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. 

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. 

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!

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:

Leaving

Anne Hanson is one of my favorite pattern designers.  Her patterns patterns produce amazing results. 

This is Leaving and it's first sweater that I have knitted where I am completely happy with the fit. 

Knitting a something as large as a sweater and not knowing how it's going to look on your body is a little daunting.  If you look at the finished projects page for Leaving on Ravelry it looks wonderful on everyone.  It's light enough to wear in early fall with a shell under it and later on in winter would also look great with a blouse. 

The yarn is hand dyed BFL by Wits End Serenade.  It was a gift from Andy at the Montpellier Fall Fiber Festival last October. There is a skein and a half left over.  Enough for a shawl or perhaps a vest.  The nice thing about yarn is that it doesn't have an expiration date.

Seams?  What seams?  They don't really stand out, do they?  That is thanks to Ann McCauley, another fabulous designer, author and mentor.  She was here in Virginia a couple of weeks ago and was kind enough to teach a seaming class at our knit group.  While Ive done some seaming in the past I was never satisfied with the results.  After Ann's class my seaming has improved one hundred percent.  If you ever have an opportunity to take one of her classes, I highly recommend it.

Short & Sweet

I had a fantastic post written up and the blog ate it.  So for now and since it's getting really late a shawl for your entertainment.

Live Oak Shawlette by Romi Hill in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga Oak Timberworm

When it rains is pours, or when it's fleece it's yarn

It seems as though Im either completely caught up on things and wondering what I should be doing or literally up to my armpits in work:

These are the Love at the Opera Gloves that are finally finished. Pattern by Hannah Cuviello, yarn is Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Strawberry Crab.  My goal was to have them completed in time for the new Harry Potter movie and I made it.  While I did feel a bit awkward wearing them to the movie, I was really glad I did.  It was freezing in the theater and they worked great with my summertime shirt.  Andy and I went to the 3D version early on Sunday morning when there were only about five other people in the theater.  Perfect!

This is the Holden shawl that just came off the blocking wires. It's a very easy pattern and I really enjoyed knitting it.  Ive added several repeats to make the best use of the yarn.  It's my hand spun from roving purchased from Tintagel Farm at last years Montpelier Fall Fiber Festival.

Three more skeins for the Tour de Fleece.  I still have a couple of pounds of this Cotswold left to spin and Im seriously worried that I won't have it done by the end of the tour.  On the positive side so far Ive spun 1232 yards and there should be enough by the end of the week to complete a sweater.

Missy and I took a ride out to a quilt show at the Bedford Library.  There were so many amazing quilts. We drooled over all of them.  This one was my favorite and called Shibori Shimmers. 

Homemade Marina Sauce - now in the freezer.  Im hoping to make salsa today and possibly jam tomorrow.