Fall, Yarn Confessions, SSS?

Fall finally feels like it's here! Three days of rain, which were badly needed, seemed to bring about 60 degree days, a crisp morning andthe never-ending falling leaves. A few days ago, listening carefully, you could distinguish the sounds of the deer moving through the woods. Now they are practically silent, stepping on the soft, wet ground, only visible by their white tails as they run away. Tonight, as I took Q out after dinner, we barely noticed when a deer suddenly darted from right in front of us to back in the trees.



Yarn Confession. Okay, two. I ran a "mysterious" errand this morning -- only to the Hillsborough Yarn Store to pick up the Debbie Bliss yarn I had special ordered so I could cast-on for the Buttony sweater that I have had my eyes on for awhile on Ravelry. I hadn't mentioned it to my knitting partner-in-crime because I was feeling a bit uneasy about my trip. I wasn't certain I had adequately described the color of the DB I had wanted so I thought this was a road to travel alone, lest I get embarassed. AND, I also had to pick up another skein of Cherry Tree Hill to finish up the second sock. I knew if I didn't, I wasn't going to make it.

I am happily working on sock #2. I'm about 13/17ths finished with the leg repeats. I want to get through all 17 repeats before I cast on for Buttony tonight. I also picked up Interweave Knits Holiday issue and am drooling over the Sugarplum Shrug. I think I should get some of these other projects started/finished, though, before I start daydreaming about another.

Oh, and the Myrtle Leaf Shawl from Victorian Lace Today. Stunning.

Back to the sock. J is trying to get me out of the house tonight and if I am being forced to be social, no knitting'll be allowed. Foiled!

At long last, I haven't lied to you, my dear 2 readers! I finally finished up this sock about two hours ago, and I'm excited!

I've only included the first picture because the color is better. It's late and the light in here stinks, so I'll try to snag a better action picture tomorrow or soon.

I was worried about the kitchener stitch, but really.. it wasn't everything I had made it out to be in my mind. In fact, it had a nice rhythm that was easy to duplicate and follow. I absolutely LOVE everything about this sock!

Well, almost everything.. I'm not happy about having two feet and one sock, but I'll cast on soon for the second.

Also in celebration of this event, and because I need more sock yarn (?), I've treated myself to some handdyed merino sock wool from Lisa Souza who has been wildly heralded on Stash and Burn several times. She does all the dyeing herself and even had the time to personally email me back to let me know she had everything in stock and it was on its way tomorrow.

I'm drooling over some of the patterns I saw in Victorian Lace Today, though I know I'm late on that boat. I wouldn't mind casting on one project as an escape from the second sock. We'll see.

The boys are all out. J had friends in this weekend and Q has spent the better part of a weekend splitting my eardrums, so it's nice to have some peace. Pups is asleep on the couch now and probably dreaming of something nice.

I may cast on something before I go to bed, otherwise it's time for me to start wrapping up my night.

An Offering

With the advent of cooler weather, we've noticed an increase in deer activity in our yard. At first, our headlights would just capture the glare of our lights against their eyes. They'd stare, but not move. Lately, they've been a bit more brazen.. wandering through our yard to nibble on our pansies, slowly leaving imprints in the mulch that lies between the back of our house and the woods. As if on a schedule, they'll wander to our yard beginning at dusk and disappear by the time I've woken up.

Walking through the woods, I've been having this amazing feeling of.. synergy.. with the world. These gentle, sentient beings share my house and I am blessed to be living among nature.

Good fall knitting -- almost completed my first Retro Ribbed Sock, from "25 Timeless Designs from Interweave." I've done the heel flap, turned the heel and started shaping the gusset--just working on decreasing stitches now. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill supersock yarn which I absolutely love. 420 yds/skein I thought I'd have plenty for both socks. I've since lost my abillity to recall what the ball looked like at the start of the project, so I'm concerned now that I'll run out. I think this particular yarn has been discountinued (it's been reproduced by another name), but maybe my squishy ball will be enough to get me through.

I think my winter project may be the Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A Clark. I've got one skein of variegated lace I purchased on a destash on Ravelry, but I've just to decide if that's what I want to do with it.

Besides, half the fun of knitting is just the thought.

Anyway. I'm off to watch the apple and have a cup of tea. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post a completed sock!

Woo! I'm a married lady!

Yesterday was the most amazing day. I learned that I have a great group of people in my life that love me (and I love them). Our wedding was absolutely.. perfect.

Not too many pictures yet, just what we have on our camera, but I will share a pre-ceremony picture of someone very, very special.



Hopefully I'll get some ceremony and reception photos up in the next couple of days.

J and I are so thankful and so blessed to have such great friends and family. Without their support, we would have lost our heads.

fiberfest and why i shouldn't go back.

i wont say much more than..handspun yarn!

this is about 500 yards of alpaca i bought for a project that jeremy has requested i make. the original pattern called for cashmere, but i think he'll like the alpaca just as much.



a bunch of different wools here--some corriedale, moorit, the first brown from the left is actually about 2oz of llama, more wool. these i mostly have projects for, surprisingly.





the purple skein is a present for a coworker. the rest are great colors--thought i'd diversify the neutrals.





i saved the name and number of this spinner. i think she and i will become quick friends!

sock it to me

Busy week! I received a great tote from travelbug on Craftster. It's a knitting project bag, and has been absolutely invaluable for carrying my now-not-as-blue sock around:



I'm about four repeats into the pattern now and it's starting to look sock-ey. I'm glad, too, I decided to use a smaller needle. I've still got a long way to go but it does go quickly when I can work on it.



I also finished and sent off this yoga bag--the pattern is from snb (snb nation maybe)? Simple pattern, but I did find myself wandering and had to go back several times to fix careless errors. I just used the bastard yarn, sugar n' cream (2 skeins) which was inexpensive and sturdy--just what you want for a project like this. Next time, I would make it slightly smaller.



Anyway, I've got some volunteer work to do before they write me off as a crappy non-employee. I'm ready for the weekend!

Blueberries + Blue Socks

What a great weekend! Saturday, I met K at the farmer's market and we drove to an organic blueberry farm in Cedar Grove. After picking blueberries for an hour or two, we, of course, agreed that we needed to visit the new lys in downtown Hillsbrough. During the course of our conversations, we learned that neither of us had ever knit socks, so we picked out a pattern, eventually found yarn and set off on our own paths to see what would happen.



Approximately two days later, this is staring at me.. not that I haven't tried. In fact, as soon as I got home, I happily cast on and plunged right in. A few rows down, I could tell that something wasn't quite right, but I kept plowing through thinking that it would get better (even though I knew that wasn't the case.) It's my own fault--I should have checked my gauge--I didn't and so I frogged and realized I didn't have the size dpn needles I need. I had sent them to a new home for someone on craftster because she wanted needles for socks, and I knew they'd be perfect, not taking into consideration that I didn't have a backup pair. Not a huge deal, though.. never have to twist my arm to go yarn/supply shopping. Hopefully my blue socks won't be so sad looking.

Tonight, we had a great dinner. Inspired by an apple and currant chutney tempting me from the fridge and my never-ending desire for pakoras, J and I whipped these babies out in no time--zucchini and red pepper fritters



It was a fly-by-the seat attempt, but I think the results were good that even the ghost was trying to surreptitiously sneaking forkfuls in.



Lots of wedding stuff, too. After it's all said and done, I'll write much more about everything I've learned, but for now, I'll just leave it at that.