Tuesday, September 27, 2011

What Dreams May Come

I had a really horrific health scare late in the summer that required a biopsy.  There were sleepless nights for my husband and I before and after and quite frankly a lot of worry. 

A couple of nights before the biopsy I had a vivid dream where Anne Hanson told me that if I joined her Fall in Full Colors club my breast would be fine. 

Now, Im not into reading into your dreams or fortune telling or anything like that.  But I figured, what the hell.  It's yarn and patterns by one of my favorite designers, how could I go wrong?

Well, Im not saying that the Fall in Full Colors club has magical healing powers, but my biopsy turned out just fine. 

The last time Andy and I were out on the boat the leaves were just starting to turn a beautiful yellowish green.  With the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains the colors were spectacular!  I was thinking that it would be great to find yarn in these colors:


Since I work for Kristi I knew the September shipment would be Shalimar Breathless.  But I had no idea of the color.  There was such a happy dance when this arrived:

Fantastic, yes?

The pattern to go with it is for Hazeline a stunning shawl.  I can't wait to get started on it and will be winding the yarn today.  I have one cuff left to finish on the Vodka Gimlet that Im doing in Honey Worsted Black Truffle and then will get to cast on for the Hazeline.  Im proud of myself for showing restraint and not casting on until the Gimlet is finished. 




Friday, September 23, 2011

Love Notes

Andy surprised me last night while we were watching The Big Bang Theory.  It's the sweet thoughtful things that he does out of the blue that really mean so much. 
Next month is our sixth wedding anniversary.  As each year blends smoothly into the next I realise that I can't imagine having a better friend to spend them with. 



Monday, September 19, 2011

The Knitting Fish


You may be saying to yourself - Hey, I thought this was a knitting blog what up with this gigantic fish?  Andy and I went fishing yesterday morning and he caught this 8lb large mouth bass and two others that were around 3 lbs.  It's the largest bass Ive seen in person and it was quite exciting to see Andy bring him in the boat!

You may remember back in July that my in-laws had adopted two boxer cross puppies.  We stopped by to visit on the way home from fishing.  I thought you might enjoy seeing how much Bo had grown since July.  He's now 6 months old, almost as tall as me (Im 5' 8"), and we think around 70 lbs.  He's just the sweetest guy and loves to give kisses.

Last Friday I arranged for our knit group to take a field trip to Wyrd Sisters in Roanoke. Cate, the owner, is so much fun and truly a wonderful person.  Her shop has some great yarns and fibers including Unplanned Peacock which is a local company.  I came home with a skein of Diva Sock which is a merino/cashmere/nylon blend and a braid of merino roving - yum!

This is Cate in a stunning vest that she knitted:



From left to right: Lynn, Missy, Rose and Cate.  We all had a fantastic time.  Thank you Cate!





Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Alpaca Fun!


We had a fun Labor Day Weekend.  It started with a trip to Roanoke where we feasted at Abeulo's.  On our way home we spotted a sign for Otter Peaks Alpaca's and decided to check it out. 

We met John & Cindy Ferrante and their super friendly Alpaca's:


The alpaca's were all very lovable and seemed to like posing for pictures:


If you are in the area be sure to stop by to visit with John & Cindy and see their alpaca's.  They have a nice shop too with lot's of yarn and items made from alpaca fiber.

They also have two Great Pyrenees dog's that protect the herd of alpacas. 
Since we live in a subdivision farm animals are out of the question (for now heh).  Ive been training Roper to be a protector.  Here he is guarding my handspun yarn: