On the Needles~and Off

Precious little work was done on this pair of Weeping Angel socks thanks to a couple of other things that were keeping my needles busy. I do love the pattern, however, and it has the most intriguing heel, in case you want to try it. (See Ravelry)

Two other pairs of socks came off the needles however!

Brown Sugar 

and Dragonfly!

This is one of the projects that  captured my attention.  A "hairy" chemo cap for my choir friend who will be donating her beautiful hair to Locks of Love just prior to her treatment.

The Anenome hat was hand deliverd to Miss Sophia.  What a fun project that was!  Her brothers liked their hats too, but it's getting harder to capture them long enough for photo ops.......

On the Needles

It's been a while since I last posted as we just got back from visitng the Midwest.  Lots of knitting happened on the plane and in the car:

I got a good start on another pair of Dragon Fly socks using Opal's Feen & Elfen.  If you've not tried this pattern, I'd recommend it! It's a fun one.

Several of us from my quilt group are knitting purple hats for the Don't Shake the Baby campaign during November and December, and I finished a couple of them.  You can find out more about it the program  here.

This is my go-to Prayer Shawl pattern called Easy Triangle Shawl. It was knit from Homespun for a choir friend who's just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  She told me last night that she loves it!

Now back to the needles.........

Searching for Wellington

On a clear warm August day, we set out to explore the Old Cascade Highway in search of the town of Wellington, the site of a huge avalanche in the winter of 1910 that killed almost 100 people.

We found a bicycle bridge that connects two pieces of the old highway and lots of late summer wildflowers

like this Columbine .

Cow parsnips were in full bloom all along the road.

We even spotted a distant waterfall,

lots of pearly everlasting in bloom, and

even a bit of fireweed.

We found the Tye river and

the currently used tunnel that was built to replace the tunnel near Wellington, but we did NOT find Wellington.

As we headed back home, we spotted the turn off to the Irongoat Interpretive Center, and voila! Here was the information we needed.

A short way down the trail was this old snowshed , one of many built to protect the train after the avalanche in 1910.

We found a few elderberries and learned that further exploration would have to wait since it was too late the hike the whole trail.

If your kids want to see a real caboose up close, this is the place to go! It took us two more attempts before we finally found Wellington. More about that another day.

On the Needles or Done and Undone

About six weeks ago I joined the Trapeze Mystery KAL.  Today was the last clue, and I am only just about done with Clue 3.  What happened?  Life, I guess.  We will soon be visiting our grandkids, and what started out as one hat ended  up as four.  You can't make a hat for one and not the other right?  And then there's the new baby we will see and the grandson who lives here.  So four hats and a pair of booties later is why I'm lagging behind on my shawl.  It's pretty though, and I'll finish it sooner or... later.  And yes, you're right, the holidays are coming up.  How do I know?  Well, grandson #3 has a new Halloween costume, and our quilt group just got the Christmas Stocking Assignment......

Hat number three.  Do you recognize the yarns?

Hat number 4. Can you believe it's really purple?

I still want to add some pink ribbons to these Booties.

And in the midst of all this knitting, I realized that this month's Sunbonnet Sue block was supposed to be done by tomorrow.  This week's TAST stitch was the knotted buttonhole which I used on the edge of her hat.  Yep, that shawl will get done.....someday!

On and Under the Needles

This Anemone hat pattern by Cat Bhordi is really fun!  I think it will be very popular with a little miss we'll soon be visiting.

My other project this week was to figure out where to use the drizzle stitch on thins month's Sunbonnet Sue block.  The grass won!  The stitch is rather like casting on a knitting needle....

The rest of my week involved lots and lots of peaches, 2 batches of freezer jam and 2 jars of peaches and orange juice, as well as a fun afternoon with Becca of Patina Moon. Check out her blog for some great photos of Seattle's houseboats.

Doin' the Puyallup!

When  we went to the fair last weekend in Puyallup, we had fun looking at the various exhibits and animals as well as watching the spinners, especially the one who was using a drop spindle made from an old CD and a piece of dowling.  But for me, the highlight was this crazy quilt from the 1890's!  The woman told us it was purchased at a garage sale for only $3.00 and is appraised now at least $8,000!  Personally, I think it's priceless.  What beautiful stitching!

Here's another shot of the other end.  Sorry about the reflection off the glass; it was kept securely under lock and key.

The other thing that caught my eye were these elaborately decorated cakes.....done by kids! Don't those dollies look happy?

Have you ever seen a sweeter garden?

This was the prize winner in the adult competition. Isn't it realistic?  I've been wondering what was used for the ice.

It would have been hard for me to know how cut this one up to serve!  (It won a green ribbon.)  Speaking of cakes, it's our older daughter's birthday today.  I sure hope someone in Chicago baked her a cake.  Happy Birthday, Jill!

Off the Needles Update

One hat done and two to go!  I added a yellow stripe because the green was running short, and now I have enough yellow and green left to make another hat with the colors in reverse. Hurrah!  The third hat is going to be a purple multi in a very interesting pattern.  Stay tuned and don't ask about my other projects, OK?

Look who's one month old!  Doesn't her mommy look happy?  Sophia was happy to visit Madeline along with the rest of her family, happy to see the baby and happy to be out of the car.  It's a long way from Chicago to Minneapolis! Wonder whether I can finish a pair of booties before we make the trip?

Now I need to get to work, stringing some beads and knitting like crazy.  See ya!