The End is in Sight!

There is nothing like having house guests coming for a long weekend to inspire us into getting things done.  Andy and I worked all day last Saturday filling in the new patio with dirt.

We are so close to being done and I think tonight will be the night.  Last night we added landscaping fabric to prevent weeds from growing and started adding the gravel.  We are estimating that two more trips to the landscape supply store for gravel should do it.

The Adirondack Chairs give a good perspective on how large the patio really is.  I think we could put up a volley ball net if we ever decided to get up out of the chairs when we are finished!

Kristi and Paul are coming down for the long weekend.  The den/spare room is just about finished, the patio hopefully will be done tonight and all that is left to do is to make the Bolonese Sauce so we have something easy to eat.  I can't wait for them to get here!

I promised a sneak peek of Oktoberfest in my last post.  Here is a quick shot that Andy took.  I haven't had a chance to run it through photoshop yet.  Ive gotten really good feedback from the test knitters and should have the pattern ready to release in a couple of weeks. 

I had a wonderful message on Facebook last week from Kyle William who is coordinating a hat pattern e-book to benefit the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization.  The book will be sold on Ravelry and will be released later this fall.  Kyle asked me if I would be interested in designing a hat pattern for the book.  Of course I said yes and have been working on something a little unique.  It's a layered hat done in Shalimar Yarns Breathless  Black Truffle and Blue Raspberry. I thought the super soft hand of this yarn would feel nice and the two layers would be warm without being overly hot.  The pattern is going to be called "The Outer Limits".   I'll keep you posted on when the e-book is coming out.  100% of the proceeds will be going to LBBC. 

A Weekend of Peace and Tranquility

Andy and I have been so busy this summer that time had flown by.  It seems that every moment has been filled with projects around the house.  We have gotten so much done and it's a great feeling.  Between our jobs, working around the house and helping a friend move we really hadn't taken any time just for us.  We decided to take a long weekend and head to Yorktown.  After doing a little bit of searching around I found The Hornsby House Inn.

Photo from The Hornsby House Inn website

We arrived at The Hornsby House early Saturday afternoon and were given a warm welcome by David who is one of the owners.  He gave us a tour of the house which included a bit of family history and history of the area.  We stayed in the Magnolia Room which was like a bit of stepping back in time.  Decorated with a reproduction iron bed, antique sewing machine and beautiful glassware that had been in the house for several generations we felt right at home.

Photo from The Hornsby House Inn website

Our first night there we decided to partake in the wine and cheese that is served at 5:00.  I'm so glad we did!  We wound up meeting a lovely group of people who were having their class reunion from 1963.  We had a great time getting to know them.  You can read a little bit more about their reunion on John Warleys blog.  He has written a few books and after enjoying his stories in person,  I've added Bethesda's Child to my reading list.

Breakfast was fantastic both days.  Everything was made there and we had so many things to choose from!  There was fresh fruit, coffee, orange juice, cheesy grits casserole, eggs, and on Monday we had Eggs Benedict which is one of my most favorite things in the world!

Of course we made it to the Yorktown Pub at least once each day.  They have fantastic fried scallops and ice cold beer on tap.  It rained most of Sunday afternoon and we wound up staying at the Pub and enjoying the view of the York River.

We did manage to take a walk on the beach in between rain showers.  I spotted this unusual looking seaweed and thought it would be an interesting picture.  I love the reddish orange color against the paler grainy looking sand.

We had a quick photo shoot for the Oktoberfest Cowl and Walk The Line Socks.  I'll have pictures ready to post next time as this is getting a bit long.  I do have a quick progress picture of the patio which is very near completion!  We have started filling in and leveling the interior and are hoping to have it done by Labor Day.

Progress

Things are really starting to come together at the house.  I finished panting the den.  Ceiling, walls, trim and louvered closet doors.  I wound up painting the wrong side of one of the doors which was easy to fix but rather frustrating at the time.  I didn't realize I had done it until all three coats of paint were on it and I was trying to hang it back up.  I had even marked which sides to paint which just goes to show that no matter how careful you are mistakes can still happen.

I think they look much better painted a nice fresh white.  Ive also made valances and covered a couple of the throw pillows.  I have a a couple more pillows to cover and then I will be done with the sewing portion of the makeover.  I'll have some better pictures once the room is all together.  We have company coming at the end of the month and this room doubles as a spare room.  I'm excited for our guests to come and visit and have a cheery room to stay in.  We still have a few things to put in place (please ignore the mess on the coffee table) which is why this picture is only showing a corner of the room.

Ive always thought the sofa and chairs were a bit boring and overly neutral.  I'm really glad now that they are since they can work well with any wall color and have a whole new look with bright accent pillows.


In the evenings Andy and I have been working on the patio.  Andy finished the last section of the bottom wall on Monday.  It's almost time to start filling in and building up the patio with dirt.  I can't wait to sit out there this fall by the fire pit and roast some marshmallows!

 

In knitting news - I've been working on a new cowl pattern for fall, Oktoberfest.  It's in Shalimar Yarns Breathless DK in the Copper Pennies colorway.  I'm putting it out for test knitting this week.  If you are interested PM me on Ravelry (SpinningLara).  Oktoberfest is a quick knit and will be available in written and charted formats. 

 

Walk The Line is with the test knitters and should be ready for release at the beginning of September.  Andy is planning to do a photo shoot this weekend while we are in Yorktown.  There are a lot of interesting backdrops there so we should be able to get some great shots.  We are trying to find a new name for this pattern as another sock pattern was published last week with the same name.  One of the test knitters suggested Hold The Line which I like.  If you have a suggestion, I would love to hear it.  If I use your suggestion I will send you a copy of the pattern when it's published.

So Many Happy Things!

The cat can come out of the bag!  A while ago, I mentioned that I had a couple of secret projects that I was working on.  Well, I can finally talk about one of them.  Earlier this year Kristi, owner and dyer extraordinaire of Shalimar Yarns  asked if I would be interested in designing a bonus sock pattern for the Indulge Me! Club in Breathless.  Of course I immediately said yes and got to work on it.  Beth test knitted the pattern and we have just been waiting for the last club shipment to go out.  The shipping notices went out earlier this week and the club packages should be arriving any time.  I'm so excited to reveal Yorktown.

Shown here in Shalimar Yarns Breathless in Grievous Angel which is a limited edition colorway exclusive to the club for one year.  Yorktown is a really fun pattern to knit with an easy to remember lace pattern.  Ive added a few interesting elements here and there, like a purl ridge under the cuff and at the beginning of the heel.

You may be wondering about why I named the pattern Yorktown.  Kristi, Paul, Andy and I have taken many long weekends trips to Yorktown, VA where we have enjoyed  dinner at the Pub, walking along the serene beach and finishing our day with a refreshing scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  Not to mention that it's very close to Busch Gardens where we have had lots of great times.

Notice that I am no where to be found in this picture!  They all went on the Mach Tower which goes up 246' and then drops down at an amazing rate of speed.  There was NO WAY that I was going on that.  I'm terrified of heights and I think I would have wound up passing out at some point.

Yorktown is available in my Ravelry Pattern Shop.  Use coupon code YT13 for $1.00 off from today until August 10th.  

Work continues on the patio project in the back yard.  It's coming along quite nicely and I think will be done very soon.  The back wall is nearly complete and is the highest point that we are building up.  We should be almost at the point where we can start adding fill and leveling the patio area up.  After that we will put down landscape fabric and then add decorative stone.  I can't wait!  It's going to be so nice to be able to have a place to sit in the shade during the summer and have a small fire in our fire pit this fall and winter.

The black pipes are for drainage from our driveway.  They used to come out near the Blackeyed Susans and we needed to extend them out through the patio to prevent the water from washing it out.  The ends of them will be trimmed back and they won't stick out like that once we are finished.

Ive recently met (online) Chrissy who is Stitched-Together on Ravelry.  Not only is she a designer, but she also has a lovely blog and a very fun podcast. Ive been enjoying listening to it while Ive been painting the den.  She has a cheerful voice and gives a wonderful description of yarns, fibers and patterns.  If you have a chance, be sure to have a listen.

This is the den in progress.  Ive painted the ceiling, walls, trim and am currently working on painting the closet doors white.  The den is in our basement and it always felt a little bit dark in that room. Andy and I thought it would be nice to change to a bright color and liven things up.  The room also doubles as a guest room so we wanted something cheerful and welcoming.  I'm hoping to have things finished up sometime this week.  

Saturday Andy and I were heading out to dinner at Perkys and passed an Estate Sale on the way.  I asked him if he would mind going and that I would only be a an hour or so minute.  So we popped in to take a peek around and boy am I glad that we did!  I've been wanting an older style typewriter and they are crazy prices at the vintage shops in town and are usually not in working order.  We found this one for $9.

A couple of the keys are a bit sticky so I'm going to work on cleaning it and search for replacement ribbon for it.  There is nothing like clacking away on a typewriter!  The case is even in great shape with just a little paint on the outside that I think will come off with cleaning.

We also found this dresser for $5.

It has good lines and is super cute.  Andy is going to fix the crack in the top drawer and then I will paint it a fun color.  I'm thinking coral with possibly each drawer front a different color.  Or maybe cover the drawer fronts with fabric. The possibilities are endless!

A metal picnic basket and cute trash can for my craft room.  $9 for both!

Ive been saving the best for last.  Admittedly I do have a love of dress forms.  I know there are a few already in the house, but none of them are a real dress form.  This one adjust to your measurements and it's probably from the 1960's.  It was a steal at $50.  It even has the original sticker on it and it's made by Singer.

The Indiway Yarns Ferry Beach and Wandering Wildflower KAL begins on August 9th.  There is still a few days before casting on so be sure to come join in the fun!

Ferry Beach

Wandering Wildflower

Indieway KAL

I'm so honored that Wendi from Indiway Yarns is hosting a KAL on Ravely with two of my patterns!  It's beginning on August 9th and running until midnight on September 30.  Choose between Ferry Beach, a cuff down sock and Wandering Wildflower, an infinity cowl.  Use any of Wendi's fab yarns to participate.

 
Wendi has generously offered free shipping for yarn for this KAL using coupon code: shipfree in her Etsy Shop.  If you would like to purchase Ferry Beach or Wandering Wildflower for the KAL I have a coupon code for 15% off until August 4th.  Use coupon code: Indie in my Ravelry Pattern Shop. Wendi will be having a drawing for a prize at the end of the KAL too! 

I  hope to see you in the KAL!  It's going to be a lot of fun.  I'm enjoying getting to know everyone in Wendi's friendly group.  My long time Ravelry pal Tess is taking part in the KAL and I'm really excited that she is going to be knitting one of my patterns!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the lovely Frost in Bloom that Wendi made using her Delicate Pastels Colorway.  It's a really beautiful colorway and would also look great as a Wandering Wildflower Cowl or Ferry Beach Socks!

I am a Clean Freak or 100 Ways to Drive Your Husband Crazy

Kristi called me the other day and asked what I was doing.  The conversation went something like this:

L: I'm cleaning
K: That's all you ever do
L: No, I organize too

I think it's no secret that I'm a little compulsive when it comes to cleaning and organizing.  I never seem to be able to get it quite right.  It seems like either I could have done a better job with how things fit where I placed them, there is too much stuff, or the storage solutions that I have come up with just don't work.  The only area I am completely satisfied with in the house are the kitchen cabinets.  It's really only been since September that the kitchen cabinets were finished.  While we were working on them we took everything out of the kitchen.  This gave us a chance to go through what we had and sort it into what we were keeping and what needed to be taken to Goodwill.  Everything is nice and neat and has a place.  I think Martha Stewart would be proud! 

We added sliding racks for the lower cabinets.  It makes getting pots and pans out much easier.  Before it was easy to forget what we had in the back of the cabinet.  Now we know and we aren't wasting time looking for the sauce pan or trying to lift the enamel cast iron dutch oven out of the back. 

Over the past couple of weeks I've been re-organizing the craft room (gack, I think this is the fourth time now...).  It would be a lot easier if there was just one type of craft that I enjoyed, but since there are a few it takes up a bit more space.  Aside from knitting and spinning I also like to sew, do a bit of jewelry making, dabble in rug hooking and have a very small rigid heddle loom.  Oh and yarn.  I have a lot of yarn and perhaps more than a few project bags and handbags.  What can I say?  I like yarn and bags. 

On the left in a smaller book case are all my knitting patterns, knitting books, a basket full of hexipuffs and hanging above is my little rigid heddle loom.  The mini LL Bean bag on the loom has all the tools that go with the loom.  The middle case from the bottom up: jewelry supplies and yarn, handspun yarn, the next two shelves are indi yarns, knitting needles and tools, at the top are hat boxes with sewing trims/nicer spinning fibers/things I couldn't part with, shuttles and a basket o'hexipuffs.  On the right from the bottom up: orange bag with spinning bobbins and flyers, picnic basket (empty!!), office organizer and foam for needle felting, third shelf has a rug in progress and supplies, fourth is all needle felting, top shelf is a basket of buttons, lazy kate and miscellaneous all topped off by knitting magazines.  I still think it looks messy but aside from covering it with a big curtain, I'm not sure what else I can do.  If you have a suggestion, please post a comment. 

I coerced Andy into helping me in the basement this weekend.  Shannon had given us a solid wood table style desk when she was moving.  We thought it would be perfect to put the drum carder on.  Andy built the brown shelves on top of the table when he was in middle school.  He was horrified when I asked him to trim the bottom of them a bit so they would fit on the table!  Being the good sport that he is he trimmed them and then helped me put everything on them.

It's not especially attractive, but it's organized and in a workroom in the basement.  The table is nice and sturdy and I can't wait to try the carder on it.  I had it clamped onto a old sewing machine table for a while, but it just didn't work well.  This is a huge improvement. 

Yesterday it was finally not 1,000 degrees in the shade or pouring rain.  Andy and I headed out to work on the start of the new patio.  Andy was able to lay the foundation for the new walkway that will go from the basement door to the patio.  The rail road ties are extremely heavy and need to be moved with a hand truck.  The grass in the path will be coming out and will be replaced with stone.  It will be less work to take care of and less chance of me getting bitten by bugs when walking back there.  Since I'm allergic to nearly everything that bites and my blood is crack for mosquito's we are doing everything we can to reduce the chance of bites.

My thumb finally seems to be working properly and I'm knitting again at full capacity!  It just sort of happened over the weekend while I was working on Mariposa for the Shalimar Beat The Heat KAL. I cast on on Saturday and I'm 1/4" away from binding off for the arm holes.  It's in Shalimar Enzo Worsted, Billies Blues colorway. 

With my thumb back in shape,  I've been able to work on my new sock design.  It's gotten some great comments from guys as well as girls so if you are looking for something to knit for a friend or your husband for Christmas this would be a great choice.  I'll be putting it out for test knitting sometime next week and hopefully be publishing it at the beginning of September.  The yarn is Maple Creek Farm Sherman in Chocolate Mint Truffle.

Wandering Wildflower is specially priced at $3.50 until August 1.  After that, the price will be going up to $5.00.

Wentletrap

My love of seashells started when I was a small child. I would collect them in my pockets on trips we took to the beach in Maine. Even in the cold days of winter my family would walk on the beach to enjoy the fresh sea air. 

 

Wentletraps are a family of small high spired mollusks. Their shells are one of my favorites – delicate and complex looking with their spiraling forms. The spiraling pattern of the Wentletrap Sock is reflective of the beauty of these exquisite sea creatures.

  I really enjoyed designing and knitting these socks.   The lace pattern is very easy to remember and makes Wentletrap a perfect project to take to the beach or pool this summer.  I strive to make my patterns easy to follow and as uncomplicated as possible while still being interesting to knit.  I hope that you will enjoy knitting them as much as I have.

Wentletrap specially priced at $4.50 until this Saturday, July 20.

My test knitters did a fabulous job.  Thank you so much Jan, Lyz, Bhama,  Lydia, Tamsyn, Jenna, Margi and Ann!