Houston, There may Be A Problem

What do you think?

Do you consider this a problem? Just (well, most) of my knitting bags hanging out waiting for the projects inside to be finished. Kinda scary when I see it in pictures. Does it look like this at your house (please tell me it does!).

It seems lately that I am starting more than I have finished. I have a sweater for my son on the needles. It's a boring 6x2 rib for a six foot guy so needless to say I have other projects too. I am working on the November Ruffle in grey. It too is a bit monotonous however I'm almost done and it is beautiful. It will be so warm as I am using Cascade and an alpaca yarn. Looks like I may need it this winter. And I did finish a hat for M although it is too small so I'm doing another. It's called Running Horse Hat.

The one I am working on now is made with Sheep Shop Yarn and isn't so fuzzy. I like it better as the horses and patterns are crisper. Plus I think this one will fit. I'll post pictures when I am done which should be in the next few days. And then there are some forlorn socks and other things hiding that I am sure will suprise me when I find them!

The decorating continues here. The dining room is painted, well almost. The trim needs to be finished and I have to choose a color for inside the china hutch. The color is called Winter Garden and I really love how it came out. But it is lighter and now I don't think I can do yellow in the kitchen. Paint chips are hanging all over my walls in the kitchen in the hopes of finding something I like. So far a taupe color is winning out. Any suggestions? The new dining room fixture is up and again it was a good choice. The room looks so different now. And I have to confess that while I love the orange door it may change once again. I found a new color that I thik is "the one". It's called Carmelized Orange. Seems to be just what I was looking for. So another try. Not sure how to sneak this by the husband!

The weather here has been outstanding. I've been out taking picutes and playing more with the camera. A few good shots and some "interesting" ones.

The dog-


And here is a little path in fall glory that I think I may enlarge and frame. I think it's really pretty,

I hope the weather holds out for this weekend. It's Rhinebeck!!!! My friend Wendy and I head to down to western MA to my parents house Friday night and then we hop on the Webs bus for our day at Rhinebeck. I went for the first time last year and loved it. So much to see it can be overwhelming, but in a good way. I am so looking forward to it. Should be lots of good pictures and goodies to share when I get back (I know, don't hold your breath). Stay tuned.....

Returned

Back from the unreal city they call Vegas. All I can say is WOW! They aren't kidding when they say it's a city that never sleeps. There are people everywhere, all the time. Constant noise. Hot, I mean really hot. It's a big fantasy land for adults.I guess I can say I've been. Will I go back? Well I think there are other places I would rather go. A few pictures of the sites.

I didn't get much knitting done. I pulled out my sock on the plane only to find that my needle had broken. I don't know how, it was in my carry on bag and not overly packed. But there it was, broken, so that project was a bust. I of course had another project in my luggage and I managed to get in a bit of it during some of the conference. But when not actually in sessions we were at the pool and since it was so hot most of the time we spent in the water. So not much knitting there either. I made some progress on my BYOB. I will say that between the cotton yarn and the seemingly endless seed stitch this is not one of my favorite knits. It is pretty though and very practical so I'll get to finishing it soon.

When I returned I did find a package from my Sock Yarn from Your Stash (3) swap partner. It was some package! A Stitch and Pitch tote bag, a ladybug project bag filled with tools, a ladybug mitten pattern, stationary, yummy treats and tea. The yarn I recieved was from Pagewood Farms, a beautiful colorway called Crayon, bamboo/merino blend. Oh so pretty. I'm looking forward to knitting with it. This swap has been so much fun. I've "met" great people and received unbelievable packages. I'm thinking I may do round 5, if there is one. Check out the group on Ravelry.

Looks like I'm knitting up some sweaters for the greyhounds soon. A knitting buddy sent me the link to these sweaters and I think they are so cute. Awaiting word on what colors will suit Peaches and Zip and then I'll get started. Can't have cold puppies this winter!

Excuses, excuses...

Really, we bought a new computer and my husband has everything all over the place and things aren't hooked up and talking to each other. At least that is what he tells me! That and the fact that work is driving me bonkers has kept me from blogging. But I have been knitting.

I finally finished the Everlasting BagStopper from Knitty. By finishing I mean I finally put the ribbon on for handles. I love it! Be forewarned, the sucker s..t..r..e..t..c..h..e..s!!

I also finished some baby sweaters for some of my co-workers and their upcoming babies. I love both of them.

The one on the left is the Seamless Kimono. Made from Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. The pattern is extremely well written and works up like a charm. The yarn is scrumptious. I think I will be making more of these for future babies. There is also a Kimono version that wraps with a tie. The right hand sweater is the Yarni Lace Baby cardigan. While I love the outcome I have to say the pattern wasn't as well written. There were a few errors that made me crazy. I also changed the sleeve so that the pattern just goes down the center rather than all the way around. I think I like it better and it was much easier to deal with the decreases that way. It is cute though, don't you think? The author of the pattern was quick to respond to questions which is great but I think a few more rounds of test knitting might have been helpful. This one is made of sock yarn from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm that I got at New Hampshire Sheep and Wool.

I did finish the shawl for M from the yarn that I bought when we went out to visit them in Minnesota. That's not the wedding shawl but a plain basic garter one that she loved. I forgot a picture (or if I did take one it's somewhere in one of these computers hiding). She loved it as did her mom, sister, and grandmother. Hmm, do I take that as a hint?

So I need to finish the wedding shawl because we are under the year mark now and you know how time flies. I also have my own shawl to finish. I'm working on another baby sweater, Helena, from the new Knitty. It's 3/4 of the way done. I'm using Sheep Shop three in a soft purple colorway. Very nice. And my new passion is Blue Heron Yarns. Oh My!! The colors and feel, pure luxury. I have a feather and fan scarf on the needles now and eventually I will make the Flower Basket Shawl with it.

Which leads me to the upcoming projects. I finally put yarn and patterns together for things I need to get moving on. As you can see the pile is daunting. I need to stop throwing in projects and get cracking on the pile. How to stay focused? And just in case you hadn't thought about this for a while, Christmas is just a little over six months away. Yikes!!!!

Trying Not To Get Ahead Of Myself

Christmas is coming in case you hadn't notice. However I think you must live in a hole if you haven't been bombarded with music, songs, ads and decorations in the stores. It seems to get earlier and earlier that this happens every year. The kids were barely in from the Halloween candy dash and suddenly the ads on tv started to appear. I think there should be a law that all the hoopla can't start until after Thanksgiving.

Now because of all the push towards Christmas I'm starting the knitting gift panic. I said this year would be the year I keep it all in control. But I'm losing control. My mind is queuing up those projects left and right. I will say there are few things finished. I did the fingerless gloves for my mom and the socks for son's fiance's mother(I know). But for everything I finish something appears at the end of the list. I have to finish a scarf for my job share other half. I have two hats for the nephews. Hand-holding mittens for the newly weds and the engaged son/fiancee as well as a friend and his wife. My "need to finish" project bag is getting bigger and bigger. I'm hoping that's it but I'm afraid that this year will be no different than the years past.