Pumpkin Sunrise

Today is quite the fall day when leaves are dropping and the air is crisp.  If you're in the shade your chilled, if you're in the sun with a light jacket well then you might just be in heaven.  Even Frodo knows this is a great time of year.  He is outside more than inside, sunbathing in the grass.  In the newspaper this morning it reported that we are in for a cold winter!  Well I hope it will be colder than last year's winter, that was just too warm. I think I will be finished knitting the cowl over the weekend.  We have more adventures planned and I will have an opportunity to knit with my sister.  Very excited about that!!  I have a sweater that is my "wish to cast on" idea but I am fighting an intense urge to knit another hat for me.  Let me say that I am not nor have I ever been a hat wearer or lover.  From a very young age I would take any head wear off as soon as I knew my mother could not see me when I walked to school.  For some strange mysterious re

I have been a busy knitting beaver this past week.  I finished (finally) my pink cardigan  last week and then had to wait for it to dry.  I guarantee you I will be knitting that pattern again in the very near future, I absolutely loved it!  I also finished my dad's socks for Christmas, here is the Ravelry page.  With each project finished I felt lighter and happier knowing that new projects could be cast on without feeling dread.  Remember four projects at the same time is my maximum.  For some reason I feel like I am cheating on one while working on the other.  I do like to mix it up though with intricate knitting and easy knitting. My current project is another cowl with my pattern only in fingering weight.  I cast on more stitches (can't remember how many but I'll put the number on the project page).  The wool has been in my stash for quite a while.  I'm thrilled to be knitting with it and seeing the colors of autumn in my working hands. I started a new book,

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this top down cardigan and not once did I get bored.  There was a lot of details to keep track of during the body of the sweater.  Shaping, button hole making and pleating on the side seams kept me eagerly knitting away. Because of all the little construction details, I would say this is not a beginner sweater pattern.  Definitely give it a try if you understand sweater construction and have knit a top down sweater before. I think I will be knitting this sweater pattern again in a darker yarn, I wanted to cast on right away when this was completed but I did not want to burn out.  So I'm waiting a couple of months. I love the ruching detail at the shoulder seams.  The pleating on the side seams adds a lovely touch.  While I was doing all of this self photography, Frodo wanted in on the action.  So I decided to fulfill his wishes.  That is when he wanted down and to run away.  Too bad.  I snapped him in motion :) Oh and do you see

My weekend happily contained: -wearing the above woolens all at the same time without being hot -so many walks and taking in the changing leaves. -a leaf shower on Saturday-the wind swirled the leaves off the trees up in the air to float down -changing screen savers to autumn themes! -a craft fair where my husband and I say "we could make that", but we don't. -french fries at the craft fair -scrambled eggs and toast for dinner because we were lazy. -football season has descended in my house. he was in the front room watching whatever is on today -I sat in the family room and watched A Tree Grows in Brooklyn .   Now I want to read it again. -Oh! I finished the socks!! So I wound up about six skeins of yarn and have three projects ready -started a cowl for me in fall colors (I hope to finish before fall ends) -enjoying Spirits of Joy .  Hannah graciously had a one day free sign up for her birthday at the end of September which I luckily saw on Twitter.  Than

It has been quite the rainy week but I really haven't minded.  Since our company departed I have cleaned the house and laundered the linens and everything is back to its regular way.  I have been cooking simpler meals after eating out almost every single day.  As delicious as it is to eat out, it is healthier to eat at home. We walked Frodo last late in the afternoon yesterday and I noticed that the yellow leaves were floating down from the trees with each puff of wind.  It was quite nice, I've been very lax at carrying a camera around and I kind of like it. Sometimes it's nice to be in the moment.  Even though fall has arrived with the leaves changing, it has not been chilly the past few days.  Soon.  Soon it will be cold and dare I say frosty? While I've been steadily making progress on my dad's socks, I've been thinking of what to knit next.  Shawls have been my focus while I do some preliminary searches.  But I haven't committed to a specific patt

On Monday we took our company to a local brewery for a free tour of their facility!  Yuengling Brewery is the oldest brewery in America and it is still family owned.  I found it interesting that the family cannot inherit the business but that the interested family member has to purchase the business, I guess this protects the business from being neglected.  We always take care of what we pay for, usually. How about that electrical doodad?  My photos of the caves, which were created during prohibition for storing and hiding beer did not come out because I rarely photo in the dark.  Seems that I need to fiddle about with my camera at night to become proficient at night time photography. We really enjoyed the tour, the tour guide was quite knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting.  Of course at the end each person was permitted to taste two different beers. I loved the smell of the brewery it was a combination of damp, mold, cold, and beer!  Unfortunately, I am unabl

I picked up this magazine while in New England and have been flipping through it occasionally the past couple of days.  Not sure if I am starting anything of the projects but I do enjoy getting ideas and seeing different yarns.  As you might have guessed I am still reading The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet .  It's a nice read but it is taking me a while to get through it.  Some parts are slow and I have to honestly say, with all the company in the house, I haven't been reading that much. My knitting is the same but I threw in another project in the photo to give my yarn along post pizzazz.  I started this Elizabeth Zimmermann Pi shawl  a while ago.  One of my knitting friends gave me that gorgeous yarn and I have 1500 yards!!  I knew that I wanted to make a BIG shawl, for some reason a circular one came to mind.  I do not wear circular shawls but I bet you my dining room table would wear it!! I finished my pink cardi after dinner last night, the ends are woven

I have been watching the rain outside today.  Most of the time I am not a big fan of rain but this week, I've been enjoying the shift of weather.  There is a little chill in the air.  The leaves are dropping rapidly and the colors are starting to show.  Today was my first acorn squash and it was delicious and tasted like autumn, if autumn had a taste. My company left early this morning, I hope that we can go visit them sometime in the spring or whenever the schedule lets us.  We had so much fun and I loved having a knitting buddy.  Something else....I'm exhausted :)  I think I might be getting older.  Today was a day of pure knitting mostly in silence.  I became centered again. Frodo was exhausted as well.  He slept ALL day.  Poor little guy, it's so terribly difficult to be loved by all.  We should all have his problems.

This weekend was filled with: -going to a local fair and not riding this ride :) -eating not very good for you food -enjoying every single glorious bite, especially funnel cake -being thrilled with the cooler temps even if it does rain a little -company!  my brother in law and sister in law are visiting for a long weekend -talking and talking -my sis in law DOES knit so we talk about knitting and we do knitting -brief chats with each kid because everyone is busy-I'm amazed at how quickly we can catch up in a five minute phone call! -apple crisp how was your weekend? Joining Amanda

What I love about fall: -crisp cool morning air -mitts -apple season -pumpkins!! -shorter days, longer nights -seeing my breath outside -leaves in many colors falling -first frost-goodbye ragweed :) -hot tea (in a favorite mug) -chili and cornbread -woolen scarves -woolen socks -the silence of the woods -baked chicken and mashed potatoes -deer roaming through the yard and staying a bit -anything orange -being cold which is so much better than being hot -Frodo wants to snuggle more -winter squash eating (acorn squash the most) -slipper wearing -longer walks with beautiful scenery -knitting with wool and feeling warm What do you like about fall?

My needles have been on fire this week, or at least it feels like it.  I finished the mitts  and am quite pleased with them.  Now all I need is some very brisk cold air to go along with them.  I am thrilled that they match many of my other accessories in my closet.  So what am I knitting?  I finished the one sock up there in the photo.  The socks are for my dad for Christmas and I have only to knit the second sock to match, easy peasy.  I've cast on and believe me I am motivated to get these socks out of the knitting bag. My pink cardigan has seen some knitting as well.  I am knitting on dpns for a variety of reasons, one because I do not own a circular needle small enough (too cheap to buy) and I really do not like magic loop or two circulars....I know.  I am being stubborn and opinionated, but these dpns work for me and I get the job done.  It is only fiddly for about three rows then my mind and hands accept the fiddliness and the knitting becomes even and smooth and happy