Pumpkin Sunrise

Sometimes I wish all of you could see my finished knits in person.  The softness and the shimmery effect of a wool silk blend is wonderful and cannot be captured with photos.  Oh well, I hope you can conjure up some wonderful images of what I am showing you. I finished my shawl before the busy weekend and blocked it once I returned home.  I have my priorities. Andrea of This Knitted Life  has embarked on indie dyeing some lovely yarns for her new business.  She knows what she is doing!  First of all, the quality of the single ply wool silk blend is spectacular.  The yarn is a delight to knit with. When I soaked the wool, I didn't see a hint of purple in the water.  The rinsing was minimal since I used a wool wash to soak the shawl.  Again, I love when a wool blend behaves exactly as I expect and makes the finishing a breeze. Thank you, Andrea :) I used a pattern by Helen Stewart, Amulet Shawl .  I love her design...

My weekend is still going strong - I am recovering from a whirlwind speedy visit to London Ontario to see my in laws.  Lucky for us our daughter and son in law came with us.  We left on Saturday morning, trying to make good driving time so we could stop and show our son in law Niagara Falls (Canada side).  I remembered to take photos! There were a ton of people there, well there is always a crowd.  The first time I saw the Falls was on our Honeymoon almost 31 years ago.  Time flies and all that good stuff. We walked around, stretched out our achy car legs.  Then proceeded to London Ontario.  I did not take photos there.  Sorry!  Sunday was stuffed with driving around doing all the things we would ordinarily do over a three day stay crammed into a one day stay. Today we drove back home and I'm doing the laundry.  We had a great time but traveling tires me out so I'll be singing the praises of being home sweet home once...

This week felt, really truly felt, like summer was here and chilly, cold days are behind us.  I worked twice this week and I usually take her on a stroller walk before lunchtime.  Thursday we walked before 10:30 a.m. and it was hot!  I enjoy walking around the town, seeing flower gardens and listening to her chatter about everything and nothing.  Oh to be little!  She carried a bag of wooden play cookies and in her other hand some phlox I picked for her.  By the time we ended up home, her sweaty death grip made all the flowers wilt.  So sweet!  Seeing the world through her eyes and the newness of it all makes me appreciate the little things all over again.  Like wilted flowers - and pretend cookies in a bag. I found a new-to-me podcast The fruity knitting podcast , what a delight to watch!  They interviewed the inventors and owners of Ravelry.  Speaking of knitting, I am four rows away from finishing up my purple shawl ...

This post contains an overwhelmingly amount of yarn adoption:  proceed with caution! Seriously though, I am sharing with you my yarn purchases from last week while I was in Cape Cod.  On last Wednesday afternoon, we drove around sight seeing and I had in mind to visit one yarn store.  To my surprise, I ended up in two yarn stores. The first yarn store was Adventures in Knitting , a lovely store with friendly people.  While I shopped, a knitting group or class was in process, oh how I wished I could sit and stay and talk the afternoon away.  However, my husband was in the car waiting and I wanted to try and be 'quick'.  As if! I bought the Dr Who mini skein and a lovely skein of gray that I'm using in my current project that I will mention later on.  Both yarns are from A Hundred Ravens .  I love the twist, colors and the softness of the wool. The second yarn store I visited was in Chatham, MA called A Great Yarn .  The people...

You know what is nice?  Having electricity :)  I am going to sing from the rooftops "I love electricity!".  My love for modern conveniences eliminates me from doing any kind of participation in a tv 1800's reality show.  I would not be able to do it with grace.  Now for comic relief, I'm sure the camera would love to follow me around as I grump about with my internal angst.  Ah well... How was your weekend? I'm nearly caught up with my to do list.  When I do get caught up I'll be starting a new one.  Isn't that the way it goes?  I spent yesterday listening to a variety of podcasts while doing the chores.  I also spent some time knit doodling.  Knit doodling is starting a pattern when you're not sure of the yarn or the color and just seeing how it goes.  I ripped out everything today.  Stay tuned for the big reveal when I decide on a yarn and color scheme. The above bookmark with Poland stamps is a replacemen...

On Tuesday, we drove up to Cambridge to drop off our son for his three month internship with Harvard University and what a whirlwind trip that turned out to be.  While in the Harvard Book Store, I received an automatic alert to inform me that my electricity at home was out due to severe storm damage.  Thus began the worry/anxiety state of mind.   We moved him into his sublet, met his one roommate out of two roommates then went to shop and eat at Harvard Square.  The rain arrived shortly after we did and gosh!  The water just ran down the streets - we were soaking wet with umbrellas. Sadly, I dedicated a space in my brain to worry about my cat who was without electricity (I had a friend checking on her and feeding her every day) and my refrigerator and freezer foods.  I know, I know, I'm not in control.  Worriers can't let go. I was so PATIENT while he shopped in this store Around 6:30 p.m. we left Cambridge and ...

I'm down to two projects on my needles, how is this possible?  My schedule hasn't allowed me the time to think about something new.  Once Friday arrives, I see a crack of light shining some hope of beginning a new project. I love being busy because my worries diminish - I don't have time to conjure up some crazy thing to 'what if' over.  But - being busy cuts into my knitting creativity! Also, I am obsessed with trying to finish my book, The Brothers Karamazov , I could knit and read at the same time, but this book demands my full attention.  So does my knitting! The Dusk at Elk River Shawl is ready for the next knitting section - love this project and the shimmery yarn! As promised, my Cloverleaf shawl has a new project page.  I am so much happier with this design, I know I made the right decision frogging the Holey shawl .  I feel so much better.