Pumpkin Sunrise

I thought I'd dazzle you with a bright blue sky that hasn't been seen since last weekend.  Pretty huh? I miss it so.  Every day this week has been over cast, sure the sun will peek out but it's brief and not enough.  Yesterday we walked our dirt road searching for signs of spring.  Runny noses are the only sign for now.  Allergy season! I've resumed my lace knitting and am happy to announce that the edging pattern is cemented into my memory.  One less thing to slow me down-reading directions.  When I first started the edging, I thought it was not very pretty.  Now that I'm a 1/3 done I think it's beautiful.  I used to think garter stitch was very ugly now I love it.  Funny how tastes change.  Garter stitch lovingly showcases a hand painted yarn to it's best advantage, in my opinion. Now that spring is approaching (it will arrive, promise) smaller projects are flitting through my mind.  Hats and socks.  Also I would ...

My knitting is fresh and new!  Just in time for spring, well the calender spring because the weather spring is still winter.  I've cast on a pair of green socks for my husband.  Whenever I'm out and about in yarn stores, I pick up any skein of durable sock yarn for socks.  This brand- trekking -is durable.  It's my favorite brand for him. I don't know how he does it but he is hard on socks. Oh and guess what?  I finished my tea leaves sweater  , I love it so :) I am only knitting small projects until I finish, yes finish this lace shawl .  It has been languishing at the bottom of my knitting bag.  I desperately want to cast on another sweater so what better way to motivate me but to put limits on myself?  Let's see if this works for me.  I'll keep you up to date. My book.  Well you know I'm partial to Alice Hoffman, so when I saw The Red Garden  and quickly scanned the summary on the back I bought it.  It's an ...

I've finished the tea leaves cardigan !  It's a lovely pattern to knit up and I only used five skeins of Cascade 220.  This cardigan is special because of two lovely gifts that I received a few months ago.   The buttons!!!!  The buttons were handmade by Tracey over at Clover .  Isn't she the sweetest person to make them for me??  When I received them I picked a sweater for the buttons.  It's true and it's the first time I've done that.  I believe the buttons were made from antlers, I'm sure she will confirm that fact and I'll edit accordingly.  I love them Tracey and thank you!! The second gift was from a dear knitting friend who gave me the name tags.  They were bought at Mountain Street Arts  a lovely etsy shop.  Aren't they adorable?? The last two photos were taken by my son and Frodo was excited to get into the photos.  I have to admit the outside photos were pre-blocking and that pesky button ban...

Palm Sunday for me was a dreaded Mass as a child because of its length and somberness and yet I would be excited to receive some palms in which to weave.  So yesterday after a quick lunch I set off to weave, I remembered my mom and my childhood.  I would cry getting frustrated because I could not begin or end my weaving.  I was a difficult child :) Later yesterday we said goodbye to our son since his spring break has ended.  Laundry was finished, dishes were washed dried and put away.  The coffee table is once again visible.  I am getting comfortable with the comings and goings of the kids. This weekend was a long break from the internet and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I might have to make every weekend internet free.  I finished two knitting projects which I'll share soon. Tomorrow perhaps? How was your weekend? Joining Amanda

We were out for a walk yesterday and even though it's still cold like winter, I'm seeing signs of spring. Down by the pond the ducks are active and chasing each other.  Seems to me they are swimming more instead of hiding.  Frodo would love to catch one, I'm not sure what he would do with it when he caught it.  Some of our bushes and trees are slowly budding-another sign.  I will admit that I'm looking forward to some milder weather.  Just not hot weather. Yesterday Frodo was barking in the back yard, he's vocal that way.  I decided to see what was the fuss.  I couldn't believe it!!  He was barking at my elusive woodpecker that I've been trying to find in the mornings.  He's a beautiful bird, and I quickly ran to get the "good" camera.  Now I have two drawbacks.  First off, I do not own a zoom lens....yet.  It's on the list of purchases.  Secondly, I am not a stealth person which means I would fail ninja training. ...

My tea leaves cardigan is making progress.  The body is complete and my only modification was to add an extra inch to the body length since I am on the tall side of life.  The first sleeve is nearly complete, I might add a bit of length to that as well.  I have daydreams of a finished sweater within the week-fingers crossed that they come true. Ha!  I bet you think I'm reading that book.  Well how about I admit it is the book that I want to read next.  I am savoring the bittersweet end of Wuthering Heights  today.  Cathy (Jr) is about to make the mistake of her life and somebody is finally going to die of consumption.  I've lost count on how many times I've read this book and every time I visit I experience a new facet of the plot.  To me, it is a must read classic. Because it's open source I've been reading the printed version late at night and during the day while knitting miles and miles of stockinette I've found my place in th...

I thought today I'd share with you what is in my knitting bag, my essentials for knitting on the go.  First off I'm carrying a set of double pointed needles size 7 because they're short and wooden and perfect for catching slippery stitches when I unknit or drop down a few rows to fix an error.  The needles in the photo are Brittany  and were a gift from my dad and step mom quite a bit ago.  They are my only wooden needles.  Next up is my needle sizer, which is an heirloom because it was my mom's sizer.  I love how it is a bit worn and bent.    The cable needles are from knit picks , I own so many brands but these I love because of the grooves and the colors! No knitter should be caught without some form of moisturizing!  I have many lotions and potions scattered through out the house and a knitter needs one in their bag.  This moisturizing stick was purchased in Cape May, NJ and every time I use it I am transported back to a beach ...