November already?

It is Sunday again. And its November. Wow, where did my year go???

At least knitting progress have been made! My second "first sock" is slowly approaching the heel. Very slowly! Apologies in advance on the bad pics....my camera is hiding so these are indoor evening iPhone pics.



I'm also working on Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Pretty Thing, using a sport weight Bison Bamboo blend from Fiber Isle. After a false start, I am enjoying the pattern and adoring the softness that is this yarn.



In non-knitting news, I picked up some fresh flowers when I went to the grocery store this weekend. I love getting them, but rarely do because I am hardly home this time of year so I really don't get to enjoy them. The vase was my grandmother's and I think of her every time I see it.



House projects have stalled. I need to get a move on this week, the AC man has been scheduled, but the handyman, painter, and carpet cleaner have not. The beav has made his presence known again, going after a smallish tree. Not sure if he has killed this one or not, but I did break out the "beaver repel" in the form of a strobe light tonight to see if it will protect the three crepe mrytles and the tree that leans over the waterway. No picture, but just stare into a flashlight as you turn it on and off and you get the feel for it. I hope it isn't aggravating my neighbors (as it is in full view of their house), but plenty aggravating to this unpredictable beastie!

All for now! I need to rest my tired eyes and hands for a busy work week!!!

Sunday check in!

This week just flew by. I can't believe it is already Sunday night again!

Not a lot of progress on the knitting or stitching fronts. My hands were hurting much of the week and I just didn't feel great. Work also proved to be a distraction. Nothing bad, just busy.

Going back to my UFO-knitting projects, I finally accepted the inevitable.



Notice anything different between these two socks? Yes, that would be my gauge from 3 years ago (I think!) and my gauge now. Last weekend I was teased about my lace sock, so I did the responsible thing and threw it in the corner. This weekend my LYS owner turned it into this:



So I'm starting over, using a smaller needle. We shall see how it progresses. In other weekend news, someone decided that since the "couch protector" is red, the red Hemlock Ring should be hers as well. In an unguarded moment, she made her move....



She has backed off for now, but I'm sure more moves are planned!

One UFO down!

I admit it, I am awful about finishing projects.

Starting them is no problem whatsoever - there's just something about the thrill of finding the perfect project, buying/finding the perfect yarn, pulling together all the appropriate accessories, and casting on!

So, I decided to participate in a couple of UFO challenges this year to encourage me to finish a couple of cross stitch and knitting projects. I'm still slacking on the stitching, but the first knitting project is done - a Hemlock Ring throw made in Misti Alpaca chunky. It wasn't a long project, but definitely had lingering potential.

Since it is a throw, not a fine lace shawl, we just did a light blocking to let the pattern shine:



For my next knitting UFO, I picked up my first sock project, but have been really ignoring it this week. What can I say, k2p2 ribbing just does not thrill me. So I need to dive back into the UFO box and see what else I have. The likely contestants will be:



1. first socks 2. seascape shawl
3. morning glory stole 4. glynnis socks
5. lace leaf shawl 6. swallowtail shawl

Decisions, decisions!

Long time no blog!!

Yeah, its me again. The incredibly slacking blogger! August and September were filled with vacation and house projects. Here's a quick mosaic of some of the pictures I actually remembered to take!



From left to right, top to bottom: completed seafoam scarf, the beach, knitting at the beach, Hemlock Ring #1, first completed tapestry using handspun, my newly mulched back bed, Hemlock Ring #2, yet another murderous beaver attack, daylillies being transplanted.

As you can see, house projects continue to progress, albeit extremely slowly! I did get the back bed finally filled with mulch, after the beaver came back and finally killed the tree he came after 15 months before! It has opened up that bed greatly, and my dad planted some crepe myrtles around the stump. Hopefully the rodent won't be back too quickly, these plants are far too low for me to get an adequate fence around. The culvert repair that was on this list has been completed. As has restaining the front door and repairing wood rot around the back door.

I think I have finally finished moving mulch around the house, so have collapsed on the couch to blog. Instead of preparing for the briefing I have in the morning. Guess that will be tonight's problem. In the meanwhile, I need pain killers. Hemlock #2 needs blocking so a trip to the LYS is in order for some afterhours cat-free blocking time.

More plans and schemes on the way!!!

Life on the Lake

A young Blue Heron has apparently decided to take up residence.

Back in the swing of things?

The longer I have been away from the blog, the harder it is to blog!

I can't believe it is already the end of July. A lot has happened. I passed a major milestone and a terrific friend conspired coordinated with my friends and family to make me wear one of these things.



It was a complete surprise and I am totally amazed that they managed to pull it off. I feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

My stash diet is over, and we won't go into the acquisitions that have occurred this month. Lovely things have been brought home and hopefully I will be able to restrain myself for a little while. So let's talk about the lovely stash that was given to me!



Beautiful laceweight from Impulse of Delight and jojoland. AND my own pair of Signature DPNs (swoon!). Buffalo gold fiber and targhee from Mountain Colors also found themselves in need of adoption.

I've been doing some spinning this month, I participated in the Tour de Fleece and worked on spinning a consistent fine fiber. The buffalo gold may get combined with a touch of silk and spun fine. The Targhee will likely get spun medium weight and then navajo plyed.

In knitting, I completed something! After wanting to play with some of Rowan's Purelife Cotton, I made up a quick scarf. The complicated portion of this pattern was that I wanted to (1) use every inch of this yarn and (2) keep the pattern "upright" on either end, so I ended up knitting two almost-halves (one side has one more repeat than the other) and grafted them together. It was my first attempt at grafting a scarf and I am quite pleased with the result.



That's it for today! Lots of things to do before work tomorrow!

Bad Blogger, No Cookie!!!

It has been a crazy month+ of life for me, nothing bad, just ridiculously busy. The highlights? Coming as soon as I can find my camera!!!