Lightning Bugs in November?

Louis the Pug has his first handknit sweater!  It is a little bit too large for him at the moment, but I wanted a sweater that would fit him when he finished growing.  He looks a little like a Lightning bug or a wooly glow worm, but he is adorable in it. 

I have added a couple of pictures of finished projects I have done over the last couple of months.  There are more finished items to post, but I have to take "after" pictures of them.  One of the most exciting things I have knit lately has been the Starlight Shawl.  The knitting part is finished, all it needs is its fringe added. 

Time is flying by super fast.  I can't believe that Thanksgiving is just a little over 2 weeks away.  I have decided that I am NOT going to do a lot of Christmas knitting this year.  It always seems to turn a hobby that I absolutely love and turn to for stress relief into a source of stress and aggravation.  That is not to say that I won't do any Christmas knitting, I will just pick and choose a few handknit gifts to do instead of trying to make so many.  My knitting time is precious and what little of it there is is carved out of an already hectic schedule, so I don't really want to turn it into an exercise in frustration instead of an exercise in relaxation.  So who will I knit for and what will I knit?  Good question.  So many things I want to knit, so little time!

Found a New Yarn Shop!

The weather yesterday was beautiful!  After a long spell of temperatures in the upper 90's, we finally got a break.  The temps were in the mid 80's and the humidity had dropped to a much more tolerable level.  Rich and I were both off this weekend, so we decided to head up to one of the wineries that we had been wanting to visit, Rockbridge Winery.  We checked their website before we left and noticed a little link on the sidebar "what to do and where to stay."  Clicking on this link revealed a wonderful sight - a yarn shop not 4 miles from the winery!  We also saw a couple of other places of interest nearby we thought we might check out while we were in the area.  Little did we know that we were in for a glorious treat!  http://www.rockbridgevineyard.com/

Rockbridge Vineyards is located in Raphine, VA, not far from Lexington.  What a beautiful area!  We had a great time there sampling their delicious wines and relaxing in the porch swing in the picnic area.  After the winery, we headed down Raphine Rd. and continued on to what was without a doubt the most gorgeous garden we have ever seen at the Buffalo Springs Herb Farm.  We thought this little herb shop would be a quick 30 minute stop at most, but we were in for a big surprise!  Besides the little shop filled with wonderful things for gardeners, this place had a huge garden area filled with meandering pathways that take you through several different styles of gardens including the Mediterranean Garden, the Medieval Garden, the Celestial Garden, the Healing Garden, Paradise Garden and many others.  Besides these gardens, Buffalo Springs Herb Farm also offered a two mile long nature trail that took us by a lovely waterfall, and a peaceful labyrinth for quiet walking meditation.  What a relaxing and refreshing place!  I can't wait to go back!  http://www.buffaloherbs.com/

Continuing down Raphine Rd. we came to the place I was the most excited to see -- the Orchardside Yarn Shop.  This wonderful little yarn shop is located on a working orchard where blackberries are now in season.  There is a little babbling brook right in front of the shop and a family of geese was parading by.  One thing I noticed right away as we crossed the little bridge to the yarn shop was that the license plates from many of the cars were from out of state.  Once inside the yarn shop, I figured out why.  This amazing little yarn shop was filled with a fabulous selection of the most gorgeous yarns -- Fiesta, Debbie Bliss, Brown Sheep, Crystal Palace, Berroco, Noro, and many, many others.  Patterns and needles and knitting magazines abounded, and gorgeous knitted models adorned the shop.  There was a very welcoming area where some of the nicest people were happily knitting away and chatting.  Everyone there was super friendly and I thought I had died and gone to Yarn Shop Heaven!  I ended up buying some yarn that has been on my Yarn Wish List for a very long time -- I bought 2 hanks of Starburst La Boheme from Fiesta yarns in colorway Sapphire.  I also bought the shawl pattern to go with it.  I had seen this a long time ago in a magazine, and I had never forgotten it.  I had filed it away in my "Someday" Wish List.  Well, yesterday was that "Someday!"  There was a gorgeous shop model of this shawl elegantly draped over a rack, and I just could resist!  Now I must finish that Vibe Tote ASAP so that I can put those needles to use on that fabulous shawl!  http://www.oysyarnshop.com/  http://www.fiestayarns.com/html/4/index.shtml  (click on the La Boheme swatch -- top row, 4th from left and look for the Famous Shawl)  http://www.fiestayarns.com/html/2/index.shtml  (Starburst La Boheme is the 6th yarn swatch from the left on the top row)

Another stop we made was to Wades Mill which has been featured in the magazine Paula's Home Cooking.  It is another amazing little place filled with cool little hard to find kitchen gadgets.  Time was running short on us, so we had to cut the visit to the Mill a bit too short.  :(  But we plan to go back to Raphine for sure very soon!  A stop in Lexington on the way home to eat at The Palms Restuarant topped off our wonderful, relaxing day in the beautiful Virginia countryside.  http://www.wadesmill.com/   http://www.thepalmslexington.com/index.htm

Louis the Pug

Here are a couple of pictures of Louis taken right after we got him.  He is bigger now, but not by much.  He is a little sweetie, as you can see!  He already has begging and pitiful looks down to an art form.  He snores when he sleeps and snorts when he plays and he is without a doubt one of the most entertaining pets I have ever seen.  He is a real character!  I think that such a character deserves to dress like one, so I have been searching around looking for the perfect doggie sweater pattern, and I came across this free one from the Lion Brand Yarn website:

http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/kff-dogSweater.html

So I guess there is yet another addition to my "Waiting In The Wings" knitting list!  And of course, another trip to buy the yarn to knit it!  Of course, there is no real rush to start this one with the temps hovering at 100 degrees yet again and no relief in sight according to the latest weather report. 

I am off today, and I plan to do some knitting on a project I started during vacation.  We took a couple of day trips during our vacation, and I managed to increase my already "Outta Control Yarn Stash."  Two of those projects that I bought the yarn for, I have actually started working on.  One is the Vibe tote I mentioned in the last entry, and the other is a pair of Geisha socks. 

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/vibe_tote/vibe_tote.html

http://www.spunmag.com/article/050605socks

I came across the pattern for these socks a couple of months ago, and I had to knit them.  What a great idea -- socks you can wear with flip flops!  As soon as I saw them, I thought "I gotta have them!"

Speaking of "gotta have," I got an email from Patternworks which featured new items.  Among those new items were these:

http://www.patternworks.com/PWShopping/partsview.asp?action=lookup&partno=256&subject=U301&catpos=1

Wow!  Gotta have em!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

It's been a very busy few months since my last entry!  Rich and I are settling into married life very nicely.  The time has just flown by.  We have added to our little family by adopting a Pug puppy we named Louis!  He is absolutely adorable!  We now have my two cats, Cotton and Harley, Rich's dog Pepper, and now Louis.  Our days are pretty hectic, as you can imagine!  I have a longer trip to work now, and I started a small herb garden back in April, so I have lots to do when I finally get home from work in the evenings. 

I have been doing some knitting during this time, of course!  I try to get a little bit of knitting in daily, usually at lunchtime at work.  I have finished a Booga Bag, as well as a couple of other items that I will talk about in future entries.  And of course, I have bought more yarn!!!!  I bought some gorgeous novelty yarn in Gatlinburg on our honeymoon and I have added to it some glittery eyelash from my "Outta Control Yarn Stash" and have started a scarf out of that.  I have also bought some yarn on a recent trip to Charlottesville where I discovered a delightful yarn shop that I previously had not known existed! 

http://www.itsastitchcville.com/

 I have also managed to visit Backstitches, my LYS, and picked up some Berrocco Vibe and I am currently working on a tote bag on my lunch break with that. There are several projects waiting in the wings, several stalled projects, several on hold projects and a bunch I am trying to work on all at the same time (so what's new about that??!?!)  Some things change, but some things always stay the same, don't they? 

I am still here!

I have not been keeping up with my poor blog like I should, but there is a good reason, I can assure you of that!  I have been very busy going through and getting rid of old clothes and other items and packing up everything else.  I am moving.  That is the bad news -- moving is always a horrible chore!  But the good news is the reason why I am moving.  Rich and I are getting married!  He asked me to marry him back in December, and we set the date for this April in Gatlinburg, TN.  Now that date is just a little over 2 weeks away!  For the last month or so, I have been busily packing up yarn, books, yarn, knick knacks, yarn, etc. to try to move as much as possible before we get back.  It is really hard to empty a place when you are still living in it!  But I am at the point now that if I don't absolutely have to have it in the next 2 weeks, then it goes this weekend or next.  Of course, several knitting bags are staying!  I have actually found time to do a bit of knitting, usually right before bed to relax and unwind a bit.  I have been trying to knit myself a shawl to wear with my dress on the day of the wedding if it is a bit chilly.  This crazy weather here can't decide if it is winter or spring.  Today it is snowing but tomorrow will be in the 50's with temps back into the 60's by Monday.  Two weeks ago today, it was in the mid 80's.  Gatlinburg will be no different, I am sure, so a knitted shawl is a must!  So I won't be posting very much until we get back and get settled, but I will try to update at least once in a while.  I will have to at least post a pic of the finished shawl!  Well, back to packing!

What Season Is It, Anyway???

What a crazy weather roller coaster ride we have been on this week!  One of the pictures above shows what it looked like outside just a week ago today.  It had snowed 6 inches.  That would not be all that remarkable (it is winter after all!) except that the temperatures the week before and this past week were almost 70 degrees!  By Wednesday, every last trace of the snow had melted away.  Yesterday my sister and niece Katie and I went walking on the bike trail in just shirt sleeves.  The temperature was in the upper 60's.  This morning I woke up to snow flurries, and just about an hour ago, the snow really started coming down and now everything is covered.  The hurried "Updated Forecast" now calls for up to 3 inches of snow today.  So, I guess before I head outside I had better drag the heavy coat and mittens and scarves back out!  It sure is pretty to watch, though.  Makes me want to sit and knit! :) 

Speaking of knitting, here is a picture of Juanita with her new scarf on.  It was knit out of Bernat Disco in the color Glad It's Night.  A friend at work has asked me to knit a scarf and hat for her mother for her birthday in March.  I really, really, really want to get away from knitting just scarves for a while and go back to those bags as well as some other "non scarf" items.  One of the things that I really want to knit from is this: 

http://www.berroco.com/galleries/gallery_244/index_244.html

I like most all of these patterns, but the one I really want to do first is the last one as you scroll down on the left -- Megan in Cotton Twist.  My LYS, Backstitches, carries Berrocco yarns and patterns, and I feel a visit to them coming on!  But of course there are so many things I want to knit!  So why did I say "yes" when someone asked me to knit them another scarf?!?!??!?!  I guess because scarves are fast and easy and portable and I can work on them during my lunch hour.  And I am a sucker for the word "Please!"  Oh well, just this one more! 

Still Catching Up

Just a quick post tonight.  I thought that I would add a few more pictures from Christmas.  The first one is Megan, the Family Drama Queen posing in her sequined scarf.  It was done out of Berrocco Laser FX and Trendsetter Perla .  The second picture is of one of my other nieces, Shelby.  Her scarf was knit out of 2 strands of white Lion Brand Fun Fur held together with a strand of white Fancy Fur with the colored slubs.  The last picture is of Cheryle and her knitted capelet.  The pattern is a free one from the Lion Brand Yarn website and the yarn was Lion Brand Jiffy in the color El Paso.  It is really pretty in person.  It reminds me of the trees on a beautiful autumn day. 

I finished knitting the Moonlight Wrist Warmers, but I have not finished sewing them up yet.  I just don't know where all the time goes!  I also finished the Glad It's Night Scarf, but I did not get any pictures of it before I gave it to Juanita last Sunday.  I will get some pictures of her modeling it for me this weekend when we go over there. 

Well, that's it for tonight.  Maybe if I hurry, I can get those wrist warmers sewn up tonight before bedtime! 

Where Has The Time Gone?????

It is hard to believe that January is almost over already!  Much has already happened since 2006 began.  Some good things, some not so good things.  But hopefully life is getting back to normal now (whatever that is!) 

One of my new year's resolutions this year is to spend more time knitting.  I did just that this past week with an old friend of mine, Ronni.  She emailed me a couple of weeks ago with the exciting news that she has just learned to knit!  We got together in the coffeeshop of a local bookstore on Monday after work and we caught up on each other's lives and of course, knit!  It was a great way to relax and spend an afternoon.  We hope to make it a regular event.  Backstitches, our LYS has started a knitting group on the first and third Thursdays of the month, but so far Ronni and I have not been able to catch one.  We hope to soon, though.  I think it would be great to get together with a group of knitters and see what everyone is working on. 

I have many knitting pictures to share.  I will start tonight with a couple of Christmas gifts -- Kayla's baby poncho and Katie's scarf.  Kayla's poncho was knit out of Bernat Breeze with 2 colors of fun fur for the trim.  Katie's scarf was made out of Bernat Matrix held together with Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair.  I also wanted to show the first thing I knit in 2006.  It was a scarf for my dear friend, Debbie.  She had some minor surgery, and I knit the scarf to take to her during a recent visit.  The scarf was knit with Lucci metallic ribbon.  I have also been working on a pair of wristwarmers out of Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair, a Glad It's Night scarf for Juanita out of Bernat Disco, and I have just started another Booga bag made out of Noro Kureyon. I am also still knitting on the Farmer's Market Tote #1.  Now that has been a very interesting piece of knitting!  But I will save that story for another day!