Hello blogging friends.  I have just enough time to squeeze in a post for August before it is over.  My blogging days have been few and far in between.  I will do better 🙂  My summer has been a little busy.  Lots of little day trips-mostly yarny trips. I went to a Wine and Wool Fest and I participated in the I-75 Yarn Crawl.  I visited 10 shops during the yarn crawl and purchased something at each shop.  And then last week I visited a new shop that I didn’t get to hit on the Yarn Crawl.  It was a lot of fun, but expensive, as I couldn’t resist yarn where ever I went 😉  I have been stitching, too.

First, I finished the Mermaid’s Garden Shawl.  It turned out beautiful! Here it is being blocked.

This was such an enjoyable KAL.  The pattern is the Mermaid’s Garden Shawl by Lena Mathisson and is available on Ravelry.  I will be making this one again for sure.

I recently joined other knitters at my local yarn shop and we are making the Veronika cardigan.  Here is my start on this one:

That is not a shadow at the top of the cardigan.  It appears that my yarn doesn’t quite match.  Ugh.  I will continue on.  I am using Malabrigo Rios in Tranquilo.  I’m not into switching skeins every other row, so I will leave it for now.  I am using a size 9 needle as I couldn’t get gauge with an 8.  And after using fingering weight yarn for so long, this worsted weight yarn and large needle has really done a number on my right hand.  It is aching quite a bit today, so this piece is in time out for now. But I am loving the color.  And see that cute bag in the back?  It was a special order to CleverGirl Designs Co.  It matches my tool bag.

Kristine does a great job making these bags.  The smaller one has lots of pockets and holds a lot! You can find her on Instagram @clevergirldesignsco

I started a new cross stitch.  I know, don’t say it, LOL.  I couldn’t resist Bella Filapina’s “Pearl of the Orient Seas”.  She is a beauty!

I am stitching her on 16ct aida, a OOAK from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.  While I love her, I have found out I am not a fan of stitching with red, orange and yellow.  Hopefully I will be able to get through it as she is really stunning.  I have become a big fan of Bella Filipina designs.  He is so talented.

I am still stitching on the Pillow for a friend. It is coming along and my goal is to get it done by the end of summer.  Which, as the title of my post says, is coming to an end.  I better up my game now.  I can’t show all of my progress because I want it to be a surprise for the recipient.  But here is a peek:  (Don’t look at the back of it!)

I am getting near the bottom!  Woo Hoo!

And remember this crochet project?

Well, I finished it!!!  A little less than 2 years and not perfect, but it is finished and I just love it!

This blanket will keep me warm while hanging out in the finished basement with hubby.  Yep, the basement is all finished and put together.  We still have lots of boxes and bins to go through for the storage room.  We are hoping to get those unpacked within the next month.  So that is what I have been up to these last few weeks of summer.  What have you been up to?  Did you recently finish a project you are happy to finally finish?