Yarnmaven

Um, boo?

We don't really do scary at Halloween here.  Abby is a little sensitive to scary things.  So is Mom.  I can't watch real horror or even cheesy horror much.  I still remember spending almost the entire length of The Birds by Hitchcock under my seat at the theatre.  I have no idea what my parents were thinkng taking kids under 7 to that movie, but I never got over it.  So, we don't do scary.  The pumpkin is the scariest thing at our house - and I forgot to photograph him.  Abby is a princess this year.  The pointy little hat with veil did not work out - design or construction flaw, I don't know, but aren't we lucky that we just happened to have a tiara.  There will be a costume parade at school today and trick or treating at grandma's tonight. 

The photo was taken as we left for school this morning at 7:15a.m.  Too dark for a very good shot.

Happy Halloween and don't eat all that candy by yourself!

Getting in the Mood

A gorgeous Harvest Moon set this morning on the way to work and I wished I had a much better camera than I did.  Cool mornings that require a sweater and warmer afternoons that let you get outside and enjoy beautiful days is what our very brief autumn is all about.  I am loathe to turn the heater on when the AC has to go on before the end of the day. 

There will be a Halloween Party this weekend at the church and more trick-or-treating on Wednesday night.  I saw this little bag on Ravelry and quickly figured out that I had those colors in the remnant stash.  I should have felted it at Kandis' house (top loader beats front loader for almost all felting jobs), but I knew it would take days to dry and they have all been sick so I used what I had - the front loader.  I tried to improve it by felting a bit by hand and I only succeeded in making the orange bleed into the white.  Oh, well, it's just for the night.  Ravelry continues to be an endless supply of inspiration and community that is just amazing.

Prefelting:

Candy Corn Felted Halloween Bag
Free Pattern: The Purling Sprite
Yarn: leftover bits of Cascade, Patons and Vintage wool.
It only took a couple of hours to knit.

Minimalist Approach

I broke down and cast on for a new sweater.  I couldn't stand it another day.  Especially with the first cool front of the season blowing threw the last few days.  I needed desperately to work on something I liked. It feels so good to knit on a project of my choosing and that I really like.  I think there are several elements that are essential to the production of the successful sweater.  Is the yarn appropriate to the pattern?  This is as important as gauge because it is what ultimately produces the fabric drape or hand. Does the finished fit flatter the wearer?   In other words, is the style and fit of the sweater appropriate to the body type and lifestyle of the wearer.  This is way more of an art than a science, but still is important when assessing a project.  I sense that I have hit the jackpot on this one and I don't think we will have to wait long for confirmation.

I tend not to swatch, I am more a seat of the pants knitter.  I, like everyone else who is knitting this sweater (Minimalist Cardigan, IK Fall 2007), used a sub for the called for yarn.  I had bought 10 skeins of Rooster Almerino DK from Janet (who is/was liquidating her online yarn biz so she can move to NY) in Ocean.  The band gauge was close but not perfect.  I decided I didn't care, I would make it work.  I am loving this combo of yarn and stitch pattern.  It is flying through my fingers.  I have worked on this only 2 evenings, about 2 1/2 hours each night and I have begun the armhole shaping.  I love how moss stich doesn't roll.  I love the color of the yarn.  This merino/alpaca blend is just heaven to touch and I think the drape of it is going to be perfect. 

The sad news is that they are not going to continue making this yarn.  The yarn business has gotten very competitive lately.  That can be both good and bad - We had two new yarn shops open in Austin in the last couple of months but one of them has already shut down.

Abby's Halloween costume is finished.  Photos will follow sometime after the weekend when we have access to actual sunshine. 

Tagged? Do you have any idea...

what I am in the middle of?  No, of course not.  Okay, so it's been a little quiet around here.  I've been busy and in a total production funk.  I'm working on a sweater that I don't really like.  But I agreed to knit it and by god I am knitting it and I am going to finish it and then I don't ever want to see it again.  I'm also sewing.  I cut out Abby's Halloween costume last night (princess, duh) and didn't have enough fabric soooo that means I have to go to Hancocks at lunch, only no, wait, I agreed to go to a Toastmasters presentation at lunch today.  Okay, so I'll go after work, uh, wait, I have to attend a meeting at church to plan the Halloween Party.  ARGH!  I am not having any fun.  Tomorrow night I have to install a new disposal for my mom.  I haven't looked at the garden in days.  I think we are about to run out of clean towels.  Oh, and Tom is quitting his part-time job cuz they won't let him have off on Sunday so he can watch Abby sing in the children's choir at church.  Not a complete disaster - he was starting to hate that job and we think he can substitute teach until he starts student teaching in the spring.  Okay, so much for catching you all up on the current time crunch/crisis. 

On the Nature front:  I think I have my own Giant Spider Web.  Okay, maybe not that giant, but I am telling you that the spiders this year have been incredible in their number and variety.  Must have been all the rain we had this year - there's plenty of food for them and need I remind you all that their food is...other bugs!  So yay for lots of spiders.

Also here is a wildflower.  No, I don't know what it is.  I just saw it and shot it and haven't had time to do the research, but isn't it nice?

So, Amanda Wise-ass tagged me for a meme! Fine, but I am soooo not prepared.

Rules:
Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

1. I hate things in my chocolate.  You know, things, like nuts, marshmallows, coconut, chips, dried fruit, things. 
2. I love being rolfed.  I love my chiropractor too, don't get me wrong, but rolfing is awesome!
3. I dream about living alone.  I don't actually want to be rid of my family, but sometimes, I dream about being alone.  I also dream about winning the lottery, so there.
4. I am an ex-smoker.  For a year now.  Can't garauntee how long that will last, but right now, today, I am an ex-smoker.
5. I have owned 2 horses in my lifetime.  I frequently entertain the idea of getting another.  I am completely OUT OF MY MIND!  Someone please stop me!
6. I am a squirrel hunter.  I'm a squirrel cook too.
7. Once upon a time I knew no knitters.  Now I have more knitting friends than non-knitting friends.  Thanks Internets!
8. I dislike memes.  Not in principle, but in time consumption.  But since I hadn't blogged in a bit, I decided to be a sport.

I am supposed to tag 8 other bloggers.  I will start with bloggers from my blogroll who also haven't blogged in a bit just to remind them that we are all here and checking up on them and miss them and anyone else I care to annoy.  They are: Abbe, Teresa C., Mary Beth, James, Susan (cuz once ever 6 weeks is not enough), Steph (cuz a knitting mother of 2 attending school full time needs more creative oulets, right?), Stacy (cuz opening a new yarn shop is no excuse to cut back on your blogging) and Steven (cuz I haven't been to the Saturday meetup lately and I was missing him).  Okay, you guys and gals are tagged, meme or not, but don't be angry.

Get the Knits Out!

I predict a change in our unseasonably warm weather very, very soon.  Mostly because I have to spend this entire weekend outside and because my grandson's hat that I knit him last Christmas, months before he was born, now fits!  The increased darkness has already descended, the leaves are falling and I am entertaining requests for Halloween costumes.  From Family that is, sorry. 

Once the weather gets cold, I will spend as little time in it as possible.  I will knit, sew and cook.  I will visit my garden on weekends when I can see it in the daylight.  The winter is my least favorite season.  It can only be tolerated by having wool sweaters and socks to wear.  But it's still miserable, just not as hateful.  My husband questions my Scottish heritage every time I complain of the cold.  We watched Bear Grylls  in Scotland's Cairngorm Mountains on the Discovery Channel the other night and there is no way I could have survived Scotland - it's a good thing my ancesters had the good sense to leave yet pass on to me an abiding love of sheep wool.  And bagpipes.

So, while the weather is still nice, get outside.  There will be time for knittin' and sewin' and cookin', after the sun leaves us.  Any suggestion that my decades old habit of drinking a sixpack of Diet Dr. Pepper on ice per day might be the reason I can't get warm will be dismissed.  Unless you have a suitable replacement.  I tried hot tea.  It didn't work.