Pumpkin Sunrise

This week I've been focusing on two projects.  I'm adding inches to the body of the fair isle sweater and love the mindlessness of stockinette stitch.  So much fun!  Mindless knitting allows me to read a book or watch TV and I have minimal mistakes or if I'm lucky no mistakes.  Never say never. My yarn choice for the fair isle sweater is Quince and Co Chickadee which is pure delight to knit with. I love the dark gray with a bit of tweediness spun into the wool.  My other project is a pair of simple socks for my husband.  The pattern is burned into my memory and really old.  I usually do a 2 1/2 inch cuff then switch to stockinette (mindless!) for the rest.  This sock yarn is slightly thicker than regular yarn so there's some heft to the sock.  I think he will love them when I finish them.  This project is my 'grab and go' project.  Car rides or babysitting, I've got everything in a project bag ready to grab and go. What are you knitting or

Hello!  How was your weekend?  Mine was packed full of goodness but sadly the goodness didn't get photographed.  You see, we went for a day trip to see our daughter and son in law in Newark, Delaware and I did not take one single photo.  We had a pretty good time together shopping and having a dinner out.  I love a day trip because I can sleep in my own bed at the end of the day.  I didn't do much knitting in the car but I did do lots of daydreaming and chatting with my husband.  I go in waves on whether I want to knit or not.  I guarantee you though, if I didn't bring knitting I would have wanted to knit. When I returned home and picked up the mail I found a surprise gift from my sister!  Another knitting project bag - how cool is that?  I've had a rough week with some pesky worries and have leaned on her with them.  She is a good listener and boy oh boy, getting a gift - well it brightened my day and put a smile on my face. Today has been a much better d

Good morning!  Thank you all for the lovely compliments on my cowl on the last post .  How are you?  Around here the sun keeps trying to take a peek and then the clouds push back.  I'm thrilled the sun is peeking out, any kind of warmth is welcomed during the January days.  The temperatures have dropped and it's cold!  Frodo wanted to go outside and a blast of cold air had him change his mind and curl up on the couch for a nap instead.  Wise choice! I've been knitting furiously on my fair isle sweater and finished the yoke portion.  I've picked up the live stitches from the provisional cast on and need to divide for sleeves and body and knit top down.  It's an interesting construction, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet - I have a feeling I will like the fit but I'll await until I'm finished knitting. new mug from my daughter and son in law assembled paper castle by my son two years after receiving the kit as a gift I've eased

I finished this cowl last week and am extremely pleased with the results.  This cowl is oh so soft!  I substituted a different yarn for the project, Plymouth yarn Incan Spice .  I wanted a blend that didn't necessarily have to have cashmere in it.  There's a bit of yak and silk in this wool/alpaca blend. I could easily knit this one again and again.  There's something meditative in knitting a simple knit design.  This cowl has enough pattern changes to make it interesting but plenty of TV knitting blended in. Ravelry notes are here

How was your weekend?  Mine was blissfully quiet and dull.  Well not quite so dull if you count my knitting.  Yesterday, I was knitting my fair isle sweater and not quite liking the green and light gray together.  However, I kept knitting because that is who I am.  I go until I make a decision.  So after about 10 rows, I decided I did not like the gray and ripped out those 10 rows and added my purple yarn that looks brown (or is it brown and I think it's purple??).  Today I knit the same ten rows that I knit on Saturday and I'm thrilled with the decision.  So Saturday's knitting was lost but Sunday's knitting was regained.  I broke even but had double the knitting fun. Seriously though, the weekend was nice.  The house is clean, the laundry is caught up, I found my kitchen counters, we are slowly eating the rest of the Christmas cookies (yum).  Oh and we are eating all the left overs which means I'm not cooking.  I will skillfully avoid cooking if I can

Today the last of my company leaves when our son heads back to State College.  Our daughter and son in law left on the 2nd.  I promptly fulfilled my wild dreams of putting away the Christmas decorations.  If you are wondering, yes it was exactly as I imagined.  Today the rest of the 'piles' will disappear and I can finish up laundering sheets and towels.  I'm planning a big pot of turkey noodle soup for dinner.  My kitchen is going to smell good! Along with tidying up my spaces, I've been catching up on paperwork and hopefully all of your blog posts by this evening.  Having a house full demands a lot of my brain space.  I enjoyed having my family here and I'll enjoy having some quiet down time to spend reading my books.  My knitting has been beckoning me as well. I started back to work and had a fantastic time with the toddler.  She is such a funny girl and delights in simple games.  We had fun near her nap-time and her laughter was infectious.  Ah

I finished this cowl (for me!) yesterday.  I loved the simplicity and the decadent wool blend.  Alpaca in anything is such a nice addition to wool.  The wool had a super high twist so the knitting was 'springing' away.  I chose not to block the cowl. Ravelry notes are here I'm itching to clean my house and put away the decorations but I still have family here until tomorrow, so I'm waiting not so patiently.  I do this every single year.  I start wishing for clean tidy spaces on the 28th or 29th and force myself to wait until January 1st.  This year I have to wait until the 2nd.  I've romanticized the organizing in my head and it is glorious.  Once my viewing spaces are tidy, I predict a lots of productive knitting and NO cooking for at least a week as we tackle the leftovers and the freezer overload.  I have too much food in this house. Perchance this cowl will be done tonight?   This cowl is perfect for distraction knitting, I tend to be able

Our daughter and son in law arrived on Saturday for their Christmas visit.  Saturday was our second celebration with lots of good food and MORE presents.  My house is very full and if you have been reading this blog for years you know the coffee table piles are driving me crazy.  I am trying my best to not look at the table. The weekend was jam packed with lots of busy work entertaining guests.  I've barely knit a row of anything nor have I read a page from any book.  Everyone leaves on January 2nd and I go back to babysitting.  I'll have plenty of time to knit and read in the new year.  Frodo is so happy the whole family is together and he takes turns sitting beside his favorite human.  Holly has been hiding from everyone.  Once in a while she braves the people only to retreat.  She is so shy.  In spite of her stress and fear, she willingly comes up to me for pets - once her devotion is won over, she is steady and true. How was your weekend? Happy N

My Christmas was wonderful.  The day was quiet and I purposefully choose a simple meal for dinner so that my entire day was spent knitting.  I need to do this more often.  I tend to get caught up in what I believe 'has' to be done and I waste time on many tasks that could be put off until later.  I especially do this when the kids are visiting.  I find peace constantly tidying up but then I sacrifice my down time with knitting.  Truly there is a balance of both. As I mentioned before our son was with us for Christmas day and will be here until the new year.  Our daughter and son in law arrive tomorrow and we celebrate all over again.  Tomorrow will be a 'Christmas' day in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  I'm excited for them to arrive. Above is the blanket started all over again, phew!  I am so glad I made this decision.  Now the project lays flat and I can see the simple stitch detail.  Also this project fits perfectly with mild distractions or watchin

My knitting has been quite full.  Today I'll share my progress of three projects but I have another two or three additional ones I need to get into Ravelry and sorted out.  I am thrilled to be knitting without any deadlines.  I'm more productive with a deadline but the self imposed pressure can be stressful. First up are a pair of socks for my husband (I know, I'm knitting for someone else but I consider him part of me).  This sock yarn is super soft and has a lovely bounce to it.  The yarn wrapper calls for size 3 needles but I'm going with size 2.  I also adore the striping pattern. Next up is my super squishy cowl that hasn't had a single stitch knitted on it in a week but I took a photo and so I'll tell you I love it and can't wait to get back to knitting this cowl My 3 color cowl is nearing the end (sniff).  I can see why this pattern was popular!  The design is simple yet interesting enough to make you want to keep on going.  I love s