Frogging, stinging, picking, gifting and joining!

Picovoli is a form-fitting, knitted version of a t-shirt. Picovoli should flow with the natural curves of one's body. It should move comfortably with the wearer. The pattern was meticulously written by Grumperina and countless knitters have executed her design with great success. So what in the world happened here? I did a test guage and adjusted my yarn and needle sizes accordingly... really. I thought it would fit as directed too. The size looked accurate right up until the point that I slipped it on to check my post-bustline decreases. Obviously it's wrong. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Picovoli is headed for the frog pond. That bites.

Where we live there is a big problem with yellow jackets. Summer months are spent scooping them out of the pool, spraying nests and making sure to not leave food or anything else out that will attract them. We've tried just about every kind of insecticide spray on the market, but they always come back. I average 3 stings per summer but until this year my daughters have been spared. The other night while sleepily digesting an evening meal my reverie was shattered with the most horrible sound imaginable to any mother. A3 was screaming. And this wasn't the "I'm pissed at my sister" or "I skinned my knee" screaming, it was sheer terror. She had wandered too close to a nest of yellow jackets and been stung several times. Luckily the stings were mostly limited to her legs, but one got her on the right eyebrow. We immediately applied a paste of baking soda, meat tenderizer and water and gave her Benadryl. This is what she looked like the next day. Luckily she only suffered local reactions. So now I'm on the prowl for an insecticide that really will work. If any of y'all know of some good (legal) bug killer then please let me know. Most of the stuff that worked has now been outlawed.

Before getting too hot I picked a little bit of lavender from our garden. There were lots of bumble bees, honey bees and butterflies to keep me company. I don't mind the honey or big bumbles, my hatred is limited to the waspy, hornety, yellow jackety kinds of bees. While picking away one of my neighbors came over with some fresh peas from her garden. Because they will be away for several weeks she generously offered to let me have her raspberries while they are away. I hacked ours up so bad during a pruning attempt that they aren't producing this year. Anyway, the peas will be kept raw and added to a garden salad.


In other news, Sherrill has the Apron Along up and running. She even has an awesome button available. Hopefully I'll remember how to post it to my sidebar this evening. Right now I'm off to the garage to look through my fabric stash!