Elf knitting

I whipped up some cranberry apple crisp on Wednesday evening. I love this recipe and I like dried cranberries in it. It's pictured right before I popped it in the oven.

Now that Thanksgiving's over, it's time to go into Elf mode. I made two pair of bed socks for a couple of Ben's buddies, and have one and a half pair of fingerless mitts done for the girls going back to college tomorrow. Yes, it's almost time for my baby to go back. We've had a nice visit. He's putting up his tree right now because he won't be back until right before Christmas.
St. Brigid's on the back burner (no pun intended) until I get the mitts done. I've also got some cottage socks started for my MIL and SIL in Ohio. Those will be nice to work on when I have some time at work (LOL--not likely!).
Time to get back to laundry and knitting!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Spinning dizzy...and a major award (it's not a lamp!)

My drop spindle class was a success today. It was fun to teach something different and my students (7!) did a great job. The spindles worked out great and everyone had fun. When lunch was ready, they were so focused that they waited for a bit before eating! I'm sure I'll have another class soon.
I received a very nice award recently from Margie at Margie's Crafts. Thank you so much! I will post more about it soon!
I haven't posted since the our flying squirrel incident--I've been a bit busy. Jim brought Ben and three other classmates back to the cities for Thanksgiving. It's WONDERFUL to him home again for a few days. The college had a live feed for a swim meet on Friday. I managed to watch a bit of it and see Ben. I lost the signal a couple of times. It's amazing to watch something like that from my computer! Cool!
I'm really pooped and I see why--it's late. The guys already crashed, so I guess it's my turn...good night!
24.11.08 Listed below are the rules for the award.
1. Please put the logo on your blog.
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

And the first nominees are: Zinnia Bouquet, Fibres for Ewe, and Sunnybrook Farm Designs
The rest will have to come with time. I only follow a few blogs right now.

Visitor

As I was headed downstairs to get my knitting bag for work, a flash of gray with a fuzzy tail whizzed ahead of me down the stairs scaring the $#!+ out of me. Jim said he'd never heard me yell like that before! I was shuddering as Jim checked out the scene in the family room. Hiding at the top of the bookcase by the fireplace was a squirrel. (This is going on less than 30 minutes before I have to be at work!) Jim got the cage trap and I got out the peanut butter. He put it on the hearth while the critter stared at us with his large beady eyes from his perch beside my antique Noah's Ark. Now he wasn't moving. I had time to think this might end up being a Kodak moment, but thought better of it. My luck, the squirrel would decide to lunge at me. Jim got Eevee's blanket and was going to lure it closer to the cage. It crawled back and forth across the stones of the fireplace. I was by the stairs "helping" (making sure I could make a quick exit, if needed). We discovered we had Rocky the flying squirrel as he flew from my side of the room to the other with Jim in hot pursuit. At this time I realized I could open the door and maybe it would run outside. Jim was to the left of the door and I was on the right. The squirrel was in the middle behind the TV cabinet. I told Jim NOT to scare it toward me before I got the door open. The squirrel dashed past the door back to the fireplace and Jim managed to catch it in the blanket and take it outside. As he let it go I told it not to run toward the house (like that's gonna help). It ran up the tree and I dubbed Jim my hero. Eevee didn't bark once! I think she rather enjoyed the whole scenario. I had ten minutes to get to work and calm down. At the stop light I reached for my Altoids and as I got one, I caught the paper in the tin and the mints went flying all over the car--dang! I managed to get one in my mouth and a couple back in the tin. Made it to work with a minute or two to spare. I was getting out of the car and my silver bracelet managed to come off and I watched it go around and around almost rolling under the car. I retrieved it and walked into the shop. Carol was laughing and flapping her arms. It was so funny. I took a minute to gather myself and get to work. Geez-Louise, what life can pack in 30 minutes!! We've had a variety this year with the bat and the squirrel! What next? I shudder to think...

First snow

Even though we've had a few flakes this month, this is (by my definition) our first snow. It's so pretty on the trees. Last night the road looked very slick. I'm glad I stayed in!

Well, the little snow ghosts wanted to be outside for a photo. I read their minds because they don't have mouths. Looking at the photo I believe they need another felting session.
I'm still plugging away on St. Brigid. I had to do another chart repeat on the back to get the proper length. With this in mind, I'm sure I'll have to add a bit to the sleeve length, too. My stitch gauge is spot on. It would be nice to see Ms. Starmore's actual sweater. Her gauge is very difficult to achieve. I found another knitter on Ravelry that did the same thing with the chart. I have the extra yarn, why not?
Yesterday I had a go-through-the-closet-and-dresser afternoon and have two big bags for Goodwill in addition to some items in the garage. It feels good to de-clutter...(As she looks around her work room at the fiber stash, photos, art supplies, and paper work.)...of course, everything in here is creatively contained.

Autum art

I thought I'd take a break from photographing knitting and show photos of some of my paintings. I switch certain ones around with the seasons. The single leaf was done with a painting knife. That was fun to do and I like the texture. The Weinturm (wine tower) is in Bad Windsheim, Germany near our old apartment. It was November and very chilly the day I hid behind a hay bale to paint. The other two landscapes are from a trip to Ireland years ago. One is of the Slieve League cliffs and the cottages are in Glencolumbkille, county Donnegal. I loved that area and hope to return someday. It's chilly and sunny out today. I was surprised it wasn't warmer. (I just noticed the afternoon sun made the colors appear too warm in the Ireland paintings--I'll have to redo the photos.)
I'm on row 71 of 112 for St. B.'s sleeves. Sigh, I hope to be done soon. Ugh! I tripped up on chart A--the easiest knit/purl combination--a four stitch, four row repeat. Good grief. I'm on the right track, now. I had to get new cable needles because I must have dropped the one I was using and I lost my box of small, flat stitch markers over the weekend!! Jeez-Louise! Enough whining, I still love making the sweater and will be able to wear it soon enough--it will be done when it's done!

What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours...

As I'm writing this, it's snowing! Beginning to stick a little, too. The ground's still too warm, but I imagine that will change soon. Lawsy-mercy--I had sandals on just a couple of days ago.

I took a break from (gasp) knitting yesterday. My shoulders were a little sore. Today's a great day to knit. I may head down to the shop and visit this afternoon. I don't get the opportunity often.
I took the pattern for this hat down to the shop. It's the one I made for Ben last Christmas. I didn't embellish it, but will probably do one for myself soon. I got in a few rows of my sleeves. I've made it past chart B increases and now have to incorporate chart A increases. So far, so good. I'm glad I made the row sheet for the charts. It's easy to keep track of where I am!
Oh...the pie is really good!

Rainy day baking

Our neighbors gave us apples recently. They smell and taste wonderful. I'd already made apple-cranberry crisp earlier in the week. Jim really wanted a pie, so today was the perfect day to bake. I didn't make too much crust, so my lattice is wimpy. The weather is quickly changing over the next couple of days from the 60s to the 30s!
I'm editing a hat pattern I wrote for the shop and want to have it done for tomorrow. I can also take along the unassembled spindles for class. Speaking of spinning...I did a skein of my Cormo/silk blend election night. It came out really nicely. Now I just have 12 more ounces to go!
I stopped by the shop yesterday to knit a few rows on my St. Brigid sleeves. I needed to be home and cleaning up my office/art room. The oddball tub was too full, so I started to wind the leftovers into balls. I've got some nice colors! It gave me a little room, but I still need to get another tub to fill (or two). Hummm...
The pumpkins still need leaves and curlicues. I think my little white one looks more like an onion right now. I haven't taken out the plastic bags, and still have to stuff them.

FINALLY!

Let there be sleeves!

It's time to sing my favorite chorus--Knitting in the sleeves, knitting in the sleeves, I am so rejoicing, knitting innnn the sleeeeves! I'm going strong on St. Brigid's sleeves. Kathy and I had coffee on Friday and she had her sweater with her. Lovely! Using the DK weight yarn was a good choice for me. The sweater will be big, but not overly warm to wear inside. I'm so excited about this project and can't wait to wear it. I'm glad we have a warm spell right now. Good time to knit!
Halloween is over and now it's time to think about winter. I'm looking for goodies to knit my buddies and I think I've got some nice patterns to choose from. The cap I designed for Ben needs to have a final revision before I give it to Cheryl for the shop. I've drug my heels a bit on designing.
I demonstrated spinning at the church bazaar on Saturday. That was fun as usual. The Cormo/silk blend is spinning up like a dream and I love the nubby noils popping through. I have to check the WPI, but it looks so far like a light worsted weight. We rang bells in church yesterday for the first time this fall. We rock!
Today I have my morning class and help night. It's a lovely day and I've got to get my house in order. It's a bit of a disaster with all the decorations down. Ugh! Halloweentown can stay up for a couple more days.