Time to Focus

As to be expected, the weekend whizzed right by.  I had high hopes of accomplishing a week's worth of work in a couple days, but Monday morning dawned right on schedule.  My desk is still cluttered, and my workroom is a jumble.  I helped a friend move over the weekend - time that could have been spent on tidying up.  When you own a truck, you're always first to get the call.  It was time well spent.

Knitting was at the top of my weekend list, and I did manage to carve out time for that.  My plans for holiday knitting are a little fuzzy right now.  Since we turned the calendar page to December, I should probably pull those plans into focus.

I do have a couple projects that are definite, so I took a break from knitting and did a bit of winding.  While I was at it, I may have wound a ball earmarked for myself.  I'm really tempted by a sweater right now, so indulging in only one ball of sock yarn felt very virtuous.

Back to work.  It's Monday, and the workroom is waiting for me.

Holiday Success

After a successful holiday yesterday, I'm ready to take the weekend off.  Or, at the very least, not do any cooking.  We had an enjoyable, relaxing day with all the kids and a couple friends thrown in for good measure.  

Our gathering included a mix of teens and young adults, and at one point I sat back and listened to their conversations.  They discussed everything from video games to movies to books to the correct use of who and whom.  I admit I was lost during the gaming discussion, but my ears perked up when the conversation shifted to grammar.  

This was a discussion that English majors relish, and I was not about to miss an opportunity to stress the important distinction between these two misunderstood words.  It was a hard sell to a generation that substitutes the letter z for s with reckless abandon.  My argument was lost on most of them, but I was encouraged by one young adult who sided with me.  There is hope for the English language.

We had plenty of food, and then there was pie.  I always bake a crazy number of pies, but this year I added one more to the mix.

Rustic Caramel Apple Tart.  While my pie wasn't nearly as pretty as the recipe pictures, I'd venture a guess that it tasted just as good. This pie was a hit, and gave the blueberry cream stiff competition for Most Favorite Pie status.  This apple, caramel, cream cheese concoction has definitely earned a permanent spot in the holiday pie lineup.

This morning I lingered over coffee.

After a couple false starts, the birthday cowl is up and running.  I played with the numbers and made adjustments several times, so the rest should be easy . . . until I get to the end, realize my math was off and run out of yarn.  Until that happens, I'm going to bask in success, even if it is only temporary.

I'm off to settle in with more coffee and my knitting but leave you with my color inspiration for the week.

Simple shades.

Zephyr Cove

Last week I finished my Zephyr Cove.  After a quick bath and blocking, it was ready for the weekend trip to Vermont.

This design has three sections and is finished with a lace border.  

Zephyr Cove moved right along.  As soon as I tired of one section, it was time to shift gears and move on to the next one - from solid garter to stripes to short rows.

Throw in a picot edge and you have an entertaining project.

This asymmetrical shawl has an overall crescent shape, so it stays in place without a lot of fuss.  

The yarn is Dirty Water DyeWorks Bertha, colorways Bee Hive and Slate.  Both of these have been available only at shows but will be posted to the website soon.

This shawl is substantially long from tip to tip.  Bertha is a soft yarn with plenty of drape, so it doesn't feel heavy or cumbersome.

I made one slight modification.

I added the whimsical owl bead to the tip of the Bee Hive section.

It's a Wrap

I spent the weekend at Green Mountain Fiber Festival, and for me, the fall fiber festival season is now officially over.  Not only did I completely empty my suitcase, I packed it away.  It needs a rest.

This event was held at the Wilder Center, an old church that's been restored and converted into a multi-purpose facility.

The main auditorium space used to be the sanctuary and still has a beautiful pipe organ.  I would have been delighted to listen to organ music, but I don't think we had an organist among us.

The weekend market included an eclectic mix of fiber artists.

There were beautiful buttons made with embroidery cotton and yarn.

Handsome baskets.

Colorful hooked rugs.

Mix in a healthy dose of yarn and fiber, and you have a well-rounded fiber festival.

To top it off, I stayed at the Hotel Coolidge.

This historic hotel dates back to the booming railroad days.

The hallways are wide, the railings are substantial, and there's a real fireplace in the lobby.  

Even the creaky floors are charming.  

After staying in numerous cookie-cutter hotels, this was a real treat.  If you ever need a place to stay in White River Junction, be sure to check out the Hotel Coolidge.

And now it's time to shift gears.  To help with the transition, I think I'll do a little dyeing.

In Between

I'm lingering over my morning coffee before I hit the road a little later. I've been contemplating my weekend knitting.  I still haven't sorted out my daughter's cowl - see previous blog post.  I'm taking it with me, but it needs more tweaking before it's up and running.  The reality is I may not have much tweaking time this weekend.  

Zephyr Cove is finished and blocking as I write this, and I don't have many other projects already in progress.  I've been longing to start a sweater, but yesterday I came to my senses.  Since I hadn't settled on a pattern, it wasn't feasible to get that project going before I travel. Anyway, I probably should focus on other things before I tackle a sweater for myself.

So to keep me busy this weekend, I started a new sock.

Just a plain sock.  Around and around without much thought.  Enough to keep me entertained between bigger projects.

My color inspiration this week goes hand in hand with the new sock.

Mustard yellow.

The Task at Hand

My teenagers have no sense of time.  They are ready to leave for an event 10 minutes before it starts even though I've told them we need to allow at least 30 minutes for traffic and parking.  For some reason, they think I can miraculously whisk them away and get them to their destination on time.  It never happens.  By the end of the drive, I've turned into a crabby cab driver.

Last weekend my daughter handed me this skein with instructions that she wanted me to make her a cowl.  She was even kind enough to point me in the direction of the pattern.

I explained that she chose lovely yarn, but the pattern calls for a different weight.  She gave me her vote of confidence with, "I'm sure you can figure it out."

So that's what I'm doing today . . . calculating and recalculating the gauge and stitch count to make it all work.  The time frame for this little project?  Just over two weeks because, of course, my daughter wants this cowl for her birthday.  I definitely need more coffee.

From Trash to Treasures

I've been catching up on domestic duties.  It seems that I let a few things slide this fall.  The fact that I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner next week is a strong motivator to get my house in order.  

This past weekend I found myself sifting and sorting through a bin of miscellaneous items that had accumulated over time . . . a random collection of this and that.  Each and every item had to either find a new home or end up in the trash.  I was determined to empty the bin.

I threw away a fair amount, rescued a couple useful items and gathered clothes to give away.  Tossing unwanted things always feels so liberating.  I should probably do it more often.  In the process I discovered a couple treasures.  

I salvaged these adorable little buttons from a sweater that couldn't be saved.  I don't have anything in mind for them right now, so they'll go into my button box.  Some day these will come in handy.

At the very bottom of the bin I found this little bead.

My daughter says I bought the owl at a fiber festival, but I don't know how he landed in the bin.  He seems quite content on my Zephyr Cove.  I might have to find a way to make him a permanent fixture on the shawl.

If you're in the Boston area, on Wednesday night I'll be at Bead + Fiber in the South End for a yarn tasting.  It promises to be a fun evening.