Pumpkin Sunrise

I am currently reading Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy.  I love this book so far.  Each chapter is a short story and like all of her other books she will tie all of the characters together near the end of the book.  I enjoy her writing style very much.  I picked up the book Blogging for Bliss  and started reading it.  Someone on a previous yarn along featured it......I cannot remember who and it might be more than one person.  Whoever you are, thanks for the idea!  Also for some light reading I am revisiting Elizabeth Zimmermann's book, Knitter's Almanac.   I have read this book many times.  So I just pick a chapter or part and read bits and pieces. My project is the Elderberry Wine Shawl .  The process of knitting this shawl is pure bliss.  The yarn is soft and the pattern is addictive.  The patterning to the left of the books is Chart E.  I have it memorized now since it has to be repeated 30 times! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday full of knitting and read

My Elderberry Wine Shawl is coming along quite nicely!  I love the pattern and the middle part (chart E) is so easy to memorize for me that I am whizzing along. I am at the waist shaping for the  Valley Cardigan .  The pattern called for knit four-purl two ribbing but I decided to go for knit two-purl two ribbing just for ease of knitting faster.  I am knitting the two fronts and the back all together.  I have used one skein out of the four that I have for this sweater.  I think I will make it on having enough......at least I hope.  I am living on the edge ;)

Doesn't Frodo look like he desperately needs a hair cut?  He gets groomed next Friday and that day cannot come soon enough.  I comb out tangles and weeds every other day.  The best vegetation to comb out is from the flower bed~sigh~because he smells like oregano or thyme.  My husband would love to find a way to keep him out but he is just so happy in there exploring.  We call it his play pen!  Foolishly we put up a wire decorative fence that worked for about two days.  Now he jumps over it.  Maybe he is smarter than both of us put together. So far I am finding teeny tiny evidence that spring is around the corner.  The snow has finally melted. Today the sky is such a bright blue and it is not freezing cold either.  The air also smells and feels different.  I am looking forward to my two lilac bushes to bloom.  Every year they take a beating from the deer nibbling on them but they manage to bloom beautifully. My knitting continues to be the same projects, a

Today is the yarn along that Ginny hosts at her blog, Small Things .  It is a wonderful way to check out what everyone is reading and working on. I finally finished my book, The Forgotten Garden,  on Monday and I loved it!  It was a great mystery read and I enjoyed the way the author wrote the story for three generations.  So every chapter was a different time period.  I did guess most of the ending but there was one surprise that I did not even suspect.  My new book is Whitethorn Woods  by Maeve Binchy.  I have always liked her writing so I hope I am not disappointed. My knitting remains the same.  I am working on the Elderberry Wine Shawl , still doing the repeats of chart E.  I am also working on the body of the Valley Cardigan .  Everyday I alternate my project to work on.  Yesterday, I had little chance to knit.  My husband cleaned out his side of the closet and we hauled 13 bags to out of the house to a donation center.  I think I need to work on my side of the close

Every spring, the High School Band Booster have a silent auction and are always looking for items to raffle.  In the past six (yes six!) years I have faithfully donated three little items.  This year is my last year for high school band and I really wanted to donate something that could possibly generate the Boosters more money.  I found in my closet two pretty baby blankets that have not been gifted to anyone. So today I measured, folded, and tagged them for a wonderful future to some unknown baby.  What a wonderful way to kick of the spring cleaning!

......for a yarn, that is.  This yarn is Araucania Trauco Cashmere and it is very soft.  I really love it.  Now I have not had the opportunity to wash it or wear it repeatedly, so my opinion could change.  So far it is lovely to work with. This is my cardigan that I am working on: The pattern is Mountain View Cardigan  and here is a link to my project page for this sweater .  I decided to work the front pieces along with the back.  I decided to not write anything down so I am flipping the instruction frequently to make sure I did not miss anything.  Because I do not have the required yarn amount, I have trimmed two inches off the length.  I hope this is going to work out okay.  I have been known to knit with very little amounts of yarn and wonder whether I have enough.  I think it makes life exciting :)

Happy second day of March!  Ginny's blog, Small Things , is hosting a yarn along.  Please stop by her blog and check out the reading ideas and the yarn projects! I know what you are thinking......and yes it is the same book.  I hang my head in shame.  I really do like the book but I dedicate more time to knitting than to reading.  Who would have thought!  This is a picture of my Elderberry Wine Shawl . I am now on chart E which puts me in the middle of the shawl.  I have to repeat chart E about thirty times!  Thankfully, it is a six or eight row repeat so it is not that much of a chore.  I finished my husband's socks a couple of days ago and they wait patiently on his bureau to be worn.  I think today might be the lucky day.  It is very cold outside morning, not to mention dreary.  I am so glad I walked yesterday and enjoyed the sunny day.