Spinning

A month or so ago I started spinning again. I really just couldn't all summer long. Sweaty palms.
I was a little concerned that I would have trouble matching what I had already spun. But it came right back. Then it just flew by. I've even finished plying the stuff. With the long color repeats in this yarn I decided to try out Chain plying or Navajo Plying. It was really easy and I liked it a lot. It kept the colors all happily together. And I wasn't faced with trying to fit two or three times more yarn on my spindle. 2oz. fits on the thing wonderfully and this is all well and good when it's 2 oz of spun singles. But when I ply two or three singles together it becomes 4oz or 6oz and I just haven't figured out how to make all of that fit. I'm thinking I want a bottom whorl spindle. From what I've read they seem to be good for plying and they look like they have longer shafts.
Anyway; I made yarn! Pretty pretty yarn. Total of 262 yds around fingering weight. Maybe sport in a few places.
Hee pretty.

Tree

Yesterday we put up the tree. I love our tree.
I love all the ornaments tied to a memory.
I'm glad we have it up for a month. It's pretty and happy.
Last night I found a surprise in the tree. Do you see her? I told her to get down after I took the picture. She shimmied backward and down the back of the tree avoiding all of the ornaments. She likes the tree too.

Thanksgiving

We had our usual quiet just the three of us Thanksgiving. It's been a nice day. We watched the parade on TV. Well most of it. The multiple Spidermen kind of freaked us out. Then I cooked. Mr. Gnome made a fire and kept up with my dirty dishes. We listened to Alice's Restaurant, Adam Sandler then a nice live Carbon Leaf album. Good times.
This year for dinner (have I said how much I love being free to make something new every year?) I made Vegan Dad's Harvest Pies and Pumpkin-Pull-Apart Rolls. There was leftover pie fillings so I made a quick stuffing like thing with it, some left over mashed pumpkin, and some pieces of bread. A bit of salad with apples, pecans and blue cheese. And of course Cranberry Sauce.
Festive. The Bug always gets so excited for Thanksgiving. I don't know why she won't eat most of it. She lives for the Cranberry sauce.
Followed by our Post-Thanksgiving Dinner walk/bike ride around the block.
Later we will try the Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake from Vegan Pie in the Sky.
Hope everyone had a relaxing and Thankful day!

Our Library

Oh how I treasure our weekly walk to the library. It's constants, it's changes. Really a highlight to my week.
It's just over a mile and takes us about half an hour. We got a rolling backpack because caring all our books on my back was killing me! We take turns rolling it. It caries all our books, my knitting and the water bottle wonderfully.
We walk, she climbs and runs.
We both love the crunching sound of the leaves this time of year. Crunch crunch crunch
And really how can you not love a library that puts together a sci-fi display with this? You just know some geeks work there!
I've never tested how long she would stay. It's usually about an hour. I know she could stay longer but I don't know if our bag could hold that many books.
Then there is the weekly discussion over the safety of reading while walking down and across a busy street.

pisqued in the rain

The thing about rainy weather is I tend to get more time and mojo to knit. Sitting all snug in the house loving and some wool. Nothing like it.
Unfortunately the other thing about rainy weather is that my pictures look like this. That white is actually real white and the blue is, well a better blue than that. But the knitting. Oooh color work. Oh these babies tested me. Concentrate concentrate. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out though.
As you can see the foot is a tad too long. Or a tad too pointy for my foot. But it looks cool.
Birdies and wavey and starts and whatever that thing is between the birds. Lovely lovely. And now I've have completed all of Sock Madness 5.
Is it March yet?

Daphne

OH these were a fast knit! Daphne, the other sock in the August Cookie A. Sock Club. I could knit Cookie socks forever. I love how it looks in the variegated yarn. Uses the lines created in the yarn and doesn't loose the pattern. Fabulous! The yarn is Hand Maiden Casbah in the color of Pansy. And Oh was it wonderful to knit. So soft so simple so pretty. But I don't know where or when I got it! UGH that is frustrating!

Announcing!

The opening of my etsy shop! ReGnomed
As in Reused, Recycled, Redone.
We may also call it: How I pay for yarn. I have the bits for one quilt.

Short Socks

It's always a bit sad what a little frost can do. No more pretty flowers. But I do have a new pair of Short Socks for Summer use. Pair number 5. Of course they aren't being used now. Kramer Yarns Sterling Silver into Fibranatura Yummy into String Theory.

Knits at Sunset

This time change thing is putting a bit of a damper on the Knits at Sunset. The sun had gone behind a house which doesn't really look like sunset. So here we are. The second glove in a pair of commissioned fingerless gloves, a second sock, the Holiday gift scarf that I haven't touched since the Alpaca Farm Day, the second color work sock (almost done), and my sweater which amazingly I have knit on a bit. It's a smaller pile; isn't that nice.

Staying on

This year choosing a hat for The Bug was quite a challenge. She had these grand plans of roses being knit then sewn onto a hat. I had plans of super gluing it to her head so she wouldn't loose it. After much looking and lots of "Oh Mother!". We found Shapeshifter. The yarn is Drafonfly Fiber Sea Sock, a wool/seacell blend that I happened to have and is the perfect Bug color.
She can wear it as shawl with a hood.
As a scarf with a hood.
When she pulls it off it hangs there without getting lost and still looks quite cute.

It's all held together with buttons. The Bug loves the button jar. Really who doesn't enjoy exploring a button jar? She got six buttons holding the hood. Then there are two more on the neck bit to button into any of the many button holes. She has had a lot of fun playing with the different ways to button it. Making it a fun dress up, practical, and cozy bit of winter wear. Have we found the perfect hat for this kid? Ask me again at the end of winter when we asses whether she's lost it or not.
Morning glories acted as our backdrop in today's photos. These suckers grew all summer covering this bit of the rail on our porch. There are so many blooms! Today was so far the best day for them. Lovely bit of color for fall.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

As inspired by SouleMama.

Fronkenshteeeeeeeeeeek

Just in time for Halloween the four exchanging pieces of Fronkenshteek are finished and in the mail. Really horrible picture. This yarn is photo cursed....