Pumpkin Sunrise

I am knitting the forever cardigan , desperately trying to get to the ribbing of the body. I work on the cardigan every day eagerly dreaming of how it will look when worn. I hope my dream comes true!  I thought today I would show you a tiny project I casted on this past week to break up my knitting monotony.  It is a hat and I have no idea who will one day wear it.  The yarn matches the cowl  I made for my daughter.  The pattern is one  that I've knit up before, I love it because it uses fingering weight yarn and I tend to knit with that weight.  I posted about the socks  I'm knitting for my husband yesterday. Next week I will share with you how I do the heel flap and the gusset. Who knew socks could be so exciting? I am reading The Weird Sisters  which is turning out to be a very good read.  At first I was having trouble getting into the story.  Sometimes after a really compelling read I have difficulty immersing myself into a new novel.  I am happy to say that I am enjoy

I think everybody has a preference of how they knit up socks.  I knit my first sock in the early 1990's before there was internet and before knitting socks was a trend.  I picked up a pattern at a LYS (so lucky there was one in!) and just started knitting.  Yep.  I did not do gauge.  So the socks came out HUGE because it was DK weight yarn.  Also the socks had about 50% cotton content so they were soaking wet whenever you wore them, they did not wick away water.  I have them somewhere in my cedar chest and I do love them because they were my very first pair. Now that I am a seasoned knitter, I have certain criteria for my sock knitting.  I always knit on double pointed metal needles.  I think I knit the fastest on these and I do not get ladders.  I am guessing that I have been knitting for so long that I have perfected my tension.  I have done magic loop and just did not care for it.  I'm old fashioned??? I ALWAYS buy superwash wool with 25% nylon.  My absolute favori

My weekend happened to be a non traveling weekend.  It was a stay at home weekend which was just what I needed.  I enjoyed very lovely breezy afternoons on the back patio reading my book or knitting on some projects.  Saturday morning was coffee on the patio with my husband just talking about everything and nothing at the same time. I took a walk with Frodo and the family down the dirt road that is now completely shaded with trees.  All of the lilies are in bloom-a beautiful sight. Today is filled with loads and loads of laundry.  Moving the sewing machine into my daughter's room so she can craft like crazy AND the mess involved stays in one room (brilliant!).  My guest room can stay tidy for future visitors.  Hear that sis??? Frodo has found a teeny tiny gap in the fence, so my husband is securing the compound.  I have to admit that Frodo is brilliant, he continues to find little crevices.  He definitely sees the glass half full :)  Gotta love that in a dog. Joining

I really enjoyed my past week because I am home and my future travels are few.  It takes me many days to prepare for a trip and then many more days to recover, physically and mentally. I think it helped immensely that the heat wave is a memory and cool air with blue skies are in abundance. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

I thought I would share with you today my collection of stories....or books! I have them sprinkled about my home and they are a major part of my decor.  All of the classics and "old" books are on the first floor. In the above photo, the three blue books were in my grandfather's collection.  My grandfather and my mother were avid learners and readers.  He would frequently say "if you did not know how to do something, read a book about it step by step". How true! The local library was my go to place for financial planning, plumbing, gardening, cooking, and leisure reading.  I would sign up my kids for reading summer programs, even before they could read.  I love going to bookstores and just being alone with other people browsing the aisles. All four of us love to read.  Our tastes are different, but the happiness of starting a book and escaping into a story is the same.  At times I think I should pare down the collection, but it would be for me g

I finished a shawl over the weekend and was down to one project-the featherweight cardigan (blue project on the left, hee hee I mean on your right!).  I love that giddy feeling of starting a top down cardigan and I knit full steam ahead until I divide for the sleeves......then because of all the stockinette I get a little bored.  That is why I like to have more than a couple of projects on the needles.  Then I can switch around. So I casted on a pair of socks for my husband in gray.  He loves hand knit socks!  I will make up a stitch pattern when I get the cuff done.  I always cast on a multiple of four (68 stitches for him).  I have a generic vanilla sock pattern that is memorized.  So since I'm on the cuff, I don't know what the sock's future holds yet. The Story Sisters -oh!  It was such a good book and if you have been reading this blog, I read it "fast".  It's not a very happy book but I loved her character description through life's events.

I finished my shawl on the way up to London, Ontario.  It was fun blitzing through the ruffle while riding in the car.  I felt so accomplished.  The yarn is by Twist and Twine  and it was wonderful to knit.  I enjoyed the tiny bit of sparkle that was incorporated in the spinning.  Just enough to hint at some glitz. The pattern  is a must knit.  It was easy and I loved how it used just one skein of fingering weight yarn.  You also can repeat the ruffle until you are nearly done with the skein.  I did not do the picot edge bind off.  I felt that the ruffle pattern was enough for me. Now.......when will I be able to wear this?  You guessed it.  In the fall.  My favorite time of the year and it cannot come soon enough.