I bound off the shawl on Saturday afternoon.

I’m pleased with it so far.  Obviously it isn’t blocked yet :)  I have been too busy with dad, for one thing and our weather has been very humid, for another.  This has to be able to dry in a day so I’m waiting for a less muggy stretch of weather.  Also, I’m going to need more pins - a lot more pins!  I think this is going to grow considerably with dressing - not that there’s anything wrong with that :)

I have started what I thought was going to be a baby blanket for the little fellow downstairs.  My landlord’s son is just short of a year old and was christened over the weekend.  I had intended to make the baby something all along, but I never came up with an idea I liked and eventually the whole thing just got away from me.

I went with entrelac, since it is a technique I really enjoy doing and am alternating rows of stockinette blocks with rows of broken (beaded) rib blocks.  The yarn is Caron Simply Soft in Light Country Blue and the needle is a Knitpicks Options circular, size 8 US (5.00 mm).  It’s going great guns and I’m enjoying working it up, but…

It’s going to be considerably wider that I had thought.  I keep forgetting that with entrelac, you’re measuring on the diagonal for the width of the piece.  Here, there are nine blocks across; each is 11 stitches wide.  The diagonal on the blocks is just a hair over 5 inches so I’m going to wind up with an overall blanket width of at least 45” - more if I put on a border.  That’s a bit big for a baby :)  Still, I don’t think I want to frog it and start over.  Perhaps in a larger size, it will be useful for a longer period of time.

We’ve been watching the degus carefully for signs of another pregnancy.  There haven’t been any.  Our current surmise is that Emma was expecting when we brought her home and that Sunny (formerly Sundance) was simply another young female.  This is a relief.  They have gotten their home the way they like it now (the babies have gone back to the pet shop) and seem to be relaxing and enjoying life.  They’re eschewing their house these days - the warm, humid weather, I think - and have built a rather large nest out of hay and fluff at one end of their cage.  They sleep in the nest, curled quite endearingly around one another :)

Dad is improving a little more every day - definitely a good thing.  I have been taking him wherever he needs to go and I know he’s feeling better because he’s begun telling me how to drive.  Before this, he didn’t have the energy to complain :)  He has/had three follow-up appointments in Boston over the next week.  We did the first one yesterday, there’s another on Friday and the last next Monday.  By then, he thinks, he’ll be ready to venture out on his own - at least for small trips like shopping and paying bills.

I hope you’re all having wonderful weeks and that summer and the world are treating you kindly!