Yarn Along

Brickless is one repeat from being complete.  It's hard to photograph now in its unblocked state.  It just kinda looks like a big ball of grey.  I started another pair of socks with some gradient yarn from Play At Life. I love this yarn.

I'm doing toe up again to make the most out of the colors. 

It's my current travel project since Brickless is getting a little unruly to carry around. 

No reading except for some magazines here and there. I'm trying to catch up on old issues of Spin Off. 

What's on your needles?  Come join us over at Ginny's!

Ten on Tuesday

Vacation is months away for me but Carole just returned from a fabulous one and is thinking about the things she missed while she was away.  It's tough to come back to reality sometimes isn't it?  There are things that I miss while I'm away and I'm happy to come back to though. 10 Good Things About Coming Home From Vacation:

1.  Seeing my dog and cat.  The cat has the attitude at first then she warms up.  The dog - well, he's a dog and is excited just to be alive.  He's always happy.
2.  My bed.  I don't sleep quite the same while I'm away.
3.  My routine.  There's something about doing the usual things each day that is comforting.
4.  My computer.  I do my main things on my iPad or phone, but some things really do require my computer.
5.  My TV.  I enjoy sitting and knitting at the end of the day in front of my TV catching up on my DVR'd shows.
6.  My parents.  Sometimes they come with us on vacation.  Sometimes they don't.  It's good to come back and have Sunday dinners again.
7.  Home cooked meals. Eating out all the time is great but I am happy to come back to our regular cooking.
8.  Depending on the time of year - my garden.  I love to see how much grew while we were away (aside from the weeds).
9.  My car.  When it comes to driving I AM a control freak and want to do the driving.  I really miss my own car when I'm away.
10.  My house.  There's nothing more comfortable than sitting on my own worn couch!

Weekending

The weather wasn't much to speak of but we made the best of it at CT Sheep and Wool.

So many Spring colors to look at even though we were dressed in our Winter woollies. 

The demonstrators were interesting. 

Some very cool weaving. 

It made me want to go home and warp my loom. 

I just loved all these colors hanging together. 

Thoughts on this wheel?  My hubby is obsessed. 

My one and only fiber purchase. Alpaca. So soft. And I love the colors. Ocean blues. 

This woman had some nice gradients. I am definitely adding her to my Etsy Watch list. 

I controlled myself. This is the first festival of the season - I need to pace myself ya know. 

So what happened over your weekend?

The Twins

The fraternal socks are complete. 

I have one word for them. Love. 

The fiber was a fun spin. And the yarn was a great knit. It. Is. So. Soft. 

I loved knitting toe up and got great usage out of the yarn. I actually had too much yarn unless I wanted knee socks so I had to improvise a bit. 

I spent last Saturday out in the sun finishing them and photographing. It was a beautiful day. 

It doesn't sound like this Saturday will be as sunny. Sounds like lots of rain and that's kind of a bummer for the first Sheep and Wool Festival in CT. 

It's not stopping us though. Enjoy your weekend!

This Week In My Kitchen

Strange week in my kitchen - not so much cooking was done as there was visiting.  But I managed to capture a couple of shots.  Joining Heather for the blog hop.  Please join us!  My apologies but somehow my post is appearing in Heather's links a couple of times - not too sure what I did wrong!

Yarn Along

It took a few days but my yarn finally dried.  The skein was so bulky (although the yarn is not) it took some time.

It's really thinner than I wanted but it's working.

Brickless #3 is on the needles and moving along.

You can really see the color changes even though the picture doesn't represent it very well.  Of course it's raining today so light is not in my favor.  It all looks kinda grey instead of blue.

I can't wait to block this one.  It's magical in any project but this one especially seems to need it.

Joining Ginny on this Wednesday.

Weekending

Yard work (ok - y'all know I wasn't the one doing THAT)

Let me rephrase - supervising yard work

Checking out what's growing and what's not

Sitting by the water and knitting 

Trying to keep the dog from going into the water

And of course there was a visit from the Easter Bunny.  He's quick at our house - he drops it all in a basket and let's us pick what we want. Such a smart bunny!

How was your weekend?

This Week In My Kitchen

I'm linking up this week with Heather as we take a glimpse into each others kitchens.  It's like having a quick cyber-visit.  Feel free to join in the fun and share what's going on in your kitchen these days.  No words necessary - just pictures.

Yarn Along

The prayer shawl is moving right along

It's really hard to photograph at this point because it's getting kind of long. 

It feels so light and airy which is a good thing since my friend lives in Florida. 

My plan was to get some nice shots outside this morning. 

But I wasn't fighting the snow and wind. 

Happy Spring!!

Joining Ginny. 

10 On Tuesday

We got some more Spring like weather this past weekend which meant we spent some time outside. Carole's ToT this week is coincidentally 10 Things I Like To Do Outside. Let's see...

1.  Listen to the stream in the back yard.  This time of year is the best because there aren't leaves on the trees to muffle the sound and it's so much louder than in the summertime.
2.  Knit.  This seems so obvious but the natural lighting makes my eyes happy.
3.  Spin - of course.  I love to sit and get some sunshine while I listen to my Podcasts and spin away.
4.  Have a fire in the firepit.  We haven't done this yet, though most people have.  It's simply too windy by us (another downfall about living near the water - the constant wind) and it's not really safe.
5.  Hang clothes outside.  I love how they smell after being in the fresh air.
6.  Eat dinner on the deck.  There's nothing like a good dinner on the grill and getting to eat outside.
7.  Hike.  We were just talking about going real soon.  The mud season should be almost over.
8.  Play with the dog.  He loves being outside and it's hilarious to see him run till his hearts desire.
9.  Go to the Farmer's Market.  We have an indoor one all year, but the outdoor ones just seem more authentic to me.
10.  Take pictures.  I find it so much easier to capture good shots outside.

Do share - what do you like to do outside?

Weekending

As always, the weekend flew by!  I cannot believe it's Monday already.

It was a full one though
We went to a Providence Bruins hockey game
Spent some time outside making decisions about where to put the gardens this year
I actually read for an hour straight
Hung out with mom at her store for a while
(And for those of you who guessed she was the lady on the left Friday - you were correct)
Sunday was the big RI YARN CRAWL
Where I only went to a few stores
And bought NOTHING (did you hear that?)
Spent the rest of the day spinning at the farm and completed the yarn for my next Brickless

I ended up with about 425 yards.  It's not as soft as I was hoping.

I think it will work though.  It's so hard to see the different shades of blue.

I'm sure it will be more noticeable when it's knit up.

How was your weekend?

Paint and Vino

First - thank you ALL for your thoughts and prayers for my friend Cathy.  I will be talking to her this weekend and will pass along all your good wishes.  It is truly appreciated.  Y'all got me teary-eyed.

Now onto some humor.  After seeing so many people enjoying these Paint and Wine nights I decided to take my mom.  While she isn't much of a drinker she is a good artist and I knew she would enjoy it.

My mom invited my stepmom (yes, we are one of those odd families where the parents and step parents all get along pretty well - I consider myself very blessed) and off we went to paint. Mom picked Starry Night which wasn't my favorite, but being the artist that she is, she knew it wouldn't be too difficult for me or my stepmom to paint.

We had a blast.  And the paintings?  Not too terrible.

Considering I had never painted before it wasn't too bad.  And to be honest, I can't wait to do it again.  I found it very relaxing.  And immediate gratification for sure.

And here's a group shot. Can you guess who is the mom and who is the stepmom?

Have a great weekend!

Yarn Along

I know you are expecting to see pictures of finished socks in bright colors.  But I don't have any.  I haven't finished them. I was moving right along last week and getting real close to finishing.  But then I got word that an old friend was sick.  Really sick.  And my brain shut down.  It took me a day or so to get it together but I knew what I wanted to do.  Knit her a prayer shawl.

I'm sort of making it up as I go along and combining patterns that I have.  I'm using some hand spun stash that I had been saving for something special.

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The only needles I had in size 13 are bamboo so this seems to be slowing me down a bit.  But I think God knew what he was doing.  As I knit slowly I pray for her and that she can recover from all of this.  I know she can.  She says she is going to beat this.

If you would send healing thoughts, prayers, and energy to her it would be awesome too.  Her name is Cathy and I know she appreciates it.

Joining Ginny.