Pumpkin Sunrise

With great delight I am knitting another tea leaves cardigan .  I'm quite confident I can knit this up and wear it before summer arrives, at least that is my plan.  The wool is Cascade 220  in a lovely bluish purple or purplish blue. Here is a blog post about my original tea leaves cardigan .  I have worn this sweater many times this winter which lead to another being cast on.  If you haven't knit this cardigan up, you should because the instructions are very clear and it knits up quickly.  I am enjoying the "chunky" yarn in my hands since most of the time I'm knitting with lace or fingering weight wool. I am reading two books but only photographed one.  As you can see I'm reading Wuthering Heights.   One day I thought about how I was in the mood for some well written angst, turmoil and characters you love to hate.  (Cathy senior to be exact, she is such a brat).  I dusted off my 1985 copy given to me from my mom for Christmas and s...

Today I wanted to post about another finished knitting project but it just didn't happen.  I did not finish anything this week.  Now that I've admitted it to myself and you I feel a bit better.  Yesterday I cleaned and apparently by the above photo missed some dust on the floor :)  Over all the house is clean, trust me.  On Friday, my daughter will be home and that piano in the photo will be covered in sheet music, so will the dining room table. Yesterday we took a walk down the dirt road which we haven't visited since winter started.  The sun was shining and the air felt slightly less frigid on our outing.  It's too early yet to search for signs of spring, but soon (three weeks?) the buds will start.  This winter lover could be ready. The yarn in the above basket is Mad tosh (purple) , then some alpaca from a knitting friend, and cascade 220 in a purple/blue .  The basket was my mother's and she kept her knitting in it as well...

This weekend saw me choosing a new cell phone (finally) and watching my husband not choose one.  He's like that and it's amusing.  We picked up Chinese food and donuts which has now lead to a healthy Sunday dinner to promote detoxing of the salt.  I think just looking at Chinese food can add 6 lbs.  You know I firmly believe donuts are inherently good for you-they come in the colors of fruit?? Saturday was a lazy day.    I knit, read, puzzled and did almost nothing.  It was fun.  Have you been hearing the birds singing early in the morning?  I've been enjoying that when Frodo and I get the newspaper.  After the silence of winter, their singing is quite noticeable.  We resumed watching some Star Trek episodes, season one from the original series, always entertaining that my husband knows each and every single episode. Today we went to church, I caught up on some correspondence with friends via snail mail, paid bills, and am ru...

I had the pleasure of meeting a friend for lunch and had a fun time.  We try to get together just the two of us but as you know it's crazy to pin down a day to catch up.  For two hours we laughed, talked and relayed all the events that deemed important to share.  While we met, the weather quickly changed from snow, to rain, to a gray cold day. I've been thoroughly enjoying the knitting classes.  Every single person I've met has been a pleasure to teach.  More classes are being scheduled and my "to do" knitting is slowly increasing.  Sometimes life falls gently into place, my gram would say "it was meant to be".  She was a smart lady full of deep reflections. My gram also believed what goes around comes around....who knew a catholic woman would believe in karma?? Next weekend, my daughter is coming home for half of her spring break.  We are sandwiching in what we want to do among routine appointments.  You know there will be shopping ...

I was knitting on this pi shawl last night and quickly discovered a teeny tiny mistake (knitting the wrong row of the directions).  When I mentioned this to my husband he replied jokingly "well apparently you aren't as good of a knitter as you think you are".  I'm still chuckling about that.  The pi shawl is NOT for television viewing, I'm still an expert ;)  I've had this shawl on the needles for quite some time.  Currently there are 588 glorious stitches on the needles and it is slow going.  It's a perfect winter knitting project.  I'll pick it up and do a row or two and then I'm off to knit on something else. I finished my spring green colored cowl and posted about it here .  I've never met a more cheerful green! I'm nearing the end of my book,  Traveling Mercies .  I've thoroughly enjoyed her reflections and her journey of faith.  She injects humor while she weaves a tale but it's done respectfully.  I admire her fa...

I finished this cowl over the weekend-it is SOFT!  The pattern is the Noble cowl  and the yarn is Silky Merino by Malabrigo.  If you haven't had the pleasure to knit with this yarn you should! Even though it is a single ply, the stitch definition is fantastic.  Silky Merino comes in an array of colors, so if you see it at a yarn shop pick up a skein or two and knit a little something decadent. I managed to knit this cowl with one skein!  There was a yard or two left over so I got that giddy feeling of "is there enough yarn".  It makes my day to be slightly stressed about yardage.  Ravelry notes are here .

This weekend was filled with: -walking!  OH the walking, I've missed it and my body is slowly getting used to the exercise -sunny skies that you just want to soak up the rays (but it's cold) -all of my knitting projects are green-so you know what that means, -starting a new project with purple -spinach pesto with toasted almonds.....yum -catching up with Downton Abbey and Elementary from the dvr -catching up with the kids and their lives, in two weeks our daughter will be on spring break -mundane tasks--bill paying, laundering, washing dishes, editing documents, and sweeping -preparations for up coming classes that I'll be teaching -backing up my photos onto a new hard drive after my husband's hard drive crashed and he lost most of the music data (from CDs) that he streams -realizing that we need a back up of the back up :) how was your weekend? the above photo is a square sample of entrelac for a knitting class Joining Amanda

Frodo says "hi" to all of you, isn't he a cutie??  He loves when I grab the camera, it usually means a walk about the yard and exploration for him.  Yesterday after dinner we all went for a short walk.  This was the first walk since my ankle injury.  Walking inspires interesting conversations and observations of our neighborhood.  I'm thinking that spring is slowly showing its signs.  I've seen two cardinals singing to each other, they are dating currently and possibly considering a family. This past week I had the pleasure to sit and wait at a doctor's office for a check up appointment.  While sitting and doing a crossword puzzle, I managed to also people watch.  Call me nosy but it just can't be helped.  I find other people fascinating and if they talk loud enough for me to hear, well so be it.  Anyways, in front of me was an elderly wheelchair bound woman and her companion who was slightly less elderly.  The companion stated...

This week I started a quick lacy cowl in a lovely springtime green!  It's a cheerful happy knit that I love to sit and work on.  The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino  and the pattern is the Noble Cowl .  I am enjoying the quick knit.  Here's my project page .  If you missed yesterday's post , I finished the citron shawl and enjoyed wearing it very much! I started a new book this week, Traveling Mercies Some Thoughts on Faith.   I was in the mood for Anne Lamott and I think it coincides with the lenten season, don't you?  I find her writing refreshing.  I most love how she can be humorous and serious in one sentence.  Laughter is so healthy for us and why not mix it with a bit of faith? I finished Prayers for Sale and everyone who commented last week told me there was a twist, and there was, but guess what?  I kind of guessed it, call me clever.  I still enjoyed the twist and the book was overall a good book.  I think ...

This weekend I had to get creative, you see I ran out of the mystery yarn for my citron shawl .  I bought the yarn at a fiber festival and was told it was around 1000 yards.  It's more like 600-700 yards if you as me!  I did seven repeats of the ruching sections of the citron shawl .  Then I realized there just wasn't enough. I prefer the citron shawl to be big so ripping out wasn't an option.  So I did a little stash diving and problem solved.  You know what?  I love this shawl even better!  The garter stitch edging gives it a pop of color.  The green and the blue yarn is Madelinetosh Lace , and the dark brown is Silky Alpaca Lace . My color selections happened in the evening (not the best time to make decisions for me).  I went to bed with some frustration and decided not to look at it for more than twelve hours.  Once the time out was over and I was refreshed with morning thinking skills, I went with the colors. I...

A weekend spent hibernating while the winter storm visited us.  We were lucky (or unlucky if you like a foot of snow) we measured about four inches.  That's plenty enough for me.  The power did flicker twice but it happened while I was blissfully asleep and so my anger did not rise nor did my hatred of the electric company.  My husband though keeps discussing the back up ideas. I finished a project this weekend and I'll share soon.  My thoughts today have been haphazard.  I've balled up three different yarns for three different projects.  I feel a cast on frenzy coming upon me.  Heavens!  I will regret it after the start, I always do.  The heady feeling of new projects is so worth it.  Almost like a natural and legal rush.  As I age I become so easy to please.  My new project thoughts are:  worsted weight sweater (think tea leaves!), a fingering weight sweater, a cowl and a pair of socks for my husband, who is...

I like plain bread, you know the unhealthy kind, especially toasted!  But then there are lots of foods I love that are not the best, we will not mention french fries and chocolate chip cookies.  I'm still adjusting to cooking and meal planning for two people.  Yesterday was a "big salad" (think of Elaine's salad from Seinfield) with this delicious loaf of bread from the bakery department at the local grocery store. Other confessions that you might find interesting: -I will randomly sing Broadway show tunes out loud or in my head, today I'm stuck on Wicked- "For Good" -I am looking forward to the snow we will be getting (you might know that already) -I like the kitchen to be tidy before I sit and knit -I go through phases of which mug is my favorite -my best ideas are before lunchtime -like a toddler, I get cranky near my bedtime -I always taste my vegetables first at dinner -I have no sense of direction (zero) -to compensate I walk to the ...

This week my knitting has turned to simple pleasures.  Earlier in the week I finished my barnacle sweater  and wrote up a post  all about it.  Now already I am thinking of another sweater to cast on but it's too soon.  I needed a break from a long project.  So this week I'm working on a cowl with one of my patterns-the balancing act cowl  .  You see I gave my sister the last one I knit up for Christmas and I still do not own one!  My daughter adopted the first one.  This malabrigo sock yarn in the turner colorway whispered my name gently while trying to resist yarn shopping.  The yarn said "make me into a cowl".  So I obliged. My reading is the same.  I am over half way through Prayers for Sale .  It is entertaining and I like that nothing traumatic or shocking has happened (yet).  A very gentle read.  Unfortunately when I read it is near bed time and I've been exhausted lately so I keep falling asleep....

Guess what I wore this weekend???  Yep.  THE sweater and I'm quite pleased with it!!  It is very soft and the drape is excellent.  I heavily modified the sleeve construction and it looks pretty good to me.  I love full length sleeves to keep my entire arm warm.  There even was a half of skein left over. So all those troublesome worries of running out of yarn was mere imagination.  I do think if I'd kept the original sleeve design it would have been a concern, but now I'll never know.  This sweater is made of Tern from Quince and Co.  I love love this yarn.  It is soft and has a nice twist which makes it quite comfortable to knit with.  Give it a try!! I do love the sweater, I think I could have gone down another size with how wide the neckline ended up but maybe I'm used to smaller necklines.  The sweater is a swing style-again not my usual choice in sweater design but I think the wool/silk combination makes the sw...

My weekend included: -catching up on many podcasts that accumulated over the winter break -knitting on the citron shawl while listening -marathon watching of Pride and Prejudice  (with Colin Firth of course) -happy to see my husband get drawn into the plot, he always does... -some Downton Abbey as well, we only just viewed the season premiere -menu planning, list making, laundry tasks and photo editing -later today will be homemade hot wings YUM -watching the super bowl indirectly, you see, I married into sports :) How was your weekend? joining Amanda

I've been looking up at grey skies and blue skies and fluffy cloud skies.  The weather has changed drastically the past week.  I've captured the movement and yet I was drawn to what I saw while looking down.  I'm recovering at a steady pace, thankfully.  Although not as rapidly as I would like.  I find myself longing for a walk with my dog and husband all around the neighborhood.  But I can't.  So I did the next best thing, I walked the property.  Being ever so mindful of each step I took.  Chanting to myself that I was on steady ground and that is why I was looking down. I am thankful that moss stays green all year long.  The tufts are reminders of vibrant greens we will see in less than two months.   Because my land is wooded I have moss and lichen everywhere I look. The last photo is my favorite.  It is a deer print, perfectly defined and freshly made.  We have about five to seven deer that love to meander thr...