EnShawled!

 I finished knitting the Seasons of Life Shawl from Kay Meadors.  I set it out to block in the sunshine.

 And it immediately got inspected.  The cats do love the smell of the wool. 

It is beautiful!  I do love the feel of the sock weight yarn for the shawl.

 This also has beading on the lace edging which adds just the right amount of weight to the drape.  I prefer to add beads to the skein of yarn instead of working with a crochet hook to add them to my knitting but I might rethink it for this pattern.  It was a pain to slide the beads out of the way for the return row and I did have trouble keeping the beads where they belonged when I had yarnovers on either side of the bead.  I will be returning to this pattern again and again.  Why not give it a try?!

Sorting.......

 The Lion Brand Suede scarf is off the loom........it is so squishy and soft!  66" x 4" with twisted fringe.

 And a new scarf is on the rigid heddle loom; this time I used some hand spun bamboo and soy silk  in the warp with a commercial weft of Silk Bamboo by Patons.

 I started out looking for something and couldn't find it but it sparked a big time clean out of lots of boxes of my craft/fabric that were in this, we aptly call the PG for the portable garage.  We put this up when we moved here 4 years ago because we had way too much stuff after moving from the big farm house with garage, barn, and storage shed!  I think we had just had an overload on the decision making trying to get rid of all of our belongings in an auction and moving.  It was a bit of a blur, too!  But anyway, I tackle a box a week usually but today I did some big time weeding out.

 I threw out and organized 14 boxes and took care of all the stuff I did decide to bring into the house! 

 For example, this box of corduroy was sorted and then cut into 6 1/2" squares so it can be a quilt instead of a big pile of fabric!

 Now it is going to be pieced up and put to good use instead of sitting in the box another year!

 I loaded up the men's suit samples top and began the quilting.  I am not using any batting, instead I have backed it with a large piece of polar fleece Marsel had given me during her big clean out a few months ago.

This is kind of quilting heavy but the pattern flows right along and looks kind of whimsical for this rather  unorthodox quilt!  I am ready for a good evening with my knitting-

I have loaded the last skein of yarn with all the beads for the final edging design for the Seasons of Life shawl.  This has worked up pretty quickly and I will be anxious to get it blocked out to see what I have-as it is all squished on the needles (I should have used a longer cable with the circulars but I didn't for some reason!)  Hope I finish it tonight.......

Ta Da-A Backpack!

I finally got to the store to get the hardware to finish the backpack!  It went together very nicely once I had the right accessories. 

 So, from this..........woven yardage of hand painted cotton yarn and gold perle cotton weft.

 ........... to this!   I am so pleased with the results!  It is almost enough to make me want to go on a hike!
(Actually, it is going to hold my knitting -you really didn't think I was going to take up hiking, did you?!)
                                                
  The lining is cotton fabric from my stash.  There are two inner pockets.  I used a backpack pattern from See & Sew B4583.  I could have woven the straps but I opted to go with nylon webbing this time.  I would definitely make another one-I would make more fabric this time but it was fun to squeeze the pieces to get them all cut out-you know, the thrill of it all!  My Gram would have been proud of me!

Fall Jamboree

Bill and I went to Pioneer Settlement just a half hour south of us.  We enjoyed the sunshine and chilly temperatures and all the crafts displayed at booths.  They had lots of reenactment areas and of course, my favorites were the spinning, weaving and dyeing areas! 

We did enjoy the corn on the cob  where they boiled the corn in this big cauldron.  The warmth was appreciated, too!  (We have a cold snap pushing through and it was only 60F!)

I learned of a group of fiber enthusiasts that meet monthly at the Settlement and I will be joining them in a few weeks!  This was my goal for going-to find other women who want to explore spinning and weaving. 

I also discovered the joy of the indigo dye pot and have plans to grow some of my own next Spring!  Nice place to savor the then and now of fibers!

Scarfing from the Stash

 The cotton scarf is off the loom-delicious and Spring-like in color!  Measures out to 5" x 65" with a twisted fringe.

On with another stash buster combination-Lion Brand Suede yarn, think chenille, on the rigid heddle.  I am  savoring the slow weave projects.  I have to fuss a bit to carry the colors up the sides but it is working out.

This is the first 'family' shot of the cats.  Nothing like some steak scraps to bring all factions together. 

Spun and Warped

 The Gator yarn is ready for knitting.....I have another hank of roving that I think just might want to match this; pull out the dyepot again!
                                         
A new scarf is on the rigid heddle loom.  This is a cotton boucle-like yarn that I bought last year while in a Cocoa Beach yarn shop.  I had bought two balls so one is for the warp and the other is providing the weft.  It is giving a slight plaid look to the scarf.  I have to be careful because the cotton has a bit of something that is giving it stretch but it is a quick weave.

Touching All My Bases

 I drafted out half of the roving.  It becomes so light, soft and shiny after doing this.  The dyeing really compacts the roving and you can really see what you have after you draft it out.  (Stretching out the roving to make it longer and thinner for spinning.)

 I have one bobbin spun and will do the second today so I can ply them.

 I quilted a table runner for my neighbor.  Very patriotic!

I began the Seasons of Life shawl.  The superwash merino feels more like a cotton than a wool-I think the color is influencing my touch!  This is a crescent shaped shawl-lots of stockinette until the border. A very relaxing knit.

All in Good Time...

Bill hooked up the ceiling fan in the livingroom.  What a nice finishing touch! 

I put some wool in to soak so I could dye it in the afternoon.  The Gators squeaked out a win in overtime  in their last game and I think that accounts for the color combination!

The roving turned out very nicely-I can't wait to begin the spinning! 

 I also set some merino superwash from the stash to soak in some brown dye.  It is hard to leave it alone so that the color turns out uneven.

But after several hours in the sun, it is heated up just right.  I am going to start a new shawl-a Seasons of Life shawl by Kay Meadors.  Can't wait to get it on the needles!  This is a fingering weight yarn on larger needles so it will work up very quickly! 

I am still knitting on the mystery shawl but I finish the clue in just a few days and then I don't have any lace knitting for the rest of the week so the new pattern is just in time!

I am still faithfully plugging along on the sweater for Marsel........I have only 12 more inches to go and it will finally move along because it is on fewer stitches for the lower part of the sleeve.

Bill took this interesting picture......Crescent Lake is rarely so smooth and still but it perfectly reflected the pier and the clouds......the egret is watching a small (6') gator off the end of the pier. 

Colors of October

The aloe is getting ready to take another growth spurt-see the few dried leaves around it...

The hibiscus continues to put out new blooms daily.

This window is framed in tropical beauty....roses, palm tree and bouganvillea.

Bill's winter garden.

A curse that excells in the Fall-sand burrs....

see what I mean!  You have to do a foot and sole check before you come in the house because they attach to your sneakers/flip flops most unwelcome!  (And painful!)

Oranges and grapefruit are getting large and inviting!

I don't know the name of these; there are lot's of them in the back wild part of the property.

The camphor trees are dropping some leaves and ripening their berries.

Along the north boundary of our yard, there grows the most beautiful moss.

It grows in several places along our worm fence line. 

Also neighbor to the moss is this lichen.  The drought doesn't seem to be bothering this plant.

Even here, in the best place in the world, there is ragweed.  The bees are happy with its presence...

Our Maple trees are acting like it is Autumn even if our temperatures do not.

The East Palatka Holly tree berries are ripening.  (The berries will be a welcome feast to the robins next month!)

I couldn't resist this additional shot of the lichens.

The Dogwood tree is just beginning to yellow.

The magnolia tree is magnificent-the bronze/green contrast would make a beautiful yarn...

I hope you enjoyed your visit to this Northeastern part of Florida!  Use this link to visit all the others who join in this monthly tour.