So glad that it's cooler chilly now. I opened my sock drawer and was teary-eyed at the thought of all those lovely hand knits! So many to choose from. Ahhhhh.

Went running around today doing some errands and found one of the farmer's markets still open. A pleasant surprise since I thought they were all done for the season. Got some lovely chard and pattypan squash and one HUGE white radish that I have no idea what I'm going to do with it at this point.

Then went to Trader Joe's and ran into a fellow Raveler. She had a beautiful handknit sweater in a lovely shade of green. I was going to rip it off her and run but she looked like she could keep up with me...teehee! It was fun to actually run into someone from Ravelry like that. I knew they existed but never have seen anyone.

Last week went to Lambikins in Hamilton.

So many yarns....too many great things. ... head spinning....must grab yarn to counteract yarn fumes.

A few things came home with me.http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-key-to-warmth I got some lovely KnitPicks Wool of the Andes to make it.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spectra I don't know what yarn I'm going to use but I saw this knitted up and it's gorgeous!

I've always wanted some sparkly socks so this jumped in my hands.

And I've only read about this yarn so I had to splurge and get it. There was a free pattern to go with it to make a cool scarf/wrap so I'm going to make that.

 I love the colors. You can't see it but there is blue and purple and all kinds of colors there.

I really enjoyed my trip there. They were really nice and the yarn selection was stunning. Things that I'd only read about and just loads to fondle and plunge your hands into and just have a great time. I will definately be going back and recommend it to people. Actually I already did recommend it the other day!

My fun purchase. It's a mini pie/tart maker. It's nice to have because the pies cook in less than 10 minutes and you can have mini ones instead of a big pie. Very good purchase. Target for under $20.00. These are cherry and apple are next!



It really exists!! I am absolutely sick so close to having it finished that I can almost taste it! Off to work on the edges.

Fall is here! There are not many pretty trees but the ones that are turning are gorgeous. Today the temperature was finally cool enough for jeans and some socks. Which was nice because I'm sick of wearing shorts.

 It's always nice when the seasons change so I can wear different clothes.

Been cooking alot since it has cooled down. This is a "cheesy" chili bake and the chili is chocolate stout chili which I had made the other day.

Yum. It has a lovely crusty top so just delicious. Yes, I have been a bad, bad blogger but just didn't have anything to write. I've been working on putting the Celtic poncho together. Yes, you read that right. I have finally finished all the triangles and have sewn some of together. I had to go to a knitting group last night to beg some help. Everyone agreed that the directions and schematics for putting it together were the worst we'd ever seen. But, Praise Jesus, there was a lovely woman there that had been knitting and sewing for years that was gracious enough to help me tack it together in some sort of way that makes sense! Almost done now.

This is what I'm working on now. It's called In and Out and is from Cookie A.'s book "Knit.Sock.Love". It's tricky but I love the pattern. The yarn is Cascade Heritage in the color "Hyacinth".

The other thing I've been knitting is this Aran Wrap,which is a free pattern from Red Heart. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in "Ecru".

It's hard to tell but it's a lovely pattern with several stitch patterns and will be nice if I can ever seem to get any progress on it. I have knit and knit and knit but it never seems to get any bigger. I hate when that happens.

Okay. I am off to have a cup of cherry pineapple green tea and work some more on the never-ending project! Happy "I love yarn" day tomorrow.

The time just went so fast this week. I can't believe it's already Saturday  and October!

Here's a peek at the next big knitting piece that I am going to be doing. (Yes...yes...I've been finishing up the Celtic poncho. Get over it already...teeeheee!)

http://www.gotyarn.com/detail.cfm?ID=7502

It's bee--u-ti-ful. It's the biggest piece I've attempted so far and I must admit some trepidation at the thought of starting it.

But the yarn is staring at me from the box (I shut the lid on it and told it that I'd get to it soon) and I've printed up the very scary looking charts. I will have to label and color code and really make some good notes to keep everything straight.

Yesterday was the first chilly day. Low 50*s, windy and rainy. Good knitting weather that's for sure. I am making a hat for mom to go with the cardigan I just finished. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/that-other-hat. She often likes hats until I make them and then they either don't fit or they eventually slide up and off her head. This one she should like as it's big enough to go over her ears.

I have a lovely pot of Cranberry Autumn tea from Harney and Sons and it is just fabulous. My favorite fall tea.

Okay. I am going to go and fill up my tea cup and finish mom's hat. Cold tonight. Supposed to be the lowest temperature here on this day in 200 years. Crazy. I have my lovely flannel jimjams on and I was glad to pull out the first socks of the season. The hardest part was deciding which of the hand knit pairs to wear first!

I know. Bad blogger. I have neglected you so much lately. It's not that I don't like you anymore. It's just  that I've been doing so much knitting that I haven't been sitting at the computer as much.

The upside is that I've gotten quite a bit of knitting done.http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knitsensei/sinuous-cabled-socks. These are the first socks I've ever designed and I'm pretty happy with them.



These are made with Paton's classic wool in the color Burgundy which is kind of hard to see with this photo. It's been rainy and grey here and not conducive to good picture taking.

Not that I take such great pictures anyway.

This is a sweater that I just finished for mom.

She never asks for anything knitted so when she said she  wanted a sweater and picked out the pattern from Lion Brand's website, well, I just had to knit it up for her. It's hard to tell from the picture (gee, what a surprise!) but the yarn is a lovely sage green. It's Red Heart super saver and it knit up fairly fast. She has a couple of skeins left so she wants a scarf and hat to match. All I have to do is find a pattern she likes.

Went to the park the other day when we had a decent, sunny day and these are at the entrance to the harbor parking lot by the lake.

Mastadon! Rrrrrarrrrr.

I haven't been up to that part of the park in quite awhile so they were a surprise.

Dinner last night. Just delicious. "Crab" cakes from "Vegan Unplugged", steamed veggies and a vegan adaptation of Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits. Very good. I love the ''crabcakes". They are made with chickpeas and are so tasty. I've made them twice already and so easy too.

Alright. Well, I'm off to get a bit more knitting done and in a few days I have a knitting announcement about something I'm planning on knitting. Have a great week all!

 Go here and enter this giveaway.  And read the blog! Very good reading. http://www.singerskitchen.com/2011/09/second-blogiversary-and-giveaway.html

Mmmmm. Lunch. Raw "dinosaur" kale with sliced peaches and strawberries. So good. We had been having much cooler weather but it warmed up into the 80*s again so salads are on the menu.

Finished these plain

socks for mom. Didn't really need any pattern since they are so colorful. I knit them when I'm riding in the car so it takes a little longer sometimes. But it's supposed to be cooler by the end of the week so she can wear them then. As well as the cardigan that I have been slogging along these past few weeks. I am thrilled that she wanted something handknit and happy to make it for her....but it seems like it's miles and miles of garter stitch. Yawn. Plus it's knit with the sleeves and back all in one piece so it seems to take foooorrrrevvverrrr to get across a line. But I've finished the back and halfway through one of the fronts so not long now! Woohoo.

My new new to me rocking chair. Isn't it lovely? I have wanted one for years but having dachshunds and cats really wasn't conducive to rockers. No more animals :( but a rocker to enjoy. Amanda was having a yard sale a few weeks ago with a few of her friends and this is one of the pieces of furniture that her friend brought. I got it for $10.00 and quite a deal. I think it's oak and it is very solid and comfortable. Amanda also got a lovely wing chair and table so I think she got stuff out and brought stuff in! But nice furniture. Just brought it home so rocking tonight...teehee. Praise Jesus for providing it for me.

Loot! I entered an anniversary contest on www.200shawlproject.blogspot.comand was one of the lucky winners. A fabulous shawl/scarf pattern and enough yarn (yummy,yummy,luscious yarn) to make it, plus lots of goodies. A beautiful handpainted canvas bag, some Chibi needles (sweet!) and a portable Ott light,which I can't wait to use. I can't wait to knit it up.

But I have to finish up some other projects first.

Okay. Off to have some coconut-lime tea (hot) and knit and rock.

Finally. A decently cool day. Rainy and grey but still. Had a lovely pot of tea...pineapple cherry green tea, so good. It's nice to be able to have a nice cuppa without sweating all over.

This is a sock that I'm knitting for http://www.ravelry.com/groups/solidsocks. The theme this month is Red and the picture doesn't look like it but they are burgundy. Patons Classic wool in worsted weight. This is a sock pattern that I designed; it's my first time designing, and I like it alot. Knits up pretty fast too.

Went to Fresh Market this morning to pick up some ciabatta rolls and their delicious onion pocket rolls (yum) and we had just gotten in and poured a sample of their Pumpkin spice coffee ...mmmmm, when the electric went out. We all stood around for a few minutes to see what was going on and all the electric was out on the whole block and maybe even a little farther. The manager said that it would probably be on in about 10 or 15 minutes and if we all wanted to shop the cashiers would round up the amounts and we could pay that. I got some tea for about $3.00 less than it should have been marked because it wasn't marked anywhere and they just randomly picked a number to charge. It was kind of fun to wander around the store once your eyes adjusted to the emergency lights. Everyone was really nice and chatty and the employees were walking around offering cookies. Very civilized...teehee.

Going to work on my other sock so hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

Knitting up a storm here. These are some bulky armwarmers from the new Rowan magazine (#50). I have several projects earmarked but the yarn will have to wait on the bigger ones. This one was easily knit from 144 yds of bulky yarn on size 11's. If only it were cool enough to wear them. But they will be nice once fall finally rolls around.

Another mystery kal done! I love this pattern and I will definately knit this again. I will make them longer though now that I know what they look like and how much yarn they take. But the pattern is fun and easy and I really enjoyed it.

This is a Trellis shawl that I finished and it's kind of crazy looking. But it will be nice to wear around the house.

Busy today so I will write more soon.

Gee, knitalong pictures....what a surprise! This is a kal from the Ravelry group KnittingLikeCrazy.It's a mystery kal and so far I love the pattern. I will probably make it again with another yarn also.http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-like-crazy-fans. One more clue on next Friday and I can't wait to see the finished socks.

Finished this kal also. It's the Carefree Kal http://carefreeholiday-ornot-kal.blogspot.com/ and I think they came out quite nice. Although they are stretchier than I thought and do not fit me. But they will be a present for someone.

The yarn is Panda Cotton and I don't think I will use it again for anything. It feels nice and knits up well but it's very splitty and just kind of unravels as you pull it out of the skein.

I must recant something that I posted about earlier. (The June 14th post). I decided that I wasn't going to go back to that yarn store but I was down in that area today and mom said we should give it another chance so in we went. I must say, it was much better this time. They were quite friendly and chatty and lots of great yarn. I will definately go back now. Although they did raise some of their prices. I bought a skein of Cascade Heritage for $8.95 and now it's up to $14.95. Which is still not bad but more than I wanted to pay for it. Got a pair of HiyaHiya steel dpn's in size 0 6". I really want the 5" size but no one locally carries them and I don't want to order just one thing from Patternworks 'cause it doesn't justify the shipping.

Mmmmm.

Vegan coney. Well, 2 of them anyway. I made "Cincinnati (Skyline) Chili" from "The Happy Herbivore" which is good since I'm from Cincinnati. Also some veggie dogs, yellow mustard, steamed buns and Daiya cheddar cheese. Tasted just enough like Skyline that it totally fulfilled a craving.

Farmer's market goodies. The best squash and peppers from the market in Loveland and so cheap also. I will definately go there again.

Crazy looking scarf, no? This is the yarn "Sashay" from RedHeart. I thought it looked like a fun scarf to have and it was so easy to knit. It takes just one ball of yarn and very inexpensive as well. Just under $4.00 and you get a unique scarf. Didn't take very long either.

Bad, bad blogger.

I didn't realize that it had been so long since I'd written anything. It's just been so unbearably hot that I haven't had the energy to do anything much. However, I have been knitting. This is the Helleborus cardigan from Knitscene. The yarn is Lion Brand Pound o'Love and the color is denim. Although the picture doesn't really show the true color. It's a fairly fast knit and I think that I'll really like it.

The knitalongs are going along just fine. This is the "Niagra" sock for the Solidsockknitters group

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/solidsocks. I love the yarn ...Dirty Water Dye Works BFL.

These are the cabled socks from "50 Socks,50 States" cd and the pattern is "Muir woods (California)". The yarn is Panda Cotton and the socks will now be for mom because they are too big for me. Even though I knit them on a size 2 which is the normal size for me. Unless it's lace and then I use a 1 or 2. I thought that since it is cabled it would be the right size. Oh well, she will be happy with them.

Still so hot! Just don't want to do anything except sit and have lots of water and iced tea. I have been getting knitting done though.
Finished my "BFF" socks from Cookie A.'s book "Knit.Sock.Love." which is also the name of the Ravelry group that I participated in for July.

I really liked the yarn and the pattern was nice and easy. A good way to ease into the book because some of the charts look scary! Getting ready to do a few more knitalongs starting tomorrow.

This is a scarf I finished for a Crystal Palace kal using one skein of Sausalito. Very pretty yarn. It's hard to tell but the lace pattern really stands out on the yarn. I lightly blocked it so it didn't lose any definition.

This is the yarn for the Solidsockknitters group and the theme for August is water. I am using Dirty Water Dye Works "Paula" and the pattern I picked is "Niagra" from "The Eclectic Sole" by Janet Laidman. I thought this was a good representative of water.

This is for the Carefree kal from Crystal Palace. The yarn is Panda Cotton and I'm using a pattern from "50 states, 50 socks" and the pattern is California.

Mmmmmm. Cookies. This are fabulous. They are oatmeal raisin cookies with a drizzle of icing (I made them purple!) and they are from the cookbook "Vegan Bake Sale". So far everything has been outstanding.

This is the best summertime salad. Kale rubbed with a little grapefruit juice and olive oil to wilt it a little and fresh sliced peaches. Doesn't sound like much but it's delicious.

Okay. I am trying to finish a short sleeved cardigan ....Helleborus from Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010 and I want to get some more done on it before tomorrow when it's time to cast on for my kals.

I'll have some pictures of the cardigan next time!

Stay cool and I'll see you all soon.

HOT!!!! It's about 90* right now at noon and going up to about 95* with the heat index of around 110*. Yuck. It's so humid and thick out that you can't even catch your breath when you go outside. Which I am not doing at all.
I have dvds and knitting to keep me quiet and cool-ish. Sometimes I think it would be cooler to go down into the basement and lie down on the concrete floor! Kals still going strong. This is BFF from Cookie A's book "Knit.Sock.Love." and I'm doing a knitalong with the Ravelry group of the same name. I love the yarn ...it's Done Roving Frolicking Feet in the colorway "Christmas Cactus". So pretty. And a very easy pattern.

Finished these socks. They are "Aphrodite" but I can't get the link to work. They are on Ravelry and a good knit. The yarn is Cascade Heritage Silk and it shows the stitches very well. I don't have much else to write because the weather is just so gross that you don't even want to move for fear of sticking to the floor 'cause it is melting! teehee.

Off to have some iced tea (a gallon or so) and knit some socks. Stay cool!!

Bad blogger. But I have lots of pictures ahead. These two packages are yarn wins!! I won 3 balls of my choice yarn from a Coquille shawl knitalong from Crystal Palace on Ravelry. I picked 3 balls of Sausalito in the colorway "Fall Herbs". So soft and pretty. The other is 8 balls of Mini Mochi in the colorway "Brandied Apricots". I won that from the Carefree kal blog. I can't decide quite what to make with it but at least one shawl is in my Ravelry queue.

I've been feverishly knitting on this....

it's Aphrodite (I can't get my links to work) on Ravelry and I'm knitting it for the Solidsockknitters group. I started it on size one dpn's because it looked like a stretchy pattern.

I went up to a size 2 for the heel and foot but on the second sock I think I'll do the whole thing in a 2. Not quite as stretchy as I thought. Plus, it takes FOREVER to use those 1's! The yarn is lovely though (as is the pattern). It's Cascade Heritage silk, a merino/silk blend with over 440 yards. And surprisingly affordable at under $9.00 a skein.

Baking ahead. The cupcakes are coffee and caramel delicious-ness and the cake is a balsamic berry cake (with some lovely tofu "whipped cream" on top. Both recipes are from "Vegan Bake Sale" by Carla Kelly and just wonderful.

Whole wheat cinnamon rolls that are every bit as good as Cinnabon. And fairly healthy as there is no fat in them. It was all I could do not to gobble them all up right out of the oven. These are from " The Happy Herbivore" by Lindsay Nixon and if these are any indication of the caliber of the recipes in the cookbook I have made an excellent choice.

Took mom down the street to see the fireworks in the next "city" (community)next to ours. Our city didn't have the money to do their show for the past 2 years but the neighboring area is even better.

Mom had never seen fireworks up close and personal so she really enjoyed them. Very loud!

Cell phone pictures...not the best but you get the idea.

I "loves" this yarn. It's "Frolicking Feet" by Done Roving Yarns in the colorway Christmas Cactus. It's new at Main Street Yarns and the choice of colors was overwhelming. Too many to pick but I finally narrowed it down and this one came home with me.

It's destined to be a knitalong (gee, what a surprise) for the Knit.Sock.Love. group on Ravelry.
It's a kal from Cookie A.'s book Knit.Sock. Love. This month it is the BFF socks, which is a lovely cabled sock. I'm trying to be good and not cast on until I at least finish the first Aphrodite sock but the yarn is calling to me! I'm also doing another kal from the Crystal Palace group that is the Sausalito scarf. It's a one skein project as well.

Well, I'm going to try and get that first sock finished tonight. It's supposed to be in the mid-90*s the next few days and that's perfect staying indoors weather and watching ER dvds and knitting! Stay cool.