Something Spooky

The ancient Halloween wreath is on the door.

The incredibly old pumpkin lights have been hung with care.

Mom's ceramic Jack O'Lantern is ready to shine....

...and my Felici Spooky socks are done!

I love them. Hermoine's Everyday Socks is a great pattern-easy, fast and free.

I did goof up the heels. The stitch pattern was supposed to be Eye of Partridge but I forgot and did my usual slipped rib instead. I'll be wearing them tonight when I make doughnuts and roast pumpkin seeds.

 But the really scary thing about this Halloween is that the town is already putting up the Christmas lights. They've been at it all week. Good gracious.....

Progress of a Different Kind

 Yesterday I was showing off the progress I had made on all those socks. Today let me show you what's going on with all those sweaters I got the bug to start. First up is White Pine. It has been frogged twice now. I put all the directions in my shorthand and of course I didn't check to see if I had actually understood them correctly before I went full steam ahead on 199 stitches. That'll teach me. I think we have come to an understanding now so it's all good.

 This is how Elizabeth looks now.

 I am in the middle of all the weird sideways shaping stuff and I just discovered that I didn't have the right amount of stitches after casting on for the body-six inches ago. I am going to ignore that fact and adjust accordingly. Wish me luck.

Then there is the Featherweight that finally has both sleeves but is still in need of her front bands. I just finished spinning the singles for them, now they only need plying.

I have this much of the soft-as-a-bunny Merino that I used for the body leftover and I am thinking matching mitts-when I get all this other stuff done-because you know I am going to end up having to spin more for them.

Sock it to Me

I have one of each of my Rhinebeck socks finished. These are Socks That Rock.

  I was hoping to have them all done by Halloween but that's not happening. These are Crazy Zauberball.

These are my Halloween Felicis in the Spooky colorway. Maybe if I stay up all night and knit, I can at least have these done. It would be a shame to have to wait another year to wear them.

Daddio's FO

 Daddio's been on a roll again with his sewing thing which means I have been doing lots of finishing work for him.

Nice, huh? I wish it were mine. I did buy myself some of this Halloween collection from Connecting Threads so maybe I can convince him to put one together for me for next year.

 He's already at work on a Christmas version.

 Next up, after Christmas, will be another disappearing nine patch. I've got to figure out a way to get Connecting Threads to stop sending him catalogs.

Pillow Talk

It all started with the curtainless window in my upstairs craft room. I needed material so I took myself off to Ikea for the day.

After a great deal of careful consideration I decided on this material. Even before I got out of the store I had decided I had made a bad choice. It was too heavy and too dark-but it would make nice pillows....

...and I had a giant pile of pillows that needed covers and a ratty old sofa that needed a disguise.

Daughter helped me pick out more material on a second trip back to you know where.

I also had an extra pair of curtains that matched the ones I like to hang in the living area in the cooler months. I experimented with making pillow covers using them first.

To my surprise, it worked. I had watched a few You Tube videos on making simple covers before I started and it was as easy as they made it look.

I made it even easier by using the selvedge instead of sewing hems on the pocket areas. Who would know?

 In no time at all I had an assembly line going.

In less that three hours I had seven new pillows in the living area...

 ..and a big new squishy one on the bed that matches my new duvet set. I'll never buy an already made pillow cover again.

Fall Cleaning

All my woolly things spend the summer collecting dust so as soon as it gets chilly I have to give every one of them a bath or spend the fall sneezing.

Each and every one of my hand knitted items got a rinse and spin.

Some had to also go in for repairs. No hole here, just a pulled thread-thank goodness.

The whole house is hung with wet woolly stuff. It smells like a barn in here.

I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea to wash all my socks at once but I did. I also didn't think about what the cats were going to make of all this once it is lights out. Tomorrow morning should be interesting.

All Tied Up

I love clothespins. I use them all the time for lots of things.

 I discovered another use when I was threading all those heddles for my latest weaving project. Trying to keep track of how many of this and how many of that was mind boggling so they helped me keep count of bundles. They also keep me from having to tie and untie hundreds of little knots.

 I also tie everything and its brother up in order to know where I've been.

 It's all coming along nicely now and I have to admit I really enjoy this part of the process.It's fiddly but it's relaxing. I am still scared silly at actually weaving this stuff so it's probably going to sit here for a while until I can work up the nerve to move forward.

Orange and Black

Two short weeks before Rhinebeck, Knit Picks had an amazing sale on all of their orange and black yarn. You don't want to spend the grocery money on yarn right before a big fiber fest but I couldn't stop myself when I saw the prices.

At 40% off, I couldn't resist. A pair of socks for $6? Sold.

I have always wanted a solid black shawl.

I now also have a cabled cardigan on my needles.

This one to be exact. It's White Pine by Amy Christoffers.

 It even has its own brand new see-thru project bag.

To get free shipping I had to add another few dollars in the cart. Who can't use more stitch markers?

 Now I am hoping they do the same thing at Christmas. Are you listening Knit Picks? How about a red and green sale sometime in November, huh?

Rhinebeck 2013: The Stuff

 I came home pretty empty handed this year. I had taken $100 to spend and for a while I thought I may come back home with most of it. As I said yesterday, the vendor barns were too hot and crowded to do any meaningful shopping. There was nothing I needed that much. Then I saw the crowd gathered around the outdoor basket vendor and I knew I found the thing I had to have. It was harder than I thought to get one, though. As soon as they hit the ground they were snatched up. People had armfuls of them but I did manage to get this one. I carried it around for the rest of the day filling it up with stuff and I loved it. I can see why they are so popular. I won't be attending anymore festivals without it.

I also found some lovely Cormo/Silk roving at Cottages on the Hudson. I let The Mister help me pick the color out and now that I look at it, I see the Miami Dolphin team colors which happen to be his favorite team. Hmmm....

 As usual, I walked my legs off to find some sock yarn to bring home. There was tons of it there to choose from but when you only want one skein of the coolest stuff you can find it becomes hard to make up your mind. I found this Merino Piggy Toes at Persimmon Tree Farms.

I also brought home a small sampling of local apples.

 

 One of my favorite things about Rhinebeck is the way it smells. The food choices are amazing but the lines are ridiculous. All I had to eat all day was this dried out pretzel and some maple candy. I also had a few sips of The Mister's beer. If I ever go again, I am hitting the beer tent first. That way I just may have a better time. 

The day wasn't a total bust. I did put a lot of mileage on the socks I brought along to knit but I've decided that this particular fest is too overwhelming for me. I think I'll be sticking to those below the Mason Dixon Line from now on. If you are looking for inspiration, Rhinebeck is the place to be but if you are looking to shop, come to Maryland in May. See you there!