Pumpkin Sunrise

Can you believe it?  I have finally finished this shawl and I am pleased beyond belief.  The yarn blocked beautifully.  I continue to be in complete awe of what blocking can do to lace work.  Truly it is a miracle.  Anyways onto some more pictures. The blue sweater is my Feather Weight Cardigan that I made last year!  I think it looks pretty with the purple.  Thanks, Twoknitwit from Girls in Sheep Clothing  for the lace weight yarn!

I am really happy that today is the yarn along at Ginny's blog- Small Things !  It is such a wonderful way to spend time perusing everyone's knitting ideas and reading selections.  This week I am continuing to make significant progress on my Elderberry Wine Shawl .  I am so very near the end, it could be today if I am not on the internet too much from the yarn along.  My read this week is These is my Words  by Nancy Turner.  I think a couple of people on this yarn along has read and recommended this book.  So thank you whoever you are.  I finished Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy and I highly recommend it.   I have been busy with my son's tennis season that began last week.  When there is a home match, my husband and I drive over to the school and watch.  It is nice to get outside even though it is freezing and see some of the other parents.  This is his senior year and he is the youngest child so we have been enjoying all of the "last" events.

When I put away the Christmas decorations, this banner that my sister made (thanks sis!) is one of the first items that I display.  I love all of the flowers accented with buttons and the blue sky......now we wait for the outside to match this banner.  We are almost there.  It is crazy sunny outside right now but very very cold.   So onto the finish line.  I am on chart G of the Elderberry Wine Shawl !!  This means I am very close to the end since this is the last chart.  I was hoping to get this done yesterday but I got a little side track with life.  Today has been all about focusing on the shawl and getting it finished. As you know, I am a snow and winter lover.  So to end this post I give you the last tiny bit of snow on our property.  I still think snow is quite beautiful :)

Well maybe it is not spring madness yet but on Tuesday I was able to snap some photos of tiny evidence that spring is just right around the corner.  Yesterday we were given a couple inches of snow, then rain, then sleet, then rain  and then back to snow.  It was such a dark and dreary day.  We even had thunder and lightning around 6 p.m.  Crazy!  Yesterday was the perfect day to hibernate and knit.

I decided over the weekend that I needed a little knitting break from my two large projects, the elderberry shawl and the valley cardigan .  I am loving both projects but they are intricate and sometimes slow in the progress. So that is why this week I am knitting some simple dishcloths.  I used worsted weight cotton and size seven needles then casted on 44 stitches.I decided to a double moss stitch pattern, simple, classic and relaxing! On my reading front I am still on the same book Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy.  It is a fantastic read, so far I would recommend her book if you like lots and lots of characters.  Each chapter is a short story in a way and every once in a while there is a chapter that ties some of the characters together.  She does a beautiful job weaving all of the little plots together. Please check out Ginny's Blog --Small Things--to see what everyone else is knitting and reading!

So as you can see I bought 11 used books at the local library book sale for twelve dollars!  I think that is just a great bargain.  The Camus book and two of the smaller old books ( Jane Erye and  Deerslayer ) my son snagged up and claimed them as his own.  He was unable to attend the sale because of a tennis match.    The other old book is a copy of David Copperfield .  It has definitely seen better days but I just could not resist for a dollar!  Look at the inscription inside: I am going to assume the three recipients are siblings.....can you imagine sharing a book?  I think that would be tough....

I think this weekend I will be taking a mini break from my two knitting projects.  I am really enjoying them but feel the need to do a fast knit.  This lovely yarn was gifted to me by my goddaughter for Christmas.  It is Bernat cottontots in doll house colorway.  I think I will just do a waffle stitch and make some dish clothes.  Easy peasy. This afternoon one of our local libraries is having a book sale.  My daughter and I are going to drop by and see if they have any books of interest.  Last year I found this copy of Rebecca that was printed in 1940.  I did some minor repair of the paper cover so it would not rip anymore.  I read this book back in high school and loved it.  It is on my never-ending shelf of "to read" books. Lastly, I have a picture of Frodo after his makeover.  Of course he is moving in the photo and his tongue is sticking out.  But just look at that fresh haircut!  He smells so nice and feels so soft.  His hairdo will last about 36 hours and then he

I am currently reading Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy.  I love this book so far.  Each chapter is a short story and like all of her other books she will tie all of the characters together near the end of the book.  I enjoy her writing style very much.  I picked up the book Blogging for Bliss  and started reading it.  Someone on a previous yarn along featured it......I cannot remember who and it might be more than one person.  Whoever you are, thanks for the idea!  Also for some light reading I am revisiting Elizabeth Zimmermann's book, Knitter's Almanac.   I have read this book many times.  So I just pick a chapter or part and read bits and pieces. My project is the Elderberry Wine Shawl .  The process of knitting this shawl is pure bliss.  The yarn is soft and the pattern is addictive.  The patterning to the left of the books is Chart E.  I have it memorized now since it has to be repeated 30 times! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday full of knitting and read

My Elderberry Wine Shawl is coming along quite nicely!  I love the pattern and the middle part (chart E) is so easy to memorize for me that I am whizzing along. I am at the waist shaping for the  Valley Cardigan .  The pattern called for knit four-purl two ribbing but I decided to go for knit two-purl two ribbing just for ease of knitting faster.  I am knitting the two fronts and the back all together.  I have used one skein out of the four that I have for this sweater.  I think I will make it on having enough......at least I hope.  I am living on the edge ;)

Doesn't Frodo look like he desperately needs a hair cut?  He gets groomed next Friday and that day cannot come soon enough.  I comb out tangles and weeds every other day.  The best vegetation to comb out is from the flower bed~sigh~because he smells like oregano or thyme.  My husband would love to find a way to keep him out but he is just so happy in there exploring.  We call it his play pen!  Foolishly we put up a wire decorative fence that worked for about two days.  Now he jumps over it.  Maybe he is smarter than both of us put together. So far I am finding teeny tiny evidence that spring is around the corner.  The snow has finally melted. Today the sky is such a bright blue and it is not freezing cold either.  The air also smells and feels different.  I am looking forward to my two lilac bushes to bloom.  Every year they take a beating from the deer nibbling on them but they manage to bloom beautifully. My knitting continues to be the same projects, a

Today is the yarn along that Ginny hosts at her blog, Small Things .  It is a wonderful way to check out what everyone is reading and working on. I finally finished my book, The Forgotten Garden,  on Monday and I loved it!  It was a great mystery read and I enjoyed the way the author wrote the story for three generations.  So every chapter was a different time period.  I did guess most of the ending but there was one surprise that I did not even suspect.  My new book is Whitethorn Woods  by Maeve Binchy.  I have always liked her writing so I hope I am not disappointed. My knitting remains the same.  I am working on the Elderberry Wine Shawl , still doing the repeats of chart E.  I am also working on the body of the Valley Cardigan .  Everyday I alternate my project to work on.  Yesterday, I had little chance to knit.  My husband cleaned out his side of the closet and we hauled 13 bags to out of the house to a donation center.  I think I need to work on my side of the close

Every spring, the High School Band Booster have a silent auction and are always looking for items to raffle.  In the past six (yes six!) years I have faithfully donated three little items.  This year is my last year for high school band and I really wanted to donate something that could possibly generate the Boosters more money.  I found in my closet two pretty baby blankets that have not been gifted to anyone. So today I measured, folded, and tagged them for a wonderful future to some unknown baby.  What a wonderful way to kick of the spring cleaning!

......for a yarn, that is.  This yarn is Araucania Trauco Cashmere and it is very soft.  I really love it.  Now I have not had the opportunity to wash it or wear it repeatedly, so my opinion could change.  So far it is lovely to work with. This is my cardigan that I am working on: The pattern is Mountain View Cardigan  and here is a link to my project page for this sweater .  I decided to work the front pieces along with the back.  I decided to not write anything down so I am flipping the instruction frequently to make sure I did not miss anything.  Because I do not have the required yarn amount, I have trimmed two inches off the length.  I hope this is going to work out okay.  I have been known to knit with very little amounts of yarn and wonder whether I have enough.  I think it makes life exciting :)

Happy second day of March!  Ginny's blog, Small Things , is hosting a yarn along.  Please stop by her blog and check out the reading ideas and the yarn projects! I know what you are thinking......and yes it is the same book.  I hang my head in shame.  I really do like the book but I dedicate more time to knitting than to reading.  Who would have thought!  This is a picture of my Elderberry Wine Shawl . I am now on chart E which puts me in the middle of the shawl.  I have to repeat chart E about thirty times!  Thankfully, it is a six or eight row repeat so it is not that much of a chore.  I finished my husband's socks a couple of days ago and they wait patiently on his bureau to be worn.  I think today might be the lucky day.  It is very cold outside morning, not to mention dreary.  I am so glad I walked yesterday and enjoyed the sunny day.

Okay technically we are not even close to spring.  But it did feel very springlike on my walk today with Frodo.  I am getting quite skillful at taking photos while restraining a dog.  I am lucky the dog is only 14 pounds.  My exertion is minimal, right? Here are the simple socks that I knit for my husband.   Cascade Heritage Paints sock yarn is simply the best.  I bought this skein while visiting my sister last last year.  I will definitely be buying more of this brand.  I did make a pair for my son and so far the socks are holding up quite well to the machine washing.  I am also proud to report that I have not accidentally tossed them into the dryer........yet.  It has happened in the past no matter how mindful I think I am.