Happy Halloween!

My friend sent some funny Halloween pictures and I just had to share:

                                                                         


For those of you out partying tonight, try not to overdo it!

 

Those of us living on the West Coast were spared from all the damage of Hurricane Sandy, but I spent the last day watching the news updates coming from New York, New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast.    The images were incredible, including this one of a subway station in NYC:

It was a good chance to get some knitting done, including this mock cable hat for a new baby :

This is a free pattern from Bonnie Brann and it's called the Mock Cable Baby Hat.  I made it with some stash yarn, Cascade 220 super wash.

                                    

                                                           Have a good day everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Lilly the Pug

Meet my new friend Lilly.  She has come to stay with us here in Denver for a week while her owners are away and I am beginning to see why there are so many fans of this breed.

                                                                             

What a cutie!  It only took a day for us to bond and she follows me everywhere, including cuddling up on my bed at night.  She patiently sits next to me while I work on my Modular Afghan and seems to know not to mess with my knitting, even guarding it from inquisitive grandchildren when I step away for a minute:

                                                                                       
             
And what a great companion she is for my grandson Forest:

                                                                       

Here's what I have been up to.  Finished a Misti Alpaca Ribs and Ruffles scarf.  Don't have a finished picture, but here it is in progress:

                                                                                 

I have knit several of these, all in bulky yarn on size 13 needles.  They make great gifts and the Misti Alpaca is so soft!

Here is my progress on my Modular Aghan.  So far 35 of the 61 pieces have been completed.  My plan is to really start cranking on  this and get it done in 2 weeks to bring to my daughter in LA.

                                                                                       



Here's to another week with beautiful Fall weather and some time to get some knitting done!


                                                                                   

                                                         

It's Fiber Arts Friday

It's Fiber Arts Friday and this week my focus has turned from my colorful Noro Modular Afghan to a couple of vanilla themed projects.  Finished the back of my Chalice Pullover:

             

    This is working up very quickly on size 9 needles and I can't wait to get a chance to wear it.  As for my other vanilla project, here it is:

What?  This is not a vanilla project you say?  Well, this is melsmom54's Vanilla Socks that she knit with a yarn called Strong Heart from Fishknits. The colorway is called Cadillac.   Last weekend I went to the Dixon Lamb Festival and Fishknits had a booth there.  They hand dye their own yarns and they all looked like they would be fun to knit.   Check out their web site to get an idea of what they do, including some great Halloween colors.   Here is the skein I bought.  It's fingering weight with superwash merino wool and 20% nylon:

                                                                           

The colorway is called Baby's Got a Dark Side  - don't you just love it?  They have a great talent for names and I think my daughter will get a real kick out of wearing these, that is, if I don't keep them for myself.

Have a great weekend and check out Andrea's blog to see what other knitters have been up to.







                                                                                                                                    

Knitting a Vanilla Sweater

We are a week into October and the weather is finally starting to get cooler, which I love.  I  mean, after all, 100 degree weather in October was just too much!  Time for a walk in the woods to see what passes for Fall Color in the Lake Tahoe area:

                                                                           

                                                                           

                                                                           

                                                                         
     
Ok, so it's not New England but the yellowing leaves of the Aspens are a pretty sight to see and it's just a great time of year to get outside and enjoy nature:

With the arrival of cooler weather I'm feeling the need to knit something warm for the winter and I came across this pattern called the Chalice Pullover  and yarn in my stash:

                                                                               

                                                                                     

  I bought this  a few years ago when I was at The New York Sheep and Wool Show in Rhinebeck which is held in October.   Most of this show is held outdoors or in unheated barns and it happened to be a very damp and cold weekend when I was there.  Carodan Farms had a stall in one of the barns filled with their own natural, lanolin scented yarns and it was most appealing.  It's my version of vanilla sock knitting and I hope to have this done quickly. It's an easy project and the lanolin feels great on my hands.

I'm just about halfway done with my Modular Afghan; it's hard to believe that this is knit in just one colorway of Noro's Taiyo:

Have a great week everybody!