Pumpkin Sunrise

This pattern was so much fun to knit that I've already cast on another pair for a Christmas present.  Sometimes I wish you all could feel the squishy factor in a project through the photos on this blog.  These mitts are super squishy and while I referred to the pattern frequently, it was 'an easier than I thought it would be' pattern. Sadly I cannot tell you much about the wool that I used.  I bought it at a fiber festival and the spinner didn't give any personal details to her skeins except that it was sport weight and romney wool.  I was delighted to knit and find little bits of hay in the spinning, a rustic wool but oh so soft and springy. I cannot wait to wear them.  Yes!  They are for me instead of a gift for someone else.  I also have some wool left over to maybe make a hat. Ravelry notes

owl at the festival How was your weekend?  Mine was a mixture of being laidback and having fun.  On Saturday morning, I drove to a nearby country store to begin my Christmas shopping for my side of the family.  I managed to buy gifts for many on my list and of course I indulged on a few gifts for myself. In the afternoon we spontaneously decided to go to a neighboring town's festival and had a great time walking around with manageable crowds.  We ate unhealthy food (!).  The weather was perfect with a light jacket.  Sunday morning the deer were in my yard.  They are so bold, I can walk right up and snap photos as they stare at me.  They always come around this time of year because all too soon deer hunting season will start and I guess they know my yard is a no kill zone.  Deer are smart.  I'm interested to see what they will eat in my yard now that we planted deer resistant bushes. We took a walk down the dirt road with Frodo and I noticed the leaves are

This week I've been listening to my body.  I thought I had allergies but there was a significant plot twist and I'm now convinced that it's a cold.  Grr.  Because of my autoimmune disease, I have a difficult time fighting germs and try my best to avoid getting them. However, the preschooler that I babysit is ultra-generous in sharing ALL the germs.  I hand wash, I hand sanitize and still I get them.  Wednesday I felt under the weather and cancelled the gym to stay home.  I spent the day trying to update my mac to the new IOS.  I drank buckets of hot tea and rested.  Last fall thru this past spring I was ill a lot and on antibiotics (a lot).  I'm all for modern medicine but I tried tried tried to beat this bug on my own. As of today I'm cautiously optimistic that I might have won the war against this germ.  Maybe.  I'm not worse and that is a good thing.  Resting on Wednesday was the perfect solution.  I also spent time resting on Thursday.  My finger

If you are looking for an easy memorizable knit for a gradient yarn, I highly recommend the junction shawl pattern.  I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl.  The simple design lets a gradient yarn shine through! I might be making another one with another skein of gradient.  I also think this is a great gift to knit quickly and a great project for on the go knitting..  My modifications were simple, I opted to not knit the lace edging so I could use up as much of the yarn as possible.  I had 24 inches left, so that fun goal was achieved. Ravelry notes

Another weekend come and gone, how was yours?  I thoroughly enjoyed the cooler temperatures even on the drizzly day yesterday.  Just wearing a light jacket makes me joyful.  Now along with fall comes the fall allergies.  I cannot decide if I am experiencing allergies OR the preschooler gave me something.  Every week it seems she is sharing germs. I guess when you start preschool you receive more than an education. Whatever you want to coin my stuffy/runny nose, it's mild enough to ignore most of the time but annoying once in awhile.  That's why I lean towards allergies.  Anyways, my weekend was mostly quiet.  Friday night we ate at home instead of going out for dinner like we usually do.  We attempted yet again attending a fall craft fair that has become ginormous.  I bailed after an hour of being there.  There were too many people and I could not approach any of the craft tables due to the excessive crowds.  I wrote to my future self in my planner to not attend un

Finally the cooler temperatures have arrived and I'm in my glory.  Yesterday I switched the summer comforter to the winter comforter feeling completely confident that the heat of the summer is over and done with.  I hope so!  I loved the rainy drizzly day and the excuse to stay home. I had a pressing week where I felt stressed with all of the tasks that were before me.  Yesterday I had a 'do nothing' day. But you see my do nothing day is doing what I choose to do!  I stayed home and strategically plotted out what I wanted to focus on.  Of course I did some pesky chores like laundry and cooking dinner. I also made space for some walking around the yard and taking photos.  Enjoying the drizzle and wearing a jacket. I made space for lots of reading and knitting.  When I needed to stretch which is important to do every hour if you want to be able to knit more, I focused on drawing, sketching and journaling.  Frodo and I walked about the yard once more. Thr

I was hoping this shawl would be off the needles but yesterday was a babysitting day and a three year old doesn't stop much anymore.  Maybe today I'll be casting off!  I love working on this super simple shawl pattern and watching my gradient colors shift from one to another. I started a hat for me last weekend but haven't worked on it much lately.  Once the shawl is done I will be focusing on a 'me' gift. Last but not least are my mitts that I ripped out and cast on in the larger size.  I've done a lot of knitting but little to show since I started over.  I love working with this earthy wool. I'm reading: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (kindle) Glass Houses by Louise Penny (kindle) Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr Trevor Noah Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Joining Ginny

this is NOT my cat  Hello!  How was your weekend?  Well mine was interesting.  I was asked to babysit on Friday afternoon spur of the moment and while I could not do the entire time, I did two hours of the request.  The preschooler was asking me where my carrots and raisins were.  I usually babysit from early morning to early afternoon and share my lunch with her, hence the carrot/raisin request.  Ah little ones, she is a cutie. She spent lots of time creating art and made a picture of me!  I do like the color red so I see the resemblance.  Sort of.  Not sure about the glitter though and where is my smile?? Saturday was a stay-at-home-until-evening-Mass day.  I got caught up on some much needed filing of papers and I assessed all of my knitting from the past year and made preliminary plans of who receives what for a Christmas present.  I'm scaling down on who I knit for, it was quite intense last year with my manic knitting.  I decided on my 'priority' recipie

It's beginning to look like fall around here.  More leaves are turning colors but the weather is still holding onto summer temperatures.  This past week has overall been relaxing and calm.  I treasure the calm moments because who knows when and where the chaotic moments will occur. Sometimes the chaos is just in my thoughts. My daughter lent me a fantasy novel she really enjoyed in hopes to entice me into her genre of reading.  Initially when I started reading The Curse of Chalion,  I doubted my resolve to dig deep into a created world and a lengthy story (502 pages).  Like many people I will recite a mantra of 'I don't have time'. I've been treating this past week as a luxurious vacation since I didn't have to babysit on Tuesday.  I have a whole entire week to do whatever I want.  I've been digging deep in the freezer creating easy to heat meals.  Of course I've been knitting and then there is the reading. On Monday, I chose to read du