Happy Halloween!

Tonight the sheep specters will descent upon the hills of heathered hanks to give fine fibers to all the knitters who believe in gauge swatches and blocking before sewing up.

I've got my sweater all ready. Have you?

Gettin' ready for the paaartay!

Oh yeah! It's time for another teenaged house party. This time for Halloween. Preparations consist of cleaning house and stocking up on pop and chips. Not much else is needed as these kids bring their own sense of fun and plenty of noise. (Oh the noise, Noise, NOISE!)

But there are also other preparations going on for a much quieter party.  A blocking party:

Oh yes! I have entirely finished knitting my Eadon cardigan. And this blocking party is to be shortly followed by a sewing party.What fun! I love me a nice straight mattress stitch seam.

What's for dinner?

It's Arnold Shwartzenchicken.

We're here to plump you up!

Productive Weekend

We had a major milestone this weekend as Jim ripped up the old flooring in our living room and installed new laminate. Our old floor was an engineered hardwood floor that was scratched by Dexter's toe nails and had suffered water damage in multiple locations. We also had carpet in the main living area that used to be an off white but had graduated to an indescribable level of filth. Not that we didn't try at first, but at some point I think we gave up, knowing that the flooring had to be replaced.

Jim started with the landing, so I snapped a shot showing both the old and new.

And here's the whole room finished.

I think it looks very cozy. While Jim was working hard, I went shopping and bought the area rug and the drapes. I know, I've got it rough... :p

There's still go the kitchen-dining room left to go. Jim worked all day to get the one room done on Saturday (assisted by both of his sons, who made very little complaint and were actually helpful (small miracle)), and figures that the next room will be even harder. I know he'll get it done before Christmas though, and that makes me very happy.

So now I have a new background for knitting pictures. First up the project I bought the yarn for on Wednesday and then finished up on Monday.... it's a Curly Horse Hat. (Details on Ravelry, follow the link.)

And also finished is another pair of handspun, hand knit socks.

These will be for my Mom and Dad, so yeah, I am rockin' the early Christmas knits. Winner!

Rosie

The weather this Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada is just incredible. The sun is shining as though it were June. The quality of the light is so clear, it has saturated the colors in my photos. Here is Rosie, my latest Fiber Fish mitten to be a store sample for Cotton by Post:

The colors are really not so harsh, but are a pleasant rosie pinky-red. This mitten was a pleasure to knit because of the beautiful yarn. I've also been talked in to giving classes based on the pattern. I'm thankful that won't start until the new year because right now I'm so terribly busy with work.

This week my knitting was a comedy of errors. I needed to be at Waterloo for three days this week instead of my usual two. That meant two knit nights with Paula and so I packed accordingly; that is, my Eadon right front, almost ready for the collar, and two pairs of socks-in-progress, just in case. And predictably I forgot my knitting bag in London.

I needed something to work on, so I planned to make a trip in to Shall We Knit? for yarn and needles. My co-worker Kate told me I had a problem, if I couldn't go 48 hours without some knitting. Gentle readers, I know you understand. I told her I didn't have a problem and she replied that all the addicts say that. Well. 

I left work a bit early to get to Shall We Knit? before the store closed and picked out what I needed for a new project. When I got to Cambridge I found that Andy was heading out for knit night at All Strung Out in Guelph and I was welcome to come along! If I hadn't left work early to buy yarn, I would have got his email informing me of this and would have been able to buy yarn at All Strung Out.

I tell you, yarn store owners are a gracious bunch and deserve all the support and care we can give them. Paula didn't mind me knitting Shall We Knit yarn in her store, and Karen at Shall We Knit? said, "Oh we like them at All Strung Out." when I pulled the wrong business card out of my wallet as I made my purchase.

So for this Thanking I'm grateful to live near such fabulous yarn shops, for an abundance of choice and a good job that lets me indulge my addiction. Fishy kisses to all the yarn store owners!

Connecting the Generations

My mother-in-law Cynthia is now 87 and has reduced her knitting output. She finds it difficult to hold a pattern in her head she told me, but felt that she had one more teddy bear left in her. So I gave her some of my handspun and asked her if she would make that last teddy bear for me and that I would save it aside for any future grandchildren that I might have.

She must have really liked that idea because in short order there was this:

Doesn't she look pleased with herself?! And it turns out that this will not be the last of the bears coming from her needles. She asked me for more yarn because her therapist has requested four more bears for the therapist's grandchildren. Jim said "Smart therapist."

I'm happy to keep my mother-in-law in yarn for as long as she wants. Even if her preferred type is acrylic.