This Should Come As No Suprise

For those of you who read this (and there aren't that many) this should come as no suprise. I've been trying to update the house. Slowly rooms are being painted. We are on the dining room now, soon to hopefully move into the kitchen. But this weekend I decided I needed to paint the front door of the house. It's been a shade of pink for a very long time. We have a grey house with white trim and black shutters. It was pretty but it's everywhere. So many grey houses have pink doors. I've been known to watch my share of the "how to dress" shows and know that grey/black/white, they are all neutrals. And you can put anything with a neutral, right? Can you see where this is going? Oh yeah, it's orange! I had those little paint chips all over the door trying to see if I thought orange would work. I thought it just might. So I chose "Tiger Stripe" and off I painted. It was ORANGE, so orange you couldd probably see it at your house, where ever you may be. I tried to convince myself and my hubby that it was all good. Nope, this morning it was still a neon orange. I love orange but it was just too much. So back to the paint chips. Back to Home Depot and home with "Summer Heat". I like it. It has more black in it which really tones it down as opposed to the yellowy orange I painted over. Might be a winner, I'll have to see. But with the pretty rust mums by the door and the pumpkins on the steps I'm liking it. What do you think?

On the knitting front I finished a few projects. The February Lady sweater is done and I've worn it a few times. It gets comments everywhere. I love it, it fits well and looks really nice. I would make it again, in fact I know I will.

February Lady Sweater

Cascade 220

I also finished a scarf in Blue Heron Rayon Metallic. The colorway is Bluegrass. I love this yarn. I can't wait for more to show up at Butterfly Yarns. We have been waiting with needles poised for it to come in. We've all come to start calling it fondly the "Blue Heroin"!

Projects right now are the Running Horses Hat from Ravelry. Making it for M out of some lucious alpaca. I am using it for my class project on learning how to trap yarn in colorwork at Butterfly Yarns. I'm a slow student and hopefully can master the process so I will have a pretty hat for M. I also started a very boring brown sweater for the eldest son. Just a 6x2 rib. It's a good mindless project. I think there are also some socks around here too.

I bought a book seen on another blog I read. It's this book on making bread in 5 minutes. That is after you do the initial prep and it doesn't count the baking time. But as I love bread almost as much as I love orange I'm giving it a try. I have my first starter batch almost ready for the fridge. It's not sourdough although the concept is similiar. I'll let you know how it comes out.

I also have the new Mason-Dixon: Knitting Outside the Lines waiting for me to curl up with. I'm looking forward to a nice cup of tea and maybe some warm bread and a quiet afternoon. Soon, very soon.

Anyone heading to Rhinebeck? I signed up for the WEBS trip however I didn't get on the bus :( I am planning on heading to my parents Friday and then to Rhinebeck from there for the day. I had such fun last year and the yarn........oh boy. My Monday Night Knitting buddy is going too. She hasn't been before so it will be fun to hang out with her. Going to get some wine too this year!

Well, it's time for a second coat of orange paint. See you soon.

September Is Here

September has arrived and with it some cooler evening and nights while the days are warm and dry. I live for this time of year. Not to mention K is happily ensconced back at school. It's amazing how our food bill goes down and the house stays neat! I miss all the boys but I do admit I'm not having any empty nest feelings.

Labor Day came and went. It was actually a pretty peaceful weekend not much running around. We spent a large part of Labor Day up in Newburyport. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, warm with a breeze. I love it there, lots of little shops, good food and the ocean. A few pictures to spark your interest. I've been playing with the camera to try and get some "pretty" pictures. I'm hoping to take a photography class this fall to learn about lighting and composition. In the meantime try not to get too tired of my experiments!














We drove home on backroads, it felt like when you used to take those Sunday rides with your parents. It was fun to look at the ocean and the pretty houses alomg the way. We got to stop at one of the farm stands on the way home. Meet Buffy!

Obviously Buffy is the resident buffalo. I always think it's so funny to see him/her there, I just don't expect a buffalo to be living so close to the ocean and at a farm stand. What was even funnier this time was that in the pen with Buffy was a llama (or was it an alpaca, I can never keep them straight). Couldn't get a good picture of them together. I wonder if they sell any yarn??? They did sell some really delicious corn though, I could have had a dozen all by myself!

On the knitting front I bailed out on my shawl for the Knitting Olympics. This week I plan to spend some time playing with it without the pressure of a deadline. I'm hoping I will find that groove lace knitters seem to be in when one with their knitting. I have been doing some "lace" with my February Lady Sweater. This knit I am totally enjoying. The yarn feels right and looks right in the pattern. I'm done the body and working on the sleeves. I hope to have it done soon to wear as the weather takes on that cool edge. Here she is swinging in the breeze, not a care in the world! Today I spent some time cleaning out my knitting area. Found a "few" unfinished projects and some yarn I forgot I had. I'm sure there is a lot more of forgotten yarn around. I am trying to use from what I already have but I get so tempted when I see something new.

I'll leave with my final picture. I think it sums up the coming month. Enjoy!

I Knew This Was A Bad Idea

I'm usually not one for knitalongs or other types of knitting together. I like doing my own thing on my own time. Same reason I don't join a bookclub even though I love to read. So why oh why did I think joining the Olympic Knitting group was a good idea? And an even better question, just what was I thinking when I picked the Flower Basket Shawl in LACEWEIGHT??!! I have now officially ripped back more than I have knitted. I can see it might be a beautiful thing when (make that if) it ever gets done. But it's taking everything I have to keep at it. Maybe that's what it takes to be a true Olympian. I think I should have signed up to be on the alternate team, you know, the one who waits in the wings at home, just in case. I'm going to keep working on it but I think to like it I'm going to need to work on it without the pressure of a deadline. My guess is that unless a miracle occurs there won't be any medal in this corner. Here's a picture of where it stands right now, pitifull!

I've been finding so many "other" things calling my name I think in avoidance of the shawl. I have some really cute socks called Farfalle Socks from Orinda5. I saw her knitting them on her blog and was silently stalking to see if she would publish the pattern. She did, you can find it on Ravelry or her blog. They really work up nicely and farfalle is my favorite pasta!

I also boought some Cascade 220 in a really pretty orangey/peachy colorway (no suprise there) yesterday. I was planning on a Knitting Pure and Simple cardigan but somehow the February Lady sweater seems to be calling out to the yarn. I have plenty to make the sweater so I think that will be in the works pretty darn soon. I just have to go wind up some yarn to start.

It's hard to believe that the summer is winding down. K heads back to school in two weeks. He's had a busy summer working and making lots of money to support his habits at school. He's been down to Patriot's training camp a number of times and even got to go to the first pre-season game (too bad they lost). But now it's time to go through the mess he brought home and figure out what goes back as well what is needed. I know we need sheets (note to moms of boys- when they go off to college buy one pair of sheets, not really expensive ones as these guys don't bother to wash them and they STINK. Throw away and repeat each semester or each year depending on the complaints of the roommates!) and some basics but I think otherwise things are good. We'll see what list of things he comes up with.

Have you looked out your windows lately, I mean when it's not raining? This is what I noticed today-

Can you see it? The leaves are starting to turn. Yikes, fall is closer that I thought!

Off to check out some fridges to replace the twenty year old model in our kitchen. Time to update and in case you hadn't heard, no sales tax this weekend in MA. Have a good one.

False Start

No pictures. Alas I got bigger than my britches and decided to try and get in a few more rows. Yup, you guessed it. Screwed up, tinked back, dropped a few stitches. Now it's back to the begining. But a true athlete never gives up. Maybe tomorrow some pictures, including a lifeline!

Ready, Set..........Knit

Are you knitting for the Olympics yet? I cast on my lace Flower Basket Shawl this morning. I'm going to need all the cheers and support from the sidelines on this one. I'm a little cocky right now as I am up to row 20 without a lifeline. Only because I felt I had to bring it to work to cast on and forgot about the lifeline. So, should I continue or hold up until I get it home? Only time will tell.

More later...I'm at work, remember!

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!

Quickie!

A quick post about my quick project. Last week found me looking for a new project. I wanted something fairly quick and easy. I had bought yarn at WEBS for the Lucy Bag (scroll down a bit to see the pattern)and I decided to give it a go. Nice easy project with great results. I started just a week ago and today it's sitting outside enjoying the sun and drying. I think this as well as some of the other patterns from Two Old Bags will make great Christmas presents.

I made it in Cascade 220 in a deep red, the picture is pretty true to the color. I like the results. Now I need to pick another one or two fairly simple projects for the upcoming plane ride/conference. Socks will be one, not sure of the other. I'm positive I can find plenty to choose from!

Vet2B is on his second week of his rotation here. I'll be sad to see him go, I'm not sure when we'll see each other for a while. We haven't been able to spend a bunch of time together as he has been at the clinic long hours and exhausted with the heat and work. I'm thinking large animals may be not his thing. He does enjoy the small animals and teaching pet parents so I think that is what he will end up doing. Time will tell. M is loving her new job at the Seeing Eye Dog Foundation. She can't wait to get to work every day, a very good thing!

Off to pack. I have to try and get organized, I have to be one of the world's worst packers. I never think I have enough clothes. I'm trying to be thoughtful about what I bring and mix and match so fewer clothes end up in the suitcase. I'm off early Wednesday morning. You all have a good week and I'll be back soon!