Pumpkin Sunrise

Good morning!  As you can tell by my photos, this morning is cloudy and bleak.  I guess it's going to rain?  Maybe.  Every day cannot be sunny, but it's nice when it is :) Anyways, my top down cardigan is swimming along after a tiny hiccup of dropping an end stitch and ripping out four rows to fix the dropped stitch.  The yarn is squishy and the stitches 'stay' in place making the ripping out easy.  I am two thirds of the way through with the raglan shaping.  Then we get to the fun stuff, separating sleeves and body knitting. My white out shawl is making steady progress.  I am still contemplating whether I like the fabric with the size four needles.  I keep returning to the idea of dropping a size.  However, when I pull the fabric out for a fake pre-look blocking, I love how it looks.  So I keep on knitting.  Dropping a needle size would make the finished shawl smaller and I definitely don't want that. Our local library had a used book sale, usually th

Well now, I finished another shawl this week.  I am on fire - so hopefully I can keep up this momentum.  This shawl is a Christmas gift and I hope the recipient will love it.  Instead of wool, this shawl is 100% cotton, perfect for summer evenings with a light breeze or in transitional weather. Even though this was cotton, I did not have any hand aches from the plant fiber.  Whenever I'm working with lace weight or fingering weight, I am okay no matter what the content. I will be knitting this pattern again, the beginnings were memorizable as well as the lace eyelets.  All in all, this pattern would make a great beginning shawl if you know how to increase and decrease and basic knit stitches. I am not a fan of a picot edge (cannot explain why) but I thought my intended recipient would enjoy the delicate edging. Ravelry notes are here Now to cast on something else :)

My husband and I seem to be going to neighborhood garage sales whenever one is held on the weekends.  Around here in May and June, almost every weekend has one.  Sometimes the neighborhoods do it 'big' and have food vendors.  Every time we are out, I am reminded at how nice most people are and how lucky I am to live in a friendly area. We saw the chifforobe and fell in love with it.  Do I need a chifforobe? nope.  Do I have a place to put a chifforobe?  nope.  So we bought it.  The piece is in excellent condition and yes, I've already replaced that ugly knob with a pretty metal one. While contemplating on the purchase, I dreamed of placing all of my shawls, scarves, mitts, hats and cowls neatly inside and organized.  Originally my knits were stacked high up in the tiny hall closet.  That system was okay but this, well this is like a special place now! I spent the better part of this morning hanging up my knits.  That makes this weekend one of the best

Ah, June.  June is the month that welcomes lots of blooms.  Jackets are tucked away in the closet and instead, sandals are dusted off.  I love that the mornings are chilly and the afternoons are warm and toasty.  June is beautiful. I know, you're saying 'wait a minute, she likes winter'.  Yes, you are correct - winter is my favorite season of all.  Going through all the seasons makes my love of winter that much better.  While I'm in my glory during the winter months, my summer loving husband is sad and grumpy.  It's only fair in this marriage that he be happy rejoicing in the longer days and the warm weather. Don't be fooled, I complain way more than he does.  He has endless patience waiting in a yarn store than I do waiting in a bike store.  I admire that.  The truth is, everyone knows yarn is better than bikes. Yesterday, I walked around the property with my camera and Frodo documenting this wonderful month.  The spirea are my favorite wit

Over the weekend, I finished this delightful shawl, then came the job of waiting for a semi nice day to take photos.  These cloudy days are a challenge since my house is on the dark side.  Yesterday, I went outside for a few shots - the first of the season. I'm please with how this shawl turned out.  The surf shawl  is a fun pattern that has some memorizable repeats. A great pattern for an intermediate to advanced knitter who is knowledgeable in chart reading.  The pattern is in three sizes for versatility of yardage needs (mine is large). Lately, I gravitate to shawls that are knit from tip to tip instead of the traditional top down triangle shape increasing from the middle.  The tip to tip design adds a bit of excitement to the knitting.  Also the shawl tends to be shallow in depth and easier to wear wrapped around my neck like a scarf. I received the artyarns milano fade kit  as Christmas gift (yay!).  I loved the sheen of the wool and the beautiful hand while

the beginnings of the whiteout shawl  Hello!  Would you believe that I'm sitting here with the heat on (but it's not turning on because of the in between weather) and I'm wearing two sweatshirts.  The weather people got the forecast all wrong. spindrift shawl  Saturday was glorious - truly a picture perfect day.  The sun was out along with a gentle breeze.  I sat outside on the swing reading my book enjoying the day.  When the weather is perfect like that, Frodo doesn't want to come inside.  He sits facing the breeze, occasionally sniffing the air.  I guess I was doing the same. Yesterday, I started the whiteout shawl early in the morning.  I was delighted the directions are easy for me and memorizable.  Score! Now I'm back to having three projects on the needles - the maximum amount for me.  I am tempted to add one more project that was just released though, I'm in the thinking stages. My weekend: - drizzle and rain - mushroom and black ol

My yarn order arrived yesterday from Eat Sleep Knit  - the best kind of mail ever.  I ordered silky alpaca and for my next knit, Whiteout .  Depending on my babysitting hours today, I hope to cast on. How has your week been? The daisies are blooming along my roadside walks and they're delightful.  I remember making daisy crowns as a child and wearing them all over the place.  Also, as children we had a great digging spot for creativity under a large white pine at our grandparent's summer cottage.  I would make mud pies, adorned with daisies, dandelions and various stones from the graveled road. My gram was skilled at making all four of us children feel special without playing the favorite game.  She would 'taste' each mud pie slice and give each child a prize.  Best texture, best flavor, best decorated.  Everyone was a winner. As I walk with Frodo, I can crisply remember the sun on my shoulders in the early days of June during childhood.  The humidity

I give you "the perfect sweater".  That is my name for this delightful cardigan that fits perfectly for me.  I can easily wear a long sleeve shirt under this in the winter and be comfortable.  The secret sauce is the superwash wool that gives a little when you block the sweater. Even though it's late spring, I've worn this. Oh and I cast on another one in a pretty light green-blue wool (mad tosh again). Do you like the photos?  This is me in the kitchen with a camera on timer mode.  Sometimes you have to do all the jobs around here.  Oh how I wish you could see this sweater in person.  I'd have you come over for some tea and knitting on the back patio. We could listen to the birds sing and talk knitting, wouldn't that be fun? Ravelry notes are here tapered shaping at the waist slight curved edge at the neckline

Happy Memorial Day!  Today we had lots of chicken and vegetables on the grill and it was fabulous.  There was corn on the cob too - that is what makes it a summertime celebration.  My friend came over earlier in the afternoon and we sat and knit outside by the pool while Frodo tried his best to put his frisbee into the pool. Oh yeah, hey - the pool liner did have a leak and some young pool guy donned on a wet suit, went into our pool that is about 50 degrees and fixed it for us.  Now to put in six inches of water...slowly since we have well water.  We run the water hose for one hour three times a day. Yesterday, my husband and I went to garage sales, driving on back roads we've never been on.  I saw some beautiful houses, lovely gardens and enjoyed being out in the fresh air.  I found tons of yarn at one house for only $8 (well worth around $100).  That was quite the find!  There's a photo of it on my instagram  account if you want to see it. We've got some m