The past 7 summers my hubby and I have pedaled across Iowa in RAGBRAI. We start at the Missouri river and end at the Mississippi. We ride about 450 miles during the week. It is not a race, but rather a moving State Fair.
Each small town shares a slice of it's community with churches preparing spaghetti dinners with pie and fireman selling pancakes. There is always a little girl selling water to raise money to go to camp.
The best of Iowa is on display in the fields. The crops of corn and beans are green and lush.
Many Iowa towns have a central square with a court house or a park. These are all decked out for the festivities.
My training is complete, the ride accomplished, the tent packed away and the laundry done. We are ready to start something new. I have been ignoring my urge to design some knit wear. It is too easy to choose a pattern off Ravelry. All the math has been done. The gauge has been determined. The lines of the garment has been sketched. But these are all someone else's designs. When I spent many hours a week quilting, I started by working out of a pattern book. As my expertise grew I evolved to only working from my own sketch pad.
I think I might be time to do that with my knitting. I have published a few hat designs and a scarf. There will definitely be more of those in my future. I love knitting hats. But right now.... I have a skien of Breathless DK in Glacier that is waiting for me to do something with it. Let's see how we go with the next focus of the summer. Design a baby hat and sweater. The stitch dictionaries are at the ready. Next is the swatch creation process. The yarn is caked.
I'll keep you posted.
Check the latest Shalimar beauties on our Ravelry threads. We'd love to chat with you there and see your Shalimar projects.
