halloween eve

tomorrow we're off to the fiber fest of new england and i had one thing left to finish.
the sample sock of longmeadow farms 'sock-it-to-me' yarn. sandy mailed this to me earlier in the week and i've been knitting away. i found a cute ravelry pattern for a youth sock ( even i knew that i couldn't crank out an adult sock) with some patterning and straight stockinette. such a good friend, she made sure the colorway would be one i loved ( i did, i really did). i was ready to finish the toe just as the trick-or-treaters arrived.....

not a one commented on my stitching.... it was all about the candy. and the pumpkins!

baby gift done

ever since i first saw the 'dream in color' tulip baby sweater, i knew i had to make one. several years ago, i purchased the pattern in a kit. it has sat in my basket waiting. the colors in the kit are blues and greens... with the tag of "water". i mainly got it for the pattern, so i've been slowly collecting the dream in color yarn. the recipe calls for 8 different colors,  and with a price tag of $20/skein, i do mean slowly.
i have another family member expecting a babe this winter, so i seized the opportunity to finally knit this.

the pattern is simple, the yarn is delightful. the biggest challenge is carting around all those hanks of yarn and keeping them in the correct order. this morning i wove in all the ends and blocked it....

how dear is that???? after careful thought, i chose to make this in the 12-18 month size. fresh little ones really don't need a hand knit sweater and how cute will this be with a pair of jeans! knit in just over a week, i may have to make some more to have on hand. i can mix the colors up and add in some new ones and i've got tons of yarn left.

rhinebeck 2013

after trudging through the crowds last year, i proclaimed that i was not going to go to rhinebeck this year. the festival was crowded, overwhelming and exhausting.
well, i'm glad i didn't follow my own decree! one afternoon when i was helping amythefibergoddess with her dyeing, she asked if i had thought about going to rhinebeck this year. it had floated across my mind, but i let it go. we looked at each other and agreed to give it a go. maybe. lots of life things had to come together to make it happen, so i wasn't sure we were going until i was sitting in the car!

we took her car and i was able to get a great start on my newest project. i'm finally knitting a tulip sweater as a shower gift. the drive down was lovely, the leaves were in full autumn. i was grateful that we took amy's suv, we were already filling it up after a stop at the vera outlet!

as we made our way to the festival we worked out our plan of attack! stick together, buy it if you want it, follow the plan. it worked like a charm! we hit the first buildings (that usually are the busiest) as soon as it opened. we wandered through the fleeces, visited more vendors..... i was in heaven!

i had a pick-up to make for sandy ( yarn bowls for her booth at new england ) so i had a lovely visit with sue and picked out pottery. the day got very warm, but the crowds seemed manageable. as we made our way into the sheep barn, we found more fiber friends. holly was working at a sheep display and soon introduced us to martin and joy from shepherds lane farm before i knew it, i was out in the vendor parking area meeting four lovely gotland ewes and buying fleeces....

we touched, fondled, oooohhh and aaahhhed...... we were like addicts making a score! we left with four fleeces and lots of great information.we closed the festival and finally were on our way home at 5:30. i now have lots of spinning and knitting projects to keep me busy.

finishing up

the vest is finally dry from blocking. it seemed that all the damp, cool, cloudy days started as soon as i wet that sucker! i carefully seemed the sides, and bound-off the shoulders.

i have no idea what came over me, but i decided that i would have the future owner try it on to make sure it fit BEFORE i secured the seems and added the finishing stitches. it fit. now i just need lots of good light to put this project in the done pile.
it's been difficult to stay focused on the vest as i was working on this.....

i wanted a fall scarf/wrap and as hard as it is to believe...... i didn't have anything in autumn colors. this is lovely malabrigo worsted that i got forever ago and had the good sense to buy two hanks. i used them both, making this about 6 ft long and 1 foot wide. it was super fun to knit and i want to do another in lighter weight yarn.
i've a new project on the horizon that is going to need to be finished in a timely fashion. as soon as i've got it sorted out, i'll post.

knitting catch-up

way back when, so far ago that i can't actually remember the date, i started another vest. i bought the yarn, found a pattern,  even had a chunk of it knitted. it must have gotten warmer (no need to keep knitting on a wool vest) or an emergency knitting project came along (birthday shawl and then sample knitting ( right lines ) so as i was do some fall cleaning, guess what i found.

it didn't take long to finish the back, and i was so inspired that i even tweaked the cable on the front. it just needs to be stitched together, toss some edging on the neck and arms...... just in time for the cool weather.