Many thanks for your words on my Rhapsody pullover. The picture on the beach was a quickie that we managed to snap as we were leaving Ocean City last weekend, and when I got home, I was able to take some better shots that show the true color and texture.

The sweater was a simple knit, with no new skills learned, other than working towards better finishing techniques. The pullover still needs to be blocked–I am hoping to get a little more length out of it, and even up the stitches.

For those of you thinking about this pullover, I noticed that the yarn estimates were WAY off in the magazine. I pulled out the recommended 8 skeins of Cotton Ease to make my size, and I only used 5.5 skeins. Of course, this makes me happy to have 2.5 skeins left to make something else, but it could save a little money for someone who is buying the yarn.

Now that I finished up Rhapsody, the biggest project I have going is the Kahlo afghan… and it certainly is the biggest thing I have going–this thing is gargantuan! I am just beginning Row 96, which has nearly 400 stitches on it. Each row takes me about 15 or 20 minutes to complete, so it is a lot slower going than it was in the beginning.

See? It is taking up the whole chair! It is roughly 4.5 feet in diameter now, and the final product is around 5.5, so I still have a foot to go! The colors in the afghan keep me excited about the knit. I change color every 3-6 rows, so you can imagine the end weaving nightmare this is going to be… great fun.

The green arrow on the picture shows the color section that I am currently working on. You can see how far I have come (and how much I still have to do!) I am undecided about the fringe–I guess I will make that call when I get there. It seems like a nice concept, but could become very fuzzy because of Homespun’s acrylic nature…

Much of my time lately has been sucked up by school and homework. While I am always happy to get a required class out of the way in a mere 6 weeks, this means that it is double the work. My whole Saturday was devoted to learning about Library Information Systems. Exhilirating, no? Well, it was not so bad, because my friend and fellow knitibrarian was in the class with me, but nevertheless, a long day. I am quickly seeing the need for a small and inconspicuous knit that I can do during class–a sock perhaps? or some wristlets?

In the midst of this school daze, I was pleasantly surprised to receive two things this week from fellow knitbloggers–both across the blue Atlantic. A big thanks to Jess and Althea for thinking of me! Jess, knowing my love of libraries and museums, sent me a grand package with all sorts of goodies from the British Library. This amused me to no end! Postcards, maps, information sheets, trinkets, and even some knitty stuff (yummy Italian mohair and some great Wool soap).

I cannot wait to visit the British Library someday–they have so many items that I have to see (Lindisfarne Gospels and Codex Sinaiticus are top two) Thanks to Jess!

From Althea, I received a postcard from her lovely city of Haifa, Israel. She promises that if I make it back to Israel, she can show me some great places that tourists never make it to! I may have to take that one up as I never made it to Haifa when I was in the country before. Thanks Althea!

Summer is in full force in our garden–plants are growing big and tall, and some of the veggies and fruits are ripening. We have already have several meals with fresh herbs from our garden, but some peppers, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini are very close to harvest!

Tomatoes and Banana Peppers ripen

Our beanstalk and the flowering nasturtium

ISRAEL PICTURE OF THE DAY

Marking the five-year anniversary of my study-abroad trip to Israel June/July 2000

The field school at Tel Beth Shemesh was open to anyone who was able to apply, and the majority of the people were students, undergrad and grad. Rebecca and I (we are the ones on the left, seated) were the only students from our university that participated, and we were 2 of the 3 students from Maryland. The other students came from Indiana, Louisiana, and Missouri. Another large contingent of the volunteers were not associated with a university, but came on their own to be part of the field school. In our downtimes, we made sure to have some fun. We made our way to nearby Jerusalem, and ate at many cafes (yummy falafel!), danced at some fun clubs, and generally enjoyed the city. We also made it to Tel Aviv for one day to sightsee and dip our toes into the Mediterranean. One of our jokes–the seas around Israel: The Dead (sea), The Red (sea) and the Med(iterranean Sea) I was not able to make it to Eilat to dip into the Red Sea, but two out of three is not too bad!

Thank you for allowing me to share my wonderful Israel memories with you. I hope you have enjoyed it for the past few weeks. This will be my last Israel Pictures of the Week segment.

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If you were planning to celebrate July 4th by knitting a HUGE American flag, it looks like someone beat you to the punch…

One Row at A Time: Knitting an American Flag

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