The theme was Safari. The first month, June, was to be something you'd see on safari, if I recall. I was watching my Tivo'd episodes of the Amazing Race and they were on safari and one of the challenges was to go to find elephants. So using that as my guide, I found a pattern on Ravelry with elephants.
Without further ado, here are the Elephant Sox.
The above is the completed photo. I actually wear navy pants and purple sweaters / shirts a lot, so this winter, they will be lovely.
June was a month of travel for me. Here are the sox at the end of the IASA national conference in Las Vegas. My sister and I went and we went early so we could have some long visits with our aunt Susie and our cousin Laura. Totally worth it. The conference keynote speakers were Peyton Manning, Condi Rice and the daughter of Alan Funt of Candid Camera.
Once I returned from Las Vegas, I was then off to Puerto Rico with Renee for an immersion trip. A great trip. Good kids, good parents, good guide and a good time. Well paced and nicely done. The above photo was taken on a catamaran. We headed out to 2 places to snorkel and swim. Not much knitting was done because rum punch was involved....
There is also a fantastic story about how our boat was parked between two other party boats (we had kids so we were tame. The party boats were all adults - not so tame) and the winds drove us into one of those boats. Our first mate Dolly (a lovely young woman) got us through that and then flipped off the other boat's captain. I commented that action needed no translation and she replied that he was her ex. Enough said.
PR was beautiful and I would love to go back as a family. Pro tip: invest in a 5 star hotel.
The third trip saw no sox knitting, but we went to The Birthplace, which any girl scout can tell you is Savannah, GA. That trip was super hot and I heard so much about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I bought the book for my Kindle and started reading it right then and there. I also found The Frayed Knot yarn shop and made a contribution to the local economy. I think I would love Savannah in the winter.
The second month, July, had a challenge of a pattern found in the wild - on your travels and serendipity. I had started to read the Yarn Harlot's blog from the beginning and I chose her snowdrop shawl. People at work asked to see it and so the pic is on a cube wall. Random, but effective. Yes, I like pink. Move along...
There was no travel in July. I was gone nearly 3 weeks in June and while I had adventures, one thing we did learn is that we like to have Ted with when we travel. Vegas was different because it was Kim and she had never been to Vegas to see Aunt Susie and that was totally worth it. But when Renee and I travelled in June on the other two trips, we realized that Ted needs to be there...
On to August. August's challenge was to make something amazing. Well, I am here to tell you I feel that this item will look amazing on me. So there!
I have given up on buttons and now use cardigan clips.
I haven't worn this sweater yet but the weather has turned so bring on fall.
Another thing that happened in August was a significant change for me at work. I have been in my present position for 8 years. I do project work for the Controllers division at my work. I love what I do. I've already done what I want to professionally so I decided when I moved here I would only do accounting that I loved.
Anyway, another department in Controllers (there are 14 departments) lost one supervisor to her posting to another area and the second one was pregnant. The decision was made to add a supervisor in on a temporary basis to get through. My project before my current one was implementing their new system so I know the product, the people and the process. Long story short, everyone cleared it with everyone else before I was talked to.
Of course I took it. It has been a while since I supervised people but they are a good group, which is wonderful. It was to be a temporary position, but the new mama has chosen to stay home. So I guess it's permanent. Since I plan to be at my current employer for the next 20+ years, I need to have some mobility.
And that is how I spent my summer.
