It's Getting to Look a Lot Like...........

While I was knitting purple hats and helping to plan a very special birthday party, the members of my quilt group were working on 80 Christmas stockings for the local Ronald MacDonald house. I managed to finish these two, not a big contribution, but at least I participated, right?

And then DD#1 requested some new Christmas hats for the GK, so who could refuse? The fourth hat is just in case a certain someone decides to make an early appearance...

More about the certain someone, and the party real soon!

Happy 11/11/11!

It's rainy and chilly here, but if you happen to be out tonight and the sky is clear, be sure and look at the moon. It was so pretty last night, and Dick took this photo the night before.

We just got back from our daily walk. Leaves were raining down and
making huge piles in the middle of the streets and along the curbs. We were glad to have taken these photos earlier in the week because these trees look very different today. (That tall skinny tree in the second picture is a ginko. They turn the prettiest yellow each fall.)


I thought these were the last two purple hats, but then I found some leftovers from one of Sophia's sweaters, so I'll probably make a couple more. I am, however, very tired of lavender yarn! Can you see how little was left from the original skein?

Hope you've had a nice Veteran's Day. Many thanks to those who have served!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.....

The weather people keep predicting rain, and we have had some, but lately we've had some beautiful crisp fall days, just perfect for walking. Last Saturday, as we trekked up and down hill, we stopped for some photos as the fall color was very nice. Since then it's been raining leaves, millions of them with lots more to come.





Even the moon was out that afternoon!

We've been meaning to get a photo of this tree for ages and finally remembered. Nothing, not even a chain-link fence, can stop a determined tree!

Our beauty berry in the backyard is nice this year also with lots more berries than last year.

I also finished a challenging KAL called the Seaside Shawlette, yarn and pattern from the Knitters Brewing Company. Besides learning a lot about lace, I got to witness the magic of blocking. Just off the needles, the shawl was a lumpy looking mess! Just a little water made it straighten out and shape up. No Socktober socks though.....

More on some other projects later as we're off to volunteer at the UW hospital. Have a great afternoon!

A Fun and Different Project ~ a Necklace!

One of the projects that I finished this month was from a kit that I purchased through Earth Faire, a great source for patterns, yarn, and beads like these. (They are called mushroom buttons, and I had no idea they'd fit together like this.) This pattern by Sivia Harding is also on Ravelry.

This little tool which was also new, thanks to Earth Faire, was crucial to attaching the beads...much easier than stringing them. Basically, the whole thing is an I-cord with beads attached and a fairly quick finish. It was fun!

Three little someones also had a fun project recently. They harvested their sunflowers. David took one flower to school, maybe to feed the resident hamster? (Rex visited their house last weekend!)

Do you think she's going to take up modelling?

That must have been one huge sunflower. Ours never got that big!

Knitting on the Road

October has been flying by, but we did manage a little getaway this past weekend to Port Angeles. Even though it was a bit rainy, we enjoyed the scenery and learned that Sequim and Port Townsend really are in the "rain shadow," and usually have sun when it's rainy elsewhere. Actually, the weather was pretty nice in Port Angeles, too!
As we were cruising down the highway,I got all excited and made Dick turn the car around because it looked like an eagle was perched above a slide on a dock. Closer inspection proved my "eagle" to be a fake owl, but this heron wasn't a bit afraid!

Long car rides are perfect for knitting (Dick likes to drive.) as well as scenery-watching. I was able to make some real progress on a couple of projects. Thus far this month, I've finished two more purple hats and a necklace. Someone asked me how come I'm making so many hats when I have only 3 grandkids. These hats are for the Don't Shake the Baby campaign and will be given away during November.

More about the necklace later. It was fun but definitely not a car-project!

Sweater Weather? Hardly!

Somehow despite the balmy weather in our nation's mid-section, Jill managed with a little licorice-help to get this photo:

Here's Sophia celebrating the good weather.
It's even been warm enough in the Midwest for wading in the pool
and bike riding.
David took this photo. Not bad for a first grader, eh? Even though the weather is warm, it looks like the trees are starting to show their fall colors.
Oh, and here it's been rainy and in the fifties. Sigh....... (But I do remember what winter in the Midwest is like and am really glad they're enjoying their Indian Summer.)

Hats and Leaves, Sure Signs of Fall

Despite the fact that it's Socktober and I should be finishing up all those second socks that are waiting in line, I'm still knitting hats. Purple baby hats. To add a bit of interest after knitting 2 plain purple hats, I decided to knit one using a mock cable pattern. The pattern is fairly stretchy, so even though the finished hat looks kind of pointy and small, it should be fine. This is a fun stitch to use on socks also. Now I'm on to hat #4. Looks like Charlene might be right, that 5 baby hats were lurking in this skein. Must say, though, I'm getting a tiny bit tired of purple.....
Dick came in the house yesterday with this sign of fall. The Big-leaf maples are starting to lose their leaves....... This baby measures 18" across! And there are at least a zillion more just like it on every tree.
There will be lots of raking in our future!