Building Up Steam

 I was able to finish the Quant to match the mittens for my grand daughter-she will love to be wrapped in the pastel rainbow!

I actually spent some time in the sewing room-it has been too long!  I loaded up this quilt my neighbor pieced and got the quilting done all in one day!  I am pleased with my increased stamina levels!

The borders have a parade of circus animals dancing around the edge!

 I am almost done with the rainbow skittles socks for grand daughter and have the next skein of yarn ready to cast on for grandson's mittens!

And if you remember the story of The House That Jack Built, then you will understand what Bill has been doing; free insulation for his garage but he had to buy a trailer to haul it............
(He will be selling his old junk trailers to offset the cost of this one!)

Silent Endeavors

 I am down with a sore throat and head cold.  I am moving slowly and silently.  I got up to do a little spinning-this was a sample sent to me from a friend, it is several shades of silky llama.  (25 yards of fingering weight yarn)

And in between naps, I finished the mittens for my grand daughter.  They are ssssooooo soft!

Dressing Up

 I was on a roll to dress out the two looms I own; the rigid heddle is here with some black and red variegated in tencel thread, being woven in hounds tooth pattern.

 My estimate of twenty minutes left to thread the loom turned into 4 hours but it is DONE and I remember why I haven't warped it in so long.........Every that could have gone wrong-did:  mistake in the reed, mistake in the threading, goof in the stripe area-more threads on one side than the other, and tangling threads......I am putting it out of my mind because I am in the good place-the weaving!  I have woven 10 inches of waffle weave dish towel this afternoon.  The thread is size 3 slub cotton with stripes in left over cotton that was gifted to me from my friend-she found the cone of thread at a garage sale.

 You can see the texture potential as you weave but it will really bloom after it is washed and dried.

 I finished knitting the  hat I started the other night while sitting by the fire.  It has cabling on  four sides, and ate a bit more yarn than I thought it should but that is what happens when you knit with garter stitch;  this will most likely be gifted.

 It is knit in a bulky yarn from KnitPicks, 100% wool so no washer/dryer for this hat. (Pattern is free from Tahki Stacy Charles, Shelter Island Cabled Hat)

I drew out a new pattern for the mittens and know this one will be just right on every level!  The yarn is a single ply of wool, extremely soft and fluid. (Mini Mochi yarn)  Lovely to work with now that I got the bugs worked out!

It's a Frame Up

 Bill is framing the outside area of the fireplace so he can call for an inspection this week.

 I started a pair of mittens for my grand daughter and had to rip it all out for two reasons; the colors started to parallel each other so I lost my contrast  and it was too narrow!  I have redrafted , ripped out and will cast on again tonight with more stitches!

 I am mad at myself for ignoring my loom all year so I counted off a warp this morning and throughout the day have gone in and dressed the loom.  Most of my dislike of warping is the back-breaking work of threading so I decided to lift it onto the bed (thanks, Bill!).  Now I do not have to bend to reach the area I need-bonus, the cats thought it was a great adventure!

 I only have a few threads left and then I will be weaving tomorrow!  Now that part I enjoy!  (This will be a set of waffle weave dish towels.)

 I have quite a pile of quilt tops that are calling me, too.  I brought home one from my Mom she has recently made and an old top a friend inherited that needs to be completed; the others are from my neighbor!  Under the pile is a collection of fat quarters that are calling me to put them in a quilt also!

What can you do with an empty salsa jar, Popsicle stitcks, raffia and 'leaves' and a hot glue gun?  How about a candle holder just in time for the Autumn season!  Very satisfying to start, finish and enjoy a quick craft!

The Home Fire is Burning

 Bill is working on getting the fireplace to the inspection stage and a test fire for the fireplace attracted a knitting wife and all four cats!  I am busy designing an oak surround and mantel for the fireplace-we have picked out the tiles already!

 PuffDaddy kept close watch on the sparks-he was quite mesmerized while the other cats settled right down for a nap!

I am knitting a free pattern using chunky yarn from KnitPicks.  This cold snap will pass in a few days but it sure feels good to have the fire going in the living room-I have wanted a fireplace for all of our 34 years!  Some dreams just never lose their appeal.  (No, the wood stove doesn't count-it isn't a fireplace, you know.)

Recap of Family Trip to NY 2011

 Sun rise from the plane leaving Jacksonville.

 Leaf colors in NY .

 Dad's losing battle with falling leaves!  (our rental car)

 My immediate family at the wedding reception at Justin's in Dewitt.

 My siblings and parents!  (My brother's oldest son was the groom!)

Bursting the seams at Dad and Mom's house!

My knitting and snacking project for the trip!  A perfect match!
A wonderful gathering!

Family Gathering!

All family members are on their way today and tomorrow for my nephew's wedding and family get together in Phoenix, New York!  Let the family time begin!

Rainy Day Activities!

 It has been a rainy weekend-very unusual for us to have rain all day let alone three days in a row!   Bill mixed up some cement to fill in the hole where the old power line pole used to be.

 It filled in nicely and then cooler weather gave it some good drying time.

 I was digging around in the sewing room and found this pile of preprinted Autumn vests which I cut out,

 I pulled the linings out of the stash and had fun putting these to rights all day.

 I think this one is my favorite.  I like the scenery.

 I finished this pair of Nordic mittens for Bruce-I enjoyed this knit so much

I immediately started another pair!  

(Bruce's pair is a free pattern from Ravelry called Andalus Mittens and the new pair is called Icewine Mittens.)

A week Ago

 Caleb brought his girlfriend to meet us last Monday, and we spent the day getting to know each other.  My camera batteries were dead-I borrowed Caleb's camera, my computer wouldn't download his pictures, he left his camera at Cassandra's house, I just got them from his FaceBook page-talk about crazy-but the day was just perfect so here is the record just a week late!

 We had fun spotting gators and enjoying the beauty of the ride.

 Caleb did a bit of this until the old skis left a blister on his foot!  He only fell once this time!

 We enjoyed a great meal together on the patio of Corky Bells.

 This bench is a tradition now for pictures!

 Isn't this egret majestic?  There were many birds hunting along the shore .

And several in the air!  They race along side of the boat and then finally go up above the trees.

We finished the day with some table games and a very grateful heart for God to bring a wonderful friend into my son's life!

Our Week

 Bill was able to burn the two large brush piles out back-they burned right down to nothing!  The camphor tree gave off its Vicks aroma for two day!

 I actually spent some time in the sewing room!  I quilted the striped table runner and put the binding on, too.

 I used the oak leaf pantograph.  It is already in use!

 I started a new pair of mittens........nice to work on in down time and not because I am too sick to do anything else-I highly recommend feeling good!

Two stranded knitting moves right along.

 One done........men's size this time, palm side.

This is the back of the hand side.  The mate is already on the needles!

Quant Comparison

I ripped this Quant out because I did it in garterlac for an experiment and while the colors look fantastic, I was losing the dimension of the entrelac stitches soo.........

I like the entrelac version (stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch) MUCH better!  A pair of Norwegian mittens are on the needles now............