Pumpkin Sunrise

I finished my blush cardigan  last week.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit me AND that I had enough yarn to complete the project.  So nice when the Knitting Gods bless me with success.  It's too hot to wear this sweater but I have something exciting to wear when the weather cools off. I did not enjoy knitting with the cotton, my hands tire quickly since the yarn has no spring.  I truly believe I knit at a slower rate as well. I loved the top down construction and the over all fit.  However I do NOT like how far spaced the button holes are. (they create a gap....).  The button holes are created while knitting the body of the sweater at the same time.  I would have preferred a picked up button band so I could place the button holes exactly 2.5 inches apart. Since this cardigan is 100% cotton I steamed blocked the edges to get them to lay flat and they could be a lot flatter for my taste.  I resisted the urge to use spray starch but I truly wanted to spritz the edges.  Ag

On Saturday we drove to State College to visit our son and future daughter in law for the afternoon.  We had lunch outside at a restaurant .  The weather cooperated with cloudy skies and coolish weather.  It was nice to see them, the days are counting down for when they relocate to Indiana.   After lunch we walked around Penn State University's Arboretum .  I daydream about having a lovely garden like they do.  If only!  Some of the arboretum is under construction for a garden attracting birds.  My husband and I might have to return in a year or so just to see that. Yesterday I did all the chores and found out that I'll be a Great Aunt again.  I'm thrilled to be knitting some baby items in the upcoming fall months.  How very exciting!  I'm will also be knitting a wedding shawl and so far it's looking like maybe, just maybe another citron?  We'll see.   I knit a whole bunch while riding in the car, then ripped out a whole bunch once I was home.  I didn't care

Around here I've been hiding inside my house while the humidity has slowly climbed to a somewhat sticky level.  The wild roses are finished blooming and at any moment the day lilies will bloom.  Every morning when I'm outside with Frodo we check the plants.  On our walks, I've seen bee balm blooming but mine is being kind of shy right now.  I've spotted some elderberry bushes blooming and they reminded me of my gram who would make elderberry pie when we were at her summer cottage.   The cement guy came and leveled all of the uneven pieces around the pool, sometime next week the landscaper is coming to do his thing.  We have some flowering plants that need to be relocated before he regrades the corner of our property or we'll lose them.  The new boulder retaining wall is supposed to take two days.  I'm excited. Around here I decadently read ALL day yesterday.  The memoir, Educated, is really good and I can't put it down.  It's funny because I was sure I w

What does a knitter do when she is so close to finishing a sweater?  She works on a shawl of course.  I haven't spent much time on this shawl and yesterday while listening to podcasts I added 6 more rows.  The border is over half way done. Well now, I was hoping that the sweater would be done and I have merely six rows to go on the second cuff.  I just couldn't finish it last night, I was tired and so were my hands (cotton is unforgiving), so today is the day the sweater will be off the needles. What are you working on this week?

Another weekend has come and gone.  Time is flying by!  Can you believe we are half way through June?  I can't.   I have some GOOD news!  My son and his girlfriend are engaged to be married at the beginning of the new year.  We are beyond thrilled to have her added to our little family.  He will be relocating to Indiana mid-July and my husband and I are helping with phase one of the move.  Lucky for me they have lots of friends to pick up boxes and go up and down three flights of stairs. Onto my weekend:   Saturday was delightful, I read a lot and knit a lot.  I've discovered that I am not a fast knitter when it comes to cotton yarn.  I finished the first sleeve and I'm working on the second sleeve.  I'd like to believe that the sweater will be done today but realistically that will not happen. Our daily walks continue around our area.  The mornings were deliciously cold.  I'm an odd one who loves cold weather but hey, I know that July, August and September will be

This morning I'm sitting at my kitchen table before 7:30 a.m. watching the sunlight beam through the trees.  I'm delighted to report that the heat and humidity is gone.  Tuesday and Wednesday were a bit 'steamy' for me.  My husband was delighted, he loves summer - the hotter the better.  Oh hey - some good news!  My husband is retiring effective mid-August. The massive amounts of paperwork and busy work was sobering but we are down to one more phone call and one more form.  Thank goodness.  I lost two solid days to paperwork and two hour phone calls.  Sadly my knitting and reading and having fun were minimal this week. We have no big plans in retirement except to see our kids.  I'm sure we will be planning something sometime somewhere.  I have to confess, I'm used to the 'staycation' frame of mind and could easily keep this up.   We only walked twice this week due to the weather and schedules.  The daisies are out and about!  Any day now the day lilies w

Hello!  This week my knitting is mostly the same except for the new socks on the needles.  I decided to knit with non-pink yarn for now because well, I'm surrounded by pinks.  This sock is a Christmas gift and I haven't quite decided what pattern to put on the leg, I'm winging it as I go along. My blush cardigan is finally at the sleeve construction, I finished the body last night after the photo below.  I only have three skeins left and I'm positive the sleeves will be 3/4 length.  It's a summer sweater so I'm okay with that.  I'm going to work both sleeves with one skein each and then see try my best to use my last skein between the two.  It'll be interesting!! What are you working on?

How was your weekend?   Oh, I wish I could bottle up this past weekend.  The weather was perfect!  Beautiful blue sunny skies and low humidity.  Why can't August be like June?  We've switched our walks to before lunch instead of after lunch.  Since Frodo is 10 1/2 years old he cannot take the heat nor the humidity so we keep that in mind while we walk. Saturday I spent most of the day reading and knitting.  My pink sweater, that is not photographed, is nine rows from being done with the body.  You know what that means!  Fast and furious sleeve knitting. This weekend the daisies and wild rose bushes started blooming.  Two of my favorites.  The scent of the roses is delicate and I love when I catch a sniff by chance.  My nose is nearly normal, thank goodness.  Now I have to put up with jokes from my husband every time we walk.  'Watch out for that leaf' , 'there's a twig over there, don't trip on it' etc... Honestly it's funny now that I am mostly heal

Around here, the weather feels like mid summer with humidity and the thunderstorms that pop up at a whim.  Frodo has been policing the pool and has saved one toad out of many since they love to jump in but cannot jump out.  Of course he's been saving salamanders for the last two weeks as well.  He is living a full life.  Yesterday was the first 'I dropped the frisbee in the pool now you go get it' game.  He is quite predictable. June days are lovely - warmth sets in and jeans are set aside for capris or shorts.  I wake up to the day breaking and Holly sits at the side window, watching the birds, swishing her tail in excitement.   On Monday we walked by the river and then explored a new trail to us.  There was a dirt path down to the creek which we successfully navigated, however when I was walking back up hill I tripped and fell on my face and wrist.  My husband drove me to urgent care for x-rays and an examination.  My wrist was okay (phew!) and my nose, while swollen, see

Maybe you cannot see it, but I am making steady progress on my pink cardigan .  I'm about over half way done with the body of the sweater.  Knitting with cotton is a little slow going for me since there isn't much 'spring' in the yarn.  However, I dedicate time each and every day adding inches. The gradient shawl in the above photo is my TV knitting which is soft and wonderful to sit, knit and add a few rows during a show.  I'm nearly done with the second section of the pattern and then I'll be doing the border.  So close! I was delighted this week to pick up the books I reserved with our county traveling library.  It's been forever since I've stepped foot into a bookstore or a library.  Curbside pickup is wonderful!  I also check out the ebook library but many of the books I want have a long wait list.  I'm too impatient I guess.  However, I do place holds every now and then.  I'm excited to do a deep dive into that Tasha Tudor book! What have

What a glorious weekend I had!  We had low humidity, chilly mornings and endless blue skies.  I love those kind of days especially after a few days of hot humid weather.  I felt rejuvenated and ready to face the summer days ahead of me.   I framed the infamous 'red floss bleeding' project and no one would know there are tinges of pink except you and me.  It's our secret.  This project was started when my son was in middle school * cough cough about 15 years ago.... *  and I decided during these days to work on it once more. My son loved it and I hope he enjoys it when he moves into his new space in Indiana, yet to be determined.   Our daily walks have been great now that the temperature isn't overly hot.  All of the phlox is in bloom and yesterday I spotted Queen Ann's lace blooming, it won't be long before the daisies start popping up. There was lots and of knitting and lots of reading.  I'm knee-deep reading the  Middlemarch drama and I'm enjoying the