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