A treasure in the mail.

I went to the post office late yesterday afternoon...actually it was evening...and I was met with a very pleasant surprise. A package!

I thought of taking pictures as I went along opening it but I couldn't wait to see what was inside so I just ripped into it.  I put it all back together this morning and did the photo shoot...err...maybe not photo shoot so much as snap shots.

Please excuse the quality.

Prettiness!  I was excited already.

Even the tissue paper is cute.

 

 

 

But what was inside that cute tissue paper was gorgeous!  What a wonderful color!  I love it!!

 

My first thought was "What a wonderful shawl that will make!".  (I even said it out loud and it was only me and the cat at home.  I was pretty excited!) 

 

I've never knit with this before so it'll be fun to try it out.

 

And how did this wonderful yarn happen to get into my mailbox, you ask??  Well, Karen had a contest on her blog and I WON!!  Thank you SO MUCH, Karen!

 

Of course, you know, that as soon as I saw that yarn and knew it had to be a shawl, I got on Ravelry and spent a couple hours, I mean a few minutes, looking at patterns.  I might have narrowed it down to two.  Sweet Tantalate or Semele.  Time will tell if one of these wins or if I spend a couple more hours minutes on Ravelry!

 

A little update on the tulips...

 

 

They did all bloom!  And I had no clue what colors I had planted so it was a pleasant surprise when they opened up.  :)

Actually the daffodils bloomed too.  How did I miss getting them in the picture? 

Even the grape hyacinths are doing their thing!

Thanks again, for the awesome yarn, Karen!

Laceweight handspun

Hi everyone!

It's been awhile.

The wedding was wonderful!  But, because the photographer didn't allow anyone to take photos while she was I have no pictures.  I will though...just give me a little time.

What brings me here today is this*...I just received an email from Peace Fleece and they are now selling handspun laceweight yarn in mohair.  There are 7 colors to choose from.  And they also have handspun laceweight in cashmere in 1 color.  It's not a lot of color selection but they are very pretty colors even if they are basic.

I know some of you can spin your own laceweight yarn (I'm looking at you Cookie!) but if you have a need or just a want for something like this give this a look-see.  It's an interesting story and you know, if we buy some, we could be women helping other women.

And now I am going to do some shopping...I think I like the sapphire the best...

*I don't get any benefit from saying these things...I just love Peace Fleece and the things they do and want to let others know about it too.

On the knitting front

There is knitting happening/about to happen. 

DH gave me this sweet book for Christmas.  There were two patterns I immediately fell in love with and had to order the yarn right away.

All of the patterns in the book use Brown Sheep yarns.  This is what I got for the apron. 

Everyone asks what I'm going to do with an apron, and I say about the same as the shawls I knit.  Enjoy the knitting and then put it in the drawer.  I just love the idea of a knit apron!

This yarn is slated for the table runner.  And this won't just be knit and put in the drawer but actually used.  I have a dining room table just waiting for some pretty laciness. 

Strokkur is what I am currently knitting on.  The yarn is Patons Classic Wool. 

I haven't knit with this type of yoke construction so it'll be interesting when I get that far...

Yellow really isn't a very good color for me, so I'm changing out to plum instead.  Of course!

I just had to add another shot of Teddy.  The chair is new and guess who has been in it more than anyone else in the house?  Yea...you guessed right.  Teddy.

At least we ordered it to match whatever hair he leaves behind...

Acer...not such an ace.

I knit Acer quickly.

But quickly done doesn't necessarily mean happy.

 

In my opinion, it's too big.  Wearable but big.  Sleeves are too wide.  Body too big around.  Maybe too long.

Going in I knew the neckline tended to be big and open and I used 2 sizes smaller needles and did a cable cast-on.  That seemed to help tighten things up a bit.

The sleeves would have been several inches to long if I had followed the pattern.  The sleeve directions might have worked for smaller diameter sleeves but not on these honking huge ones.

I'll always love Peace Fleece yarn but this batch had more knots than I've ever seen before.  And an exceptional amount of vegetable material too.  I was a little surprised.  I do love the color though and actually the pictures are pretty accurate in that respect.

The buttons are LaMode and were purchased in a rush while DH waited in the car.  I love the buttons.  I think they look good with the color.  Just about the only thing I do like about this sweater.

I'll wear it.  It even fits over a sweatshirt so if I'm freezing it'll be the sweater I reach for.  I'm just afraid I won't do that reaching very often.

Stress Relief

It was a long day today and tomorrow is going to be stressful.

Thanks to Karen I had just what I needed....

a skein of beautiful yarn to wind.

Thank you, Karen. It was just what I needed.

Decisions. Decisions.

There have been a few decisions made and quite a few more yet to be done.

This is Moldova Burgundy from Peace Fleece. I love Peace Fleece yarn for cardigans and that is just what this is going to be. I decided at the end of the winter that I needed another cardigan and got this ordered. Now to decide what pattern!

The yarn is firm and has good shape and body when knit and the touch of mohair gives it a little fuzzy halo when washed. It does itch just a bit though so a turtleneck is in order for me.

These adorable little balls are also from Peace Fleece and if I can bear to use them and not just keep them to look at, some might be used as a bit of decoration on the cardigan.

This will be the most fun decision of all! I won this yarn from our sweetheart, Karen. I was the 2,500th comment on her blog. Karen....that is a lot of comments! And Karen, you must know me pretty well because you got the colors exactly right. I will so enjoy deciding what to knit with this yarn. And yes, I think it did spark my mojo! :D

I really really want to design a lace shawl and so when I found out about this book I just had to have it. It has good basics and combined with other things I've found online I just might be able to do a design for myself. Only time will tell.

And so when I decided to buy the book above there was yarn for sale on the same website! How convenient is that? ;) I found this pretty plum laceweight and decided to order it also. It is one honking big ball....1500 yds worth!

This is Wollmeise yarn. I'm a fan of The Loopy Ewe online yarn shop. On occasion there is a bit of this yarn for sale. But only if you are aware of when it is available and then you have to be as quick as a bunny to get any of it. It sells like hotcakes. And so when I saw on Facebook that there was some for sale I decided then and there that I "needed" to see what all the fuss was about!

Since there are days and days of rain in the forecast...(Trust me it's a good thing! We need rain like crazy. The soybeans don't want to pop through because there is a crust on top of the soil from the last rain and it needs to get softened up asap!)...I decided to snap a few pictures of the peonies.

There's lots of buds...

on both bushes. But they'll be flat on the ground and turning brown if it rains as much as forecast so I'll have them in picture if not in real life!

Can you almost smell them?

A new shawl and checking in with the kitties

The yarn is a Christmas gift from 2nd DS & DDIL. It's Misty Alpaca Hand Paint Sock yarn. I have to say it is durable...I've started 2 other patterns and ripped them out and it has withstood all that abuse. Seriously though, it seems soft and aren't the colors pretty?

I searched and searched for a pattern to make me happy. I think I've spent enough on patterns that I could have bought another skein of yarn instead but sometimes it's part of the process.

What I came up with is TGV*. Just what I was looking for. Garter stitch so I don't have to really think much and actually as busy as the yarn is I didn't want any lace. So this is perfect...except for the little fact that I don't really like ribbing. But I'll have to deal with that later.

And I just had to share the kitties. They have their moments when they are growling and rolling on the floor in an all out fight but look at this. They love each other too. Oh, so sweet!

If you can tell where one starts and the other stops, you are better than me! It's just a mess of kitty!

*I can't get the linkie thing to work. It's a Susan Ashcroft pattern if you want to look it up on Ravelry.

It's heeerrreee!

The yarn arrived. Yay!

Black & White for stranded mittens for 2nd DDIL. The lining yarn is on backorder but it's the same color as my mittens...chili pepper. Gonna use the same pattern as mine.

A stranded hat for 1st DS. He requested something a bit out of the ordinary but I found a couple patterns, here and here, that I'll combine to get what he wants. Plain on the outside with a brim that can be folded up with the design on that. My only fear is that I didn't get enough yarn...

Yeah, I won't be knitting the naughty design for him. Just the snowflakes...

For 2nd DS this is the same stranded mittens and also a stranded hat similar to 1st DS's. There is more yarn, I just didn't get it in the picture.

And yeah, no frolicking deer for him either. I'm a killjoy!

Something else that arrived that isn't exactly fun but I've been waiting for it also...cold weather and wind. I get to try out my hand ovens! Yippee!

Something done and the next project up

Finished the socks to be worn as slippers since they are worsted weight and probably won't fit in any of my shoes! Pretty happy with them but sure wish I'd made the legs longer. Had lots of yarn left. Not in the mood to change them though...

What I am in the mood for is the next project. It might be slow moving since I've never done stranded mittens before but am excited to learn something new and if I can do a nice job I'll have some really special mittens!

The purple and off white (Berroco Ultra Alpaca) are the mittens and the red (blue sky alpaca Melange) is the lining. I washed the yarn with Cookie's helpful suggestions, (Thanks!) and it's a good thing I did. That red bled like crazy. I think I got it stopped now though!

Wish me luck on the knitting. :D

Kitties, fall harvest and knitting*

The kitties have been closely watching the birds that are hopping around the backyard these days. There have been robins, flickers and assorted sparrows.

Claus & Teddy are quite the team. Always checking out what the other one is doing and then deciding if it is interesting enough to participate.

We've been having wonderful Indian Summer the last week or so. Temperatures in the 70s and even 80s yesterday and also for today. But there are signs that fall and the unavoidable winter is on it's way.

The county road crew has been getting ready for the winter snows.

They have shaved the roadsides down as close as a new Army recruit's first haircut.

The freezing temperatures from a couple weeks ago has turned the leaves yellow on the trees and killed the soybeans and corn.

In the next day or two the late fall harvest will start. We could have really used more time for maturation of those crops but Mother Nature can't be deterred from her plans.

The wheat harvest was bit disappointing. The amount of straw suggested a big crop but the amount of grain in the heads was a different story. And the quality wasn't the best either. This summer just wasn't the best for any of the crops. It was too many things. Too cold. Too hot. Too wet. Too humid. But farmers are basically eternal optimists. Next year will be a whole new chance to try again.

And I'm doing another Iceling Cardigan. This time it is for a niece's partner who is expecting a little boy in December. The yarn is acrylic which I'm not totally happy about and I'm not sure about the colors either but the new parents are inexperienced in the baby department and I thought it best not to burden them with a sweater that needs special care.

I hope to not wait quite so long to post next time!

*This post brought to you by a suggestion from Cookie! Thanks Cookie! :D

Actual knitting content!

Done! I finally finished the Eliina Shawl that I knit from the Zen Garden lace weight yarn that I bought at Joan's Stash Busting Sale.

This is really quite close to the color...it might be just a smidge darker in person.

I've tried lace weight yarn before and just couldn't work with it. But this time was magic and there wasn't a problem at all with the knitting. Of course that I loved the color and was going to knit with it come heck or high water didn't play into it at all.

I added some beads to the lace edging to give it a bit of weight and just a little sparkle. They are silver lined pink glass beads.

One bit of info that I learned--When you do a crochet cast off, and add beads while you are doing it, they face to the wrong side of the fabric. I had to pin each bead to try to force them into showing from the front. Uff. It turned out ok I think.

All the information about my Strawberry Ice Cream Eliina Shawl can be found here on Ravelry.

This doesn't look like much yet but it is going to be an Iceling baby cardigan. Norma has been telling how in love she is with this pattern so I thought I would give it a try.

The little cardigan will be for a sweet baby yet to be born in Moldova.

We have 3 foreign workers this year on our farm and all 3 of them are from Moldova. One fellow has a wife back home that is expecting a baby the end of September and they know that it is going to be a boy. I'm hoping that "blue is for boys" is the rule of thumb there too!

All better

Things are looking up here.

The lilacs are finally starting to look alive. Cute little leaves!

We have sunshine! And warmer temperatures! It is actually already 60F. I won't discuss what it should be. I'm just happy with what it is. :)

I started a new shawl. Eliina. This is the yarn that I bought at Joan's stash busting sale. I LOVE it. Doesn't it just make you think of strawberry ice cream? I'm always hungry while I'm knitting on it. Maybe that's NOT a good thing...

The only downer is I've got a yarn barf. Too much yarn came off the ball at once. I'm going to give it another try but it might come down to cutting it and doing a russian join. No worries. The sun is shining!

Who knew??

Who knew that this yarn would turn into.....

















stripey socks! How cool is that! :D
















And who knew that I'd be able to snap a picture fast enough to get these pictures of the cats that are okay enough to put on the Christmas card?



Claus




















Teddy















The two guys chillin'.

Actually, sometimes it's a bit of a power struggle to see who gets to lay on the top level of the cat tree. Once in awhile they agree to share!

I sure wish the last two pictures had better color quality...maybe I can find a way to edit them....