Merry Christmas, Happy Yule!

Hubby and I are blessed that we get to have our son with us this Christmas, thanks to our lovely soon to be DIL:  she got him plane tickets to come home for the holidays.

Sadness that we couldn't have our daughter with us as well, but we know that she is surrounded by our love, and spending the day with her wonderful boyfriend.

May this day bring peace and love to all, and promise.

This and that

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time, with the exception that our kids weren't with us.  But we did have a friend from Tulsa come visit, so that was nice.  :)

I was diagnosed with pneumonia on Black Friday, yay.  Started meds, didn't really cut it, went to work on the Monday, overdid it, and ended up even worse.  Got new meds which I think are starting to kick this, but I did take the rest of the week off work.

My hubby is taking really good care of me.  The folks at his work even sent me flowers!

Getting some knitting done, not doing any chores, and just trying to get better.  I hate being sick.

I love how this turned out!

Adelaide is done

All the ends are woven in, the armholes seamed up, and only the soaking and blocking are left.  I did, of course, try it on --- it fits like a dream!!!

I need to practice taking selfies, because all of them so far of me wearing this marvel are horrid.  So until the time I can get a decent pic, here are the latest.

The Yoke's on Me!

Well, almost, lol.  I've started the yoke pattern -- won't be long now.  :)

Body meets limbs

Yes!!!  I've reached the place where the body and the arms are now joined onto the same needle.  A few more rounds and some short row shaping, then onto the color yoke pattern.  Very excited!!

These 8 stitches on each underarm are the only seams to be had.  :)

the long slog ahead

So, it begins.  The sweater waistband is finished and the endless body knitting starts.  Round and round, and round and ........  but the yarn is scrumptious and I love it, won't be long before I can add the color back in.  

Progress

Both sleeves are done now, and I cast on for the body.  However, careful as I was, I still managed to twist the join, so had to rip out and start over.  lol, no big, I hadn't gotten very far before I noticed it. Knit on!

Sleeve #1 complete

What do you think of the colors?

It's a bit more vibrant than I had envisioned......lol.

I love this yarn

The initial swatch is knitted and out from its soak, drying.  Wouldn't it be great if the first swatch actually met gauge?  LOL

It has..... Arrived!

Yay, my yarn came today.  I did a test swatch of the fair isle sleeve pattern, to make sure I liked the colors together.  I do!  I might not be able to cast on tomorrow evening, because it's our 31st wedding anniversary and we're going out, but for sure on Thursday.  :)

Come on, yarn!

I ordered my yarn with two day delivery, but it's business days, so I have to wait until Monday, or might even be Tuesday!!!!!   Argh, me wants my precioussssss yarnses NOW!

Adelaide colors chosen!

KnitPicks is having a sale on their City Tweed aran weight, and I couldn't resist ordering at such a discount. These are the colors I chose for the pattern:

Basil

Lemon Curd

Plum Wine

Rhubarb

And this will be the main color:

Tahitian Pearl

Finished Fish

Yep, Fishy is done, and I love the way he turned out.  I really hope that Tyler likes it, and that it fits okay.  :)

Something smells fishy!

There's a bee in my bonnet to knit something NOW, because I can't afford the wool yet for the Adelaide sweater.  LOL, instant gratification anyone?

So, last weekend began the cast on for the Dead Fish Hat by Thelma Egberts.  I rummaged through stash, found plenty from which to choose, and began this amusing doddle for my daughter's boyfriend's little boy, Tyler.

The hat is complete, except for my most hated part, the weaving in of the ends.  I also need to put the eyes on, once I've washed and blocked the fishy.

9/11

Remembering and honoring.......

Weaving

I want to learn how to weave.  Ravelry has some brilliant examples of weaving on their home page, and it's peaking my interest.  Might look around for a small used loom..... :)

I found it!

I've been salivating after a fair isle sweater I saw on Facebook recently, and in the last week I actually found the pattern on Ravelry.  It's Adelaide, designed by Kate Gagnon Osborn.  The pattern was included in a book of vintage knits with modern twists:

That's Adelaide, on the cover.  I love the colors chosen, so I'll try to get the same when I order the yarn.  It calls for The Fibre Company's Terra (40% baby alpaca, 40% merino wool, 20% silk) and I'm going to save up to buy the yarn the pattern was written for.

There are plenty of additional great patterns inside, with at least two others that beg me to be knitted.  Who am I to tell them no?  :)

Up North!

We're back from our vacation and I surely wish it could go on for longer....  le sigh.  Here's a run down of what we did.  We met up with our good friends Jim and Melanie Burke, and they took us around each day, being wonderful tour guides.  They come back to Petoskey, MI, every year.

Saturday, Aug. 17
Niagara Falls, Ontario















Sunday, Aug. 18
Arrive at Petoskey, Michigan, KOA.  We had the Deluxe Cabin, with A/C, gas fireplace, own bathroom and shower, and a kitchen with fridge, microwave, and two burner ceramic cooktop.  Very comfortable! We all went to the Noggin Room Pub in Charlevoix.

Monday, Aug. 19
Had lunch at the Charlevoix Weathervane Restaurant, situated on the waterfront, where we got to watch the drawbridge go up to allow tall masted ships to pass through. I had my first Michigan Perch.  Yummy!! Walked around Harbor Springs, shopped, ate Kilwin's ice cream.  Ate dinner at the Petoskey Brewing Company.  Enjoyed the first fire pit evening of the trip at Mel's folks campsite.














Tuesday, Aug. 20
Began the day at the Brutus Camp Deli for breakfast.  Then on to Mackinac Island!  Rode the Shepler's Ferry out to the Island, saw the Big Mac Bridge on the way, and took the horse drawn carriage tour when we got there.  No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, except for the police force, fire department, and ambulance. Richard and I rented a tandem bicycle and enjoyed biking around the perimeter of the island, about 7.2 miles.  It was grand fun!  Never have I seen so many bicycles in one place in my entire life.

While we were taking the carriage tour, Jim and Mel rode their bikes around the island.  They did it again with us as we went around on the bicycle-built-for-two.  :)

We lunched at the Pink Pony, where I became enamored with the Rum Runners.  Tasty!  The lunch was fantastic.  Went back there for drinks after our bike ride and was lucky enough to see a tall ship sail in, a replica of the US Brig Niagara (although built with as much of the original ship as possible).

There was shopping on the island, and fudge, lots of fudge.  LOL. We came away with a few pounds of the magical stuff.

After getting back from the Island, we had a late dinner at the Side Door.


Wednesday, Aug. 21
Scored my first winery in Michigan:  Mackinaw Trail Winery.  Came away with a box full, and a bottle of Ice Wine.  Ate lunch at the City Park Grill, then went back to the KOA to get into our swim togs.  Time for a dip in Lake Michigan!


We spent about an hour bobbing around in the water, which was a balmy 60-62 degrees. Refreshing.  lol  I'm actually pointing as Jim and Melanie, who were out deeper in the lake than I was at the time.  It took me a bit to work up the courage to go full immersion, but I did it!

Dinner was at the Polish restaurant, the Legs Inn. We went with Mel's parents, Larry and Nonnie, and man, are they a hoot!!  Such a lovely pair of folks.



Thursday, Aug. 22
Kinda rested today, slept in and then went to Mitchell Street Pub for lunch.Took an afternoon nap.  Had a camp fire and hot dogs and smores for dinner. Got to meet the Activities Director, Ray Baginski and his wife, Gerry.  He took up painting in his 70s and hasn't looked back.  Met a lovely couple from Canada, Chris and Melanie.  They were very funny and we heard a lot of "eh's" from Chris.

Friday, Aug. 23
Last full day....  sadness.  But.. the day contained Wine!  We went around the wineries of Northern Michigan.  First off was lunch at the Apache Trout Grill.  I had the whitefish and it was marvelous.  First winery was the Ciconne Vineyard and Winery.  This is the winery that Madonna bought for her parents. Cool.  Next up, Willow Vineyards, then Black Star Farms.  After that, a change of pace:  Tandem Ciders. Last stop was the Leelanau Cellars.  Yes, I bought from all of them.  I did and I'm not ashamed!  LOL

After drinking our way through the countryside, we stopped at the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  It's amazing how steep the dunes are.  If you are brave enough (stupid enough?) to go down to the bottom, and you find you can't crawl yourself back up, the park rangers will come and rescue you, for a fee.

Dinner tonight was at Bay Harbor, the home of "new money", and ate at Knot Just a Bar.




Saturday, Aug. 24
Breakfasted again at Brutus Camp Deli, cleaned up our cabin and said our goodbyes.  We completely enjoyed our vacation to northern Michigan, and hope to go back again.

It's becoming that time!

And the time is tail end of summer, the hints of fall and winter..., and birthday/holiday knitting. I've just finished the scarflet for my friend Daune's birthday, in time for her party next Saturday.

Next on the list is to knit a baby hat for a neighbor's little girl, due in October.  I'm thinking of Christmas, as well.  Not completely sure, but I might be making funny ear flap hats for the kids in the family..we'll see if I have enough stash for all this.

6" x 35"

Very simple pattern:
4 sts moss, K2, YO, SSN to end, 4 sts moss
4 sts moss, purl to end, 4 sts moss
4 sts moss, K1, YO, SSN to end, K1, 4 sts moss
4 sts moss, purl to end, 4 sts moss
Garter stitch top and bottom as you please

  

Yes, the hole is meant to be there.  :)  It's to thread the end
of the scarf through for a perfect fit.

This is the truest representation of the colorway

Deadlines....

Working on an August 10 deadline for a good friend from the pub.  This lady is always chilly, even in summer she's wearing mock turtlenecks, and carrying a jacket.  So I'm knitting her a lightweight neck warmer, something that she can wear indoors and not have it be too heavy.

There was a neighborhood gathering last weekend and one of the ladies I haven't seen for ages is pregnant, due in late October.  She's having a little girl, so after the neck warmer is done, I'm going stash diving again to find some very soft girly colorway to make a little hat out of.

It's fun to have plans!!  :)

TAAT complete!

This was great, so great that I purchased more KnitPicks circs in longer lengths so I can knit more TAAT socks easily.  I will miss my bamboo DPNs and more than likely I will have some sock patterns that lend themselves more readily to DPNs than TAAT circs, but right now, I'm reveling in the joy that is no SSS (second sock syndrome).

Here they are, all finished and on my feet.  :)

Next up:  Cobasi by HiKoo in gold.....

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been floating on air and grinning from ear to ear since Sunday, July 14:  our son Roger asked his adorable girlfriend Chelsea to be his bride!  They are engaged!

We gots Heels, lol!

Used the short row method.  Color messed up again, grrr.

TAAT

I've learned that this is the acronym for Two-at-a-Time knitting.  :)   As much as I love my bamboo DPNs, I have to say that knitting socks TAAT on magic loop may become my favorite method.  I finished my first short row heel!  To assist in keeping count of the wraps, my iPhone came in very handy:  downloaded a simple Counter app.  Works like a charm!

See the little "poof" of a heel?  :)

Finally!  The color came out properly in the photo.

making progress :)

I'm loving this lace pattern.  Color is horrible in the picture, it should  be a lovely teal....

Yarny eyes are a'smiling!

My first attempt at knitting two socks at a time on one circular needle -- going well so far. This picture just makes me happy.  And apparently, the yarn agrees.

Happy 4th of July!

I stayed up late last night, watching old Charlie's Angels re-runs, and finishing up these socks.  They are in their soak right now, blocking next...

Self striping yarn - fraternal not identical.

Saturday in D.C.

Spent a wonderful day with my Hubby in D.C. yesterday.  We started at the Jefferson Memorial and walked all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial, seeing the sights along the path.  I love living this close to the nation's capital.