Pumpkin Sunrise

As you know, I'm knee deep in holiday knitting.  I have yet to knit:  two fair isle hats, a wurm hat, and a cowl by Christmas day (and maybe a pair of socks...).  Yet yesterday, I set aside some time to start a lace weight shawl for myself.  Many of you might think this is thwarting my self imposed goals, not so!  I consider this a self care knitting project.  I was quite joyful during my self indulgent hour of knitting. The amethyst shawl is the Asana Shawl and I am thrilled to be facing miles and miles of garter stitch.  Who knew I'd be such a fan of this squishy stitch pattern. I am still reading Alexander Hamilton and enjoying it immensely.  I'll be reading this for quite some time and I'm in this for the long haul.  I started Commonwealth a few days ago.  I have no opinions as of yet but so far I'm enjoying the plot. Oh hey!  I'm having a giveaway  hurry up to enter by Thursday midnight! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining

I had the pleasure of being a test knitter for Lisa from Happy in Dole Valley .  I finished this sweet little bonnet about two weeks ago and have waited for the pattern to go live!  Well guess what? Not only is the pattern ready but I am hosting a giveaway for the pattern.  Lisa is such a generous giving spirit.  If you are looking for a quick knit for a little someone, this pattern is for you. To enter your must: Leave a comment on this project page with your ravelry name by midnight Thursday, December 1. I will choose a winner with a random number generator and announce the winner on a blog post on Friday December 2. Good luck!!

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. I'm exhausted.  Not only did I see my side of the family over the past few days but I celebrated Thanksgiving and exchanged Christmas gifts with them, attended a gingerbread house making party, went shopping with my favorite sister ever (not to mention my only sister). my sister and me!  The whole trip was lots and lots of good food and family.  Oh yeah, my daughter and son in law were there as well.  So much busyness that one on one time was limited.  However, they are coming during the Christmas break for a week.  There will be plenty of time for that. The California Gal and me :)  I had such a fun time out with my sister.  We shopped and then had a great lunch out during the Black Friday madness.  Luckily we shop in craft stores, so the madness is less. gingerbrea

Family is togetherness oneness celebrating holidays one with crust and one without Family is remembering relatives who are from the past who we see in each other Family is belonging accepting laughing and smiling loving the obligatory messy coffee table Family is  friendship community Family is you and me

My house has been busy with the prepping for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Am I ready?  Almost.  I have finished the musts and now I'm onto the "wouldn't it be nice to get this done" list.  Thank goodness I've written down every single detail.  I almost forgot about the pumpkin pies....what? My reading has been slightly slow because my son arrived on Saturday and so instead of reading, I'm talking.  However, I'm still plugging away at Alexander Hamilton and yes, I am thoroughly enjoying the book. My knitting has changed.  I finished this and this .  I started a red fair isle hat that is secret knitting and then that blue project is another secret knitting project that I cannot say what it is.  Maybe you can infer what it is by how it looks. I cannot wait for secrets to be revealed.  I want to shout from the rooftops!! What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. I celebrated my birthday this weekend and one of the birthday wishes I wished for growing up was snow.  Sometimes I would get snow and sometimes not.  I had fun thinking about it all throughout November year after year,  wondering if it might happen.  Well guess what?  I woke up to this!  What a delight to have snow :) I've been frantically trying to get all of my knitting done for Thanksgiving when I see my people.  I am nearly there.  I'm down to hours of knitting instead of days.  I am happy!  Oh and I spent this morning wrapping stuff while doing laundry. Today we went to see Rent  the musical in Scranton at the Scranton Cultural Center .  I thoroughly enjoyed the show and recommend it if it's traveling in a town near you.  This was my first time at this theater

Perhaps maybe, snow will fall this weekend.  Since I was a starry-eyed teen, I've wished for November snow especially on my birthday.  My mother would be beside herself listening to Christmas music coming from my bedroom at the start of Halloween.  She thought that was too early.  I disagreed and played my Johnny Mathis albums as loud as possible while singing along. Perhaps maybe I will finish my super secret knitting.  I'm starting to feel the crafting ennui in the project but I'm ignoring that feeling and pressing along.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I am so very very close!  Once I finish, I can cast on something for myself. Perhaps maybe this photo of Frodo with his wee tongue sticking out is the sweetest ever.  He hates to be photographed.  Camera shy?  You know who else is camera shy?  Those deer that are in my yard, they scamper away every time I see them.  I know and you know, I will get that photo shot, I always do. Perhaps maybe I wil

I only just realized that I have a mere seven days to get done what I want to get done before the Thanksgiving holiday.  My self imposed deadlines are looming.  So I went into high gear knitting for the mitts.  I finished the one in the above photo and started the second pair of mitts.  The second pair is the last pair.  To the right in the basket is my super secret knitting project that I cannot show you.  Sigh. I have a difficult time with secrets....so let's see if I can hold out for a few more weeks?? I continue to read The Book of Speculation  which started off quite good but now I'm just wondering why all the character's conversations seem forced and unreal.  The plot gets weird and I'm suspending belief to finish.  I have less that 80 pages to go.  Thank goodness. Alexander Hamilton is FANTASTIC.  Each sentence is loaded with information.  This is my first time reading a non fiction historical book.  I must say, I love it!  I wonder, why didn't my hi

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. Another weekend here and then soon to be gone, was yours a good one?  Mine started off super relaxed and lazy.  I was unplugged (again) from news feeds and media and really it's been quite refreshing. I restarted up my yoga practice yesterday morning after a six week hiatus due to some minor back issues.  I'm easing in with every other day and seeing how it goes.  I'm "hyper aware" and being cautious.  I need the yoga, my frantic knitting makes me kind of a crooked lady!! not too sure about this book....I'm half way through and the characters are getting weird. We didn't go anywhere except Saturday early evening Mass.  Have you been watching The Crown on Netflix, it's quite the visual delight.  I am hooked and I love that there is enough talkin

Something happened this week that I've been anticipating for quite some time.  I am energized and focused on many exciting creative projects.  Finally.  I have to confess when I had my RA flare up in the spring, I was sidelined with my knitting and with that my enthusiasm for crafting. Sure I was still knitting here and there and cranking out the projects.  But that spark of excitement was dulled by health challenges and worries.  Summertime is my worst season for my joints and I scale back on my knitting.  I'm an oddity because the cold weather makes my joints feel fabulous.  My doctor chuckles whenever I mention that.  He says every single time "oh, you are one of those".  Yup. My enthusiasm starts with a list.  Always and forever, a LIST.  I get joy seeing my wishful thinking on paper using my favorite pen.  That giddy feeling of trying to cross off each task.  I wish I could explain it more.  But you list makers out there know what I'm talking about

Good morning! Oh my goodness, my knitting and my reading is swelling in overload.  I have some personal knitting goal deadlines for Thanksgiving. So I'm knitting once again a couple of mitts using the fetching pattern I adore.  I have this pattern memorized, burned into my brain.  That's the kind of knitting that feels like visiting an old friend.  You know, when you meet up with a buddy and no matter the span of time that has elapsed, your conversations fall into a comfortable rhythm.  So good! Now onto the huge gigantic tome I'm reading.  My son mentioned in a conversation that he was going to start reading Alexander Hamilton.   Without thinking, I said "oh, I'll do a read along with you!".  My sister and my nephew are also on board with this read along.  My daughter is still "thinking" about it.  She is participating in  nanowrimo and has limited time.  My book arrived on Monday and so I started.  Wish me luck on finishing before the yea

I finished this sweet little cardigan last week and am pleased to share with you how I blocked the sweater so that the fronts behaved.  Since the wool is an acrylic blend, I didn't use the traditional wet blocking method.  Instead, I pulled out the can of starch and the iron.  I cannot tell you how pleased I am with how the sweater turned out! The pattern was  a delight to knit up and I loved watching the "dots" appear.  I made the 3-6 month size since the sweater looked huge for the 6-12 month size.  Now let's hope the sweater fits. Ravelry notes are here

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. How was your weekend?  I'm trying to capture and memorize the best fall foliage by far this past week and weekend.  Glorious displays everywhere I turn.  Truly, this is completely energizing for me and my creativity.  I see color combinations for knitting, the chilly air inspires me to knit more and more, faster and faster.  I've made many 'to knit' lists.  Some for me, some for presents that I have in mind. These are a few of the yarns I bought earlier in the week.  All destined for knitting presents.  I could be a knitting elf for Santa!  Yesterday, I worked diligently on a gift hat that will be finished tonight.  Unless I'm side tracked by something else. My husband and I, along with Frodo had our daily walks.  We saw hawks soaring and we listened to t

This time next week I fear that the brilliant colors of fall will be finished.  Yesterday after a rainy morning, Frodo and I walked about capturing the colors, the leaves and the wonderment.  That is what I love most about photography, through the camera lens, I can focus on a beautiful moment, frame it, and make the moment permanent. I love to have a camera on hand to catch those photo-worthy sights.  Then sometimes, I enjoy the freedom of being unharnessed to a camera and it's just me, watching, looking and free to think and feel without stopping and framing a scene. This week the deer have been gathering in my yard daily.  Yesterday, a buck stood and lapped up some water from a puddle while a younger deer looked on.  I've counted up to five in group but I know there are many more.  When I'm outside, I hear rustling in the woods.  The deer are watching me while I watch them.  A mother nature game of hide and seek. I had the pleasure of yarn shopping earl

I started a delightful test knit for Lisa from Happy in Dole Valley .  This knit is a sweet wee bonnet and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be knitting with 100% wool!  I was working on an acrylic blend and while my hands felt fine, the texture was off.  There is something about natural fiber (wool!) that is a tactile delight.  In fact, I feel the urge to go out and buy some more wool to start some more quick holiday projects. I finished my cowl and hat and posted yesterday . I'm reading the same book, so far it's going good.  I find the switching back and forth from present to past a bit disjointed, however, I'm getting used to it.  I have no idea where this plot will take me and that is okay for now.  Since I'm knitting more, my reading becomes less.  Oh to find that balance. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

I've been wearing this cowl whenever I can.  That is, when the weather permits.  It seems that Mother Nature cannot decide to be cold or warm, so I in turn have to adjust to the weather demands.  There is nothing worse that feeling hot and flu like from wearing wool. I love this cowl because of the fiber content, there's wool but then there is bamboo and linen.  I love the drape, the "crunch" of the linen and the softness.  I feel a pull towards neutrals and this cream cowl fits my current color desires. Cowl notes are here One of my super secret not so secret holiday knitting projects is finished.  I think the hat turned out swell.  Of course I made a big mistake, strike that, I made a "design element change" of when the decreasing for the crown occurs. All shaping is after the main charts, I kind of like my design element.  I chose the biggest size and the biggest needles called knowing full well my knitting is super tight with fair is