings. All three of our bedrooms have neat, angled ceilings. It's because our house is an older home, built in 1938, and has a very angled roof line. The stairwell has many angles as well.



We've been in this house since our twins were two weeks old, and they'll be five in June. It's the first house we bought- we'd spent several years here and there, mostly in rented duplexes, and a couple apartments. We had a horrible experience in our first apartment (needless to say, February in Michigan is not an ideal time for the roof to be replaced), and found a great duplex to rent nearby. It was built in 1951, and had neat touches from that era. Thus started our love of older homes.

This house has been great for our family, though we seem to be bursting at the seams these days. I guess four kids will do that to most homes. Some of the angles are great- Sophie's bed is nestled under her angled ceiling, and our closet has shelves on one side, and the ceiling angles up to the hanging bars nicely. The bathroom ceiling angles from tall by the door and mirror, down to much lower by the window. Our fireplace has nice angles too, and the whole house is angular outside. It's like a modified cape cod style set sideways.