Sailing season is over — sob! We got the CL-14 out of the water the last Saturday in September. The mast is tall enough that we prefer to use the Beacon Marina launch area. The Caesarea municipal launch has a power line across it — what were they thinking? In any event, Doug had driven the car and trailer to the Marina, I retrieved him on my way home from work, and we had a delightful final sail of the season.
A bit of discussion later, and we decided to keep the little boats on the water for a bit longer. Right — Doug acquired a Sunfish! It is a small, single sail boat and he has been having such fun with it. It is essentially the same size as my Itty-Bitty, altho he does sail a bit harder than I do. We sailed Sunday and Monday of that weekend, and the water was surprisingly warm.
How do we know he sails harder than me? Well, HIS sailboat yeeted him into the water mid-sail. The excellent news is that he is able to haul himself back aboard without assistance. My boat did manage to dump me in the drink as well, but not until I was unrigging it at the dock.
A friend took this photo of us when we were out on Sunday!
Monday was also a sailing day. I had assistance every time I went out this summer … until this day. Not to worry — I can do this! I made several trips up and down the steps carrying the necessary items. Then started to untie and loosen the winch so that the boat could slide down the ramp. I realized that I was holding the bow line AND the winch strap, which is not recommended. Gravity was taking hold and the boat was sliding with increasing speed down the ramp. I let go of the winch strap — and dropped the bow line as well. With increasing dismay, I watched the bow line slither down the ramp. “STOP!” Has no effect on gravity or inanimate objects, in case you didn’t know. But then I thought that I could jump over to the dock and grab the boat as it drifted past the end of the dock … Itty-Bitty or Mother Nature, not sure which, then decided that instead of drifting straight back, the boat would angle away from me. Since my shrieking “STOP” had such little effect, I had no choice but to jump in. And the water was surprisingly warm! Comfortable, even.
Anyway, we did take both boats out over the Thanksgiving weekend. Time is now being spent getting them tucked in for the winter. Our shoreline is beginning to look like a marina …
In knitting news, I had been having a banner week. I started and finished Sophie’s Scarf from Petite Knits.
I used Rico Baby Soft Cotton and Cashmere, but only half a ball. It is delightfully soft and … well, it is cashmere. What more could a girl ask?
We also brought in a new chunky yarn — Aurora Chunky from James Brett. It is lovely, and one skein makes a delightful hat, with enough for a pom-pom if one wishes!
This is the CC Boulder Style Beanie. It was fun and quick — there may be more of these in my future!
In other knitting news … I am knitting a memorial blanket for someone. The wool is a blend of her deceased dogs’ hair and sheep wool. There is a limited quantity. The pattern is from McCall’s Super Book of Afghans, circa 1980 or thereabouts. The blanket is worked in 5 panels, and worked to a specific row count.
After the first skein of wool was knit, I realized I would not have enough to do the blanket as written. So then I decided to knit one skein of each panel and evaluate.
I am known for encouraging people to not demand perfection. Good enough is often good enough. So when I figured out that I had messed up the directions in panel one, I carried on and made the same mistake consistently. See? Not a mistake! And then … I worked panels two and three, which used the same pattern. Did I make the same mistake?
The above photo represents hours and hours of work. Hours and hours. Then I also figured out that the row count was somewhat wrong as well. There is one cable that is repeated 10 times across the blanket. You have to have the cable crosses happen at the same time, every time. Or it looks wrong.
So …now the blanket looks like this.
It only took 45 minutes. In an effort to make a more conventional sized throw, I will be casting on and working the blanket all at once. There has been lots of math, counting, and double checking. I can do this!
I hope.
