My special bag

This knitting bag is very special to me. It was given to me by Mr. and Mrs. Twisted. What makes it even more special is that they both had a hand in making it (they both sew). I really like the handle; it is the perfect length and width - it is sure to stay on my shoulder or can hang around my arm. It is difficult to see in the photo, but there are pockets on each side.



And it is reversible...The fabric is beautiful. I like the gradation of intensity and the introduction of purple flowers. Beautiful.

And inside was this yummy yarn...

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Twisted. Thank you very much.

Days of Thanksgiving

It has been a nice Thanksgiving holiday. My daughter is home from college. We had the extended family Thanksgiving meal early in the day, and then we had our own little Thanksgiving dinner that evening just the three of us, my son, my daughter, and myself (and of course the furry 4-legged members of the family). I had pumpkin soup for the first time and it was good. I have to find a recipe for it. I try to consume all the different forms of pumpkin that I can during October and November. I usually start it off on October 22, my birthday, when I buy myself a pumpkin pie.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Twisted in person Friday. I was so excited I could not think straight. I reminded myself repeatedly to remember my camera - and I forgot the camera. The three of us met Friday morning, had a nice breakfast, and visited. Then we moseyed over to the Plaza in Ashland and checked out Websters, one of the local yarn shops. After that, we had a nice walk in Lithia Park, knitted on a bench by the duck pond, and then watched the ice skaters. It was perfect morning. They are such wonderful people, and I will treasure the memory. I began to wish that we lived closer.

Saturday, I had a non-knitting FO (gotta get them where I can). It does not look like much...
A yard of cheap flannel, a free piece of cardboard, and spray adhesive becomes this...
A flannel puzzle board. It is essential for our holiday puzzle. The beastlies have figured out how to team up on us. My cat Pansy will jump on the puzzle and bat a few puzzle pieces on the floor. Then Maggie, the canine vacuum, will eat the pieces. Last time, she managed to eat the piece that would have gone in the very middle of the puzzle. This flannel will make the pieces less mobile and so hopefully will not end up in Maggie's gastric system.

Riihivilla has been an inspiration to me; I have been following her blog with fascination. I decided to start an experiment with mushroom dyeing. Do I know what I am doing? No. Right now I am just playing. Soon I hope to get the book Rainbow Beneath My Feet. I started asking friends and family for mushrooms from their yard and my ex-husband came through for me. He gave me a few baggies of them. Today I bought buckets.

and I added what I could find from my own yard
I don't know anything about mushrooms. I separated them in buckets, putting the ones that looked alike together. Now I will let the mushrooms mush for a while. They are out on the deck - I think this is going to be a bit smelly. Once the mushrooms have mushed sufficiently I will prepare the juicy part for the yarn by cooking it and adjusting the pH. I still need to figure out the details. I am amazed by the colors that are possible - blue, red, green, brown, yellow. I don't have any expectations for mine, I just want to have fun. Let the mushing begin!

Thanksgiving Holiday

I found a poem of thanksgiving that says it better than I can. Have a lovely day, holiday or not.

I'm Thankful

Share a favorite spot

Some blogs are like little vacation spots that I visit on a daily or weekly basis. I have found another one to add to my favorites, and I thought I would share....

Bent Objects

Edited to add one more...

Because I said so

One of the interesting things about this second one is that the artist who did the drawing that is on her website is from the southern Oregon coast, just a few hours from here. Small world.

New desk project

This is my new desk project (I keep it next to my desk in my home office). It is a Rowan pattern called the Tulip Sweater. I am making a few modifications but hope that it will look similar to this.


I am using Knit Picks Shine worsted. I have had this yarn for over a year, as I decided not to do the skirt pattern for which I bought it, and I think this is a good project for it. The yarn is very soft and I think it will be a cozy pullover. I am hoping it will replace one of my ugly sweatshirts.

Alpaca fingerless mitts

I used ply ends of Alpaca yarn and improvised the pattern. I started out with variations of garter stitch, then used a slip stitch pattern, and finally stockinette for the hand. I changed needle size instead of decreasing stitches. I made these to wear while I am working at my desk. Yummy - soft and warm.

Rip the WIP, froggy

Is it possible to have too much fun knitting? I think that it is possible for me, yes.

I was having so much fun knitting this pattern with this yarn and these needles that I refused to see that there was a problem. A little voice kept nagging me to check the sweater fronts but I kept knitting. check it....Check It.....CHECK IT. Okay! So I held them up. Uh huh. I am knitting both fronts of my cardigan at the same time on one long circular needle. Each front is about the width that the back will be. This makes the sweater considerably wider than I planned. Yes, I did a swatch. My guage was different so I did the math. Then the train jumped the tracks . Wow. All I can think is "Did I really do that?" Yup.


to the frog pond.

Therapy

Too many knitting projects in your head?
Can't get them out and off your needles fast enough?
Too much work? Too many chores?
Pressure building?

Therapy

(for severe cases, use the manic mode)

November rambling

I started this sweater a couple of weeks ago. This yarn was for Thermal (a sweater pattern from Knitty.com), I swatched for Thermal, I got ready to cast on for Thermal, but I am knitting a cardigan from the Green Mountain Spinnery (??!). Sometimes there is no figuring my knitting mojo.

I bought these ply ends at the Alpaca show a couple of weekends ago. I think I will knit some fingerless mitts to wear while I work at my desk. My fingers get pretty cold and stiff.
This is a better picture of Florenz

Happy days.