The Sweatshop of Love Blog

Vogue Cropped Jacket Body Finished!

While I work my way through the pictures from this weekend (friend in town=CRAZINESS!), I wanted to pop up and say hi! I don’t think I’ve been away from you this long ever. I miss ya.

I mentioned before that I was getting low on the Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool for my Vogue Cropped Jacket. I worked on it a little bit this weekend, enough to know that once Elizabeth left town I would need to high tail it over to JoAnn and get another skein.

But look how cute! I finished the whole body! I love this sweater, it came together really well. I had a little problem attaching the sleeves and the body for the yoke decreases, and I fudged the numbers and just worked with what I had. So far I’m really happy with it! I even slipped it on despite the heat to see what it looked like. Pieces left? The front panels and neckline.

So I battled the storms this afternoon and made it to JoAnn, where I was met with one of the most painful sights ever:

I Mean, Seriously?

It is August 17th. I feel bad enough scheduling holiday themed classes in September, but to pull out your Christmas yarn on AUGUST 17th?! Something told me that this trip wasn’t going to end well.

I found the Fishermen’s Wool section. I looked up:

Close...

I looked down:

Nope.

Huh. I asked someone and apparently JoAnn doesn’t carry the Maple Tweed I got at Hobby Lobby in Michigan.

So, you have it right. I have to now order a skein of Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool in Maple Tweed online.

But at least I don’t have to look at Christmas yarn on JoAnn.com.

Velma

Pudge

Kitties say, ‘Please come home so PT will stop torturing us.’

I leave tomorrow for Chicago. Have I done anything I set out to do? Absolutely not. I kept up with my blogging. I didn’t gain any weight, which leads me to believe that I have a tape worm.

Sleeves!

I knit the whole body and sleeves of my Vogue Cropped Jacket that I wasn’t supposed to be knitting.

Mommy

Zucchini, Green Pepper, Carrot Pasta

And I made my mom some veggie pasta with the tomatoes, like I’ve been making myself at home. As you can see, she liked it!

So I’m just wrapping some things up here at Biggby for the last time. It’s treated me well! Creme Brule coffee this morning again, which I think is my favorite.

On my way out tomorrow I’ll stop by and get some fresh produce, a few more groceries, then hit the road. This trip has flown by, like most vacations.

The party continues, though! My friend Elizabeth from my year at Adrian College is coming to Chicago and it’s going to be crazy! I can use a little craziness after this easy breezy Allendale visit.

Chicago, here I come!

After an unexpected 24 hour delay, yesterday morning my grandparents and I were off to the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan.

Well, not before we stopped to the doctor. Because apparently after you get to a certain age you can’t leave the house without it involving a stop to the doctor or picking up a prescription.

Multitasking!

So, eventually we were off. It’s about an hour and a half drive up to Manistee, and after two restroom breaks, a Perry Como greatest hits tape, and two and a half hours, we arrived.

First things first: We hit the all you can eat buffet. Papa is a hard core buffet enthusiast, and buffet eaters everywhere can learn a thing or two about how to eat an exorbitant amount of food from this man.

Papa in his Element

First course? Some kind of cream of asparagus soup, we were guessing, which was good, if not a little stringy. And a ‘salad’. Papa’s version of a salad?

Pile shredded cheese on a plate. Top with hard boiled egg crumbles, bacon bits, croutons, and thousand island dressing. Enjoy.

Second course: Lots of meat and potatoes, everything covered in gravy.

‘They had corn beef hash,’ he said upon returning from the meat station. ‘I was surprised because it is usually a breakfast food.’

Grandma and I were distracted by the dessert bar so we weren’t concerned about his corn beef hash. When we got back to the table, though:

‘So that corn beef hash turned out to be apple crisp,’ he said nonchalantly. Grandma and I laughed into our sundaes, but then I looked at his clean plate.

‘Papa, you still ate all that apple crisp with gravy over it?’

‘Oh yeah it was great! I might go back for more.’

Desserts!

Grandma's Cheesecake

Instead we got him to pick out a piece of cake that he didn’t like. So I should have just let him eat the apple crisp with gravy. It just seems like no person should consume that.

My grandma found herself a piece of caramely cheese cake that she really liked.

What did I eat at this buffet? I made myself a bean and rice burrito, a big salad, some of that soup, I made myself an oreo caramel sundae and like 6 cookies. I’m eating more cookies that my grandma stole for me right now!

Illegal Picture

You are not supposed to take pictures of the gaming floor, so I just took this one quick, mainly to illustrate exactly how many old people were there. I would turn my back for one second and lose my grandparents in a sea of 70+ white people. All the women had the same white hair cut and all the men were bald! I had no chance.

The Excitement was Palpable

I have never gambled before. Well, at a casino. I like playing poker and betting on sports, because that kind of gambling involves doing something. Either you are watching a game for three hours hoping that your team does well, or you are playing a game and have a little control of your money. Slot machines? You put in the money and 2 minutes of pushing buttons later you have no money. I’m too cheep and when $20 can get you two weeks of groceries, you like when it disappears in 2 minutes.

Me, Haircut, Sweater

So I sat in the lounge area with the sleeping people and shuttle drivers and knit my Vogue Cropped Jacket, which is coming along really nicely! It is knitting up really fast; I finished the body a while ago and am working on the sleeves right now. I love the Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool! It is so pretty and nice to work with. I’m almost done with the sleeves, so then I can put it all together and work on the yoke.

The Little River In The Little River

Besides me hating to gamble, my grandma losing her phone (recovered), my grandma losing her cane (recovered), and my grandparents both losing all of their money (not recovered), we had a great time! It’s nice to get them out of the house, and they love to gamble, and they got a lot of exercise running around that huge casino, and I got a lot of work done on my sweater. I’d call that a successful afternoon.

And after the two and a half hour drive back home I was passed out in front of the Tigers game where I belong, and I’m sure my grandparents were, too.

I woke up this morning at 6. I made pickles. I still smell like pickles; you can’t get that smell out of your hands. Like garlic. Or lemon.

Pickles are not something you  make by yourself. Making pickles is ridiculous, and Oliver and Batley just didn’t appreciate the ridiculousness of making pickles at 6am to the extent I needed them to.

And I did something stupid.

Work? No Thanks, I'll Start A Sweater

I started the Vogue Cropped Jacket. Yesterday. As you can see, I made some progress, because I don’t want to do anything but knit this sweater. I didn’t even turn my computer on at all yesterday. Get this! I READ THE PAPER to get scores. I felt like such an old dude.

Seed St Bottom, Bell St Body

My mom and I ran to Hobby Lobby yesterday morning, through torrential rain, to pick up Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool in the dark tweed, and of course I can’t just sit and do some actual work, like I’m supposed to be doing, I have to start my sweater, and not stop working on it for one moment.

Isn’t it pretty?

I’m at Biggby this morning. Made pickles, came to Biggby. I’ve been sitting here for about an hour and a half now; I’m the only one sitting, and I 3 couples have come and gone. Sunday morning in Allendale is not a big morning for coffee, apparently. And everyone has said the exact same thing:

Coffee Guy: Morning!

Man: It’s a hot one out there!

Coffee Guy: Iced coffee? Haha!

Man and Woman: Haha!

Woman: Iced ___________

(Coffee Guy makes drink): This will help you stay cool!

Man: We’ll need it! Haha!

Woman and Coffee Guy: Haha!

Have I mentioned how much I love it here? I got a small coffee, and when I moseyed over to the self serve area I found the Michigan Cherry medium roast. Halla! It is delightful.

'Sunday' Dinner

I’m extraordinarily lucky to have grandparents I’m very close to and that live 15 minutes away from my parents. They have been coming over on Sunday afternoons to eat a huge meal and play cards for as long as I can remember. We moved our Sunday meal up a day this weekend because today is supposed to be 95 degrees and my parents don’t have air conditioning in the cabin. The ‘Sunday’ dinner spread was my papa’s potato salad, which is the best potato salad in the entire world and has spoiled me away from every other potato salad there is, that huge fruit salad, grilled potatoes, and grilled lemon pepper chicken.

And please take a moment to stare with amazement at my mom’s table runner! She knit that with her yarn scraps. The contrast of that table runner on the dark wood immediately catches your eye and lights up the entire room.

My Plate

Here is a closer look at her work! And my plate. I had a heeping serving of both potato salad and potatoes, with ketchup, and a few pieces of the grilled chicken. And a lot of fruit salad! The fruit salad had watermelon, blueberries, nectarines, early apples, and apricots all from Michigan, and grapes, but I’m not sure where the grapes came from.

I whipped up the marinate from the chicken with the zest of four lemons, the juice of 6 lemons, maybe a tablespoon of olive oil, and a whole lot of pepper.

(And my mom is going to kill me, but I have to point out that the woman uses paper plates, paper bowls, and beautiful hand made by her cloth napkins. The ridiculousness of that is exactly why I love my mother so much. Of course she would use the napkins she made because they are beautiful and look great with the table runner she made, but she doesn’t want to wash all those dishes. It’s logical and ridiculous.)

I also finished my second Two Texture Mitten in 24 hours, because today is my grandma’s birthday and I wanted to give them to her. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries and the battery charger is at home, so I won’t be able to take a picture of them, of her, or of the brunch we are about to have at The Peppermill Grill, (Papa: The Butter Wagon, The Butterball. Dad: The Buttermill. Matthew: The Butterbutt – I don’t know where they all got butter from) which has a yelp page now! But no reviews. (cough, PT, cough)

Church Wear: A dude in his early 20s just walked into Biggby wearing tan flip flops, white cargo shorts with a newspaper sticking out of his back pocket, a tan fabric belt, a black button down with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a silver tie. Oh! And he ordered an iced peanut butter cup latte.

I’ve got to pack up quick if I’m going to catch him before he jumps back into the Jeep Grand Cherokee he took the time to back into a parking spot for a 30 second stop at the coffee shop!

I woke up this morning with a huge man in my bed.

Me and Arnold

I had to take pictures because it might never happen again.

HEAVY Kitty

Arnold is the loudest purrer I have ever heard. Waking up with all like 20 pounds of him on my chest, purring like a motor boat, I thought I might have somehow been run over by a car in my sleep, only to wake up with it still running and on top of me. But, it was just Arnold, looking for a morning cuddle, which I was more than happy to return. I miss my babies.

Biggby

So here I am at Biggby Coffee, which, after having been sitting here for two hours, is a lot bigger than it needs to be.

Two Dudes, One Fireplace, and Fox News!

It was me and these dudes when I got here at about 8:30. Now there are two other people here with computers, one guy with a broken arm, and two old women drinking mochas. The internet is fast (maybe relatively, everything moves kinda slow up here), and they have six different kinds of self serve coffee. 16 oz for $1.90 and all the internet I could ever want? I’ll take it! I’ve been uploading pictures with reckless abandon all morning.

Breakfast of Nappers

I kinda took yesterday off. I woke up early because it is freaking cold here and the tent was not warm. I moved to the living room with a blanket, a cup of tea, and Chocolat, which I’m loving. But, again, we picked a book for Knitting Book Club that everyone will agree is excellent! I can’t imagine anyone not liking it, it is just universally appealing. I read half the book yesterday, between naps, the Tigers game (on real TV! It was awesome), more naps, and eating. Breakfast was lemon yogurt with fresh raspberries and raisin bran, with an English muffin with peanut butter. I love that my mom has yogurt around all the time! It is nice to mix up oats now and then.

VERY Good Sandwich

I couldn’t have been more excited to see some pumpernickel bread in the bread basket, and I quickly decided on a Swiss, (Mommy) cucumber, and roasted red pepper hummus sandwich on toasted pumpernickel. Amazing! The Swiss and the pumpernickel should be best friends forever.

Matthew's Sandwich

Ok, Look Closely!

My baby brother Matthew and I were watching the Tigers game, and I must have dozed off, because when I looked over at him he was eating this sandwich.

“Shit, dude, when did you make that sandwich?”

“Just now.”

“What’s in it?”

“Two eggs, ham, cheese, and spicy Doritos.”

I love him.

Asparagus Strudel

ASPARAGUS! And Corn

My mom picked up this asparagus strudel  on her road trip around Lake Michigan with my dad last week (yeah, it’s weird), and it was awesome! PT and I had a savory strudel in the winter that his mom gave us, so I was all about it. The asparagus was tender and very juicy and the herb-cheese was perfect. I biked over and picked up some fresh corn sometime when I wasn’t sleeping, and it was a perfect accompaniment.

I also, over the course of the day, had three pieces of cherry pie with ice cream. 4-7 pounds, y’all!

Socks Finished!

Next Sweater!

I also finished my socks yesterday. I guess I wasn’t as big of a bum as I thought I was. They turned out so cute! I even got my mom to start her first pair of toe up socks! She is using size threes instead of size 2s, so I’ll have to keep an eye on her. I would hate for them to be too big when I’m sitting right next to her and could stop them from being too big.

AND I was glancing through my new Vogue Knitting Magazine and found this sweater. How cute is that?! I need to knit it. Yes, I see the seed stitch front, and the seed stitch edging. I’m pretending I don’t. It can’t be that much, right? I don’t care. I must knit this jacket.

I’m going to go buy a cookie, because I’m on vacation. I’m going to chill here at my new favorite coffee shop in Allendale for a couple more hours, then I’m headed over to the g-rents to make some peanut butter pies for the week.

Oh. Oh yes. More about those later.