Yorick looks good

Friday was a lovely day.  I had a meeting in White Bear Lake, so a stop at Sheepy Yarn Shop was in order.  It was meant to be, as I got a parking spot in front of the shop!
I finished Yorick on Saturday.  The project was quick to knit with worsted weight yarn and size US6/10mm needles.  My scarf came out just as I wanted, 60-inches long and 3.5-inches wide.  The fabric is not at all bulky and the size is perfect.  It looked more like a snake before fulling.  Fulling by hand was easy and controllable.  The scarf is worked in stockinette stitch and the edges curl toward the purl side.  After fulling, the slight curl becomes a neat edge on the backside of the scarf, which I like.  The weather is cooling down, so this will be a  nice accessory to wear when there is a chill in the air.

Fall is in the air--sweater weather almost here!

The facial features are created with shaped increases and decreases.

Yorick appears to look more
like a snake at this point.

Yorick is ready for his close-up.

FO Friday and something tweedy

Finished objects!

Goldfish Love's hand-dyed chunky merino.  A prize from the Ravellenic Games.  

DPC x 2  Delores Park Cowl.  Each hank was just enough to make one cowl. 

 The cowls are not blocked, yet.

A teaser, not yet finished, but soon to be--keep watching!
This is a sample for an upcoming class (in 2013) at Amazing Threads.
Design by Marie Wallin and yarn by Rowan.  Mmmmm...tweed...

Wednesday

My class begins soon and I am ready to get down to business (pun intended!).  I am gathering patterns and ideas for my classes at Amazing Threads beginning in January.  In fact, one of my projects is on the needles and progressing nicely.  I stopped by to get some inspiration and my friend, Kathy, was there with a knitting group and I happily joined in.  I spent time looking through the Rowan books and the wall of yarn. Naturally the tweed caught my attention and the pattern Brynn from Rowan Tweed by Marie Wallin will be my first shop sample and what I think will be a great project for a class.  The slip stitch checks are easy and the yarn is bouncy with luscious color.
There will be another polymer clay class at Creative Souls with a focus on faces.  Since the class is in December, snowmen and holiday-themed canes will be fun projects for buttons, beads, and whatever else the students make.  It will be fun to play with clay!  I will post class information soon!

A little shrug in cheery colors.

Ben began his job last week and looks so handsome in his suit and topcoat when he leaves in the morning.  He is looking for an apartment closer to work and will be getting some furniture from us.  Our new furniture arrives tomorrow and I am excited.  Jim and I are frugal when it comes to things like furniture and home improvements.  We just now got the new floors upstairs after living here 13 years.  Other than a new coat of paint on that level (our home is a split-level from 1984) the house finally feels like ours.  A little improvement every few years pays off.  My goal next year is to tend to the shrubs and plants out front.  I am not a gardener, although I appreciate so much beautiful landscaping.  Unfortunately I did not inherit the gardening gene of my parents.  I prefer to paint the flowers and trees on canvas, which would be wonderful...I could have new paintings to put out front every season--no digging required.
Back to change.  I am ready for a change, as this has been a difficult year and I always have hope that tomorrow will be better.  In the past month the decision to go back to school and changing my place of employment are two big steps forward.  I will be teaching at The Shepherdess through December and then will begin teaching at Amazing Threads in January.  I appreciate so much the support and encouragement I received from everyone during the past few years.

Excelsior and chocolate

What a lovely weekend! On Friday it was cool enough to wear my new sweater and it was perfect. Ben's gainfully employed this summer and we'll still be able to see him, as he won't be too far away. On the way home, we saw this lovely sunset.

On Saturday Kim, Kris, Joanne, and I took a little road trip to Excelsior to visit Coldwater Collaborative, a yarn shop. The town is charming. There was an art fair going on, lots of folks were at the lake anyway because of the gorgeous weather, and it was wall-to-wall people. The shop was so nice. It's in an old house, so the atmosphere was cozy. I found a couple of booklets on sale--I didn't need any more yarn--more about that later...
I took photos of some of the flowers outside the shops and restaurants. The colors in the bright sunlight were very intense. Kim and I had rustic pizzas with bacon, apple, Gorgonzola, feta, and walnuts. With unlimited organic iced tea--the perfect summer lunch!
As we drove into town, we noticed a huge sign on a hill that read CHOCOLATE. We made sure to hit that on the way out of town. I got some English toffee, dark chocolate almond bark, one peanut butter cup, and one dark chocolate Grand Manier truffle. As you can see, we're all smiles! There was a Caribou Coffee around the corner, so we got iced tea for the ride home. It was a fun day.
Today started my summer class hours. Kim and I met before class and sat outside the coffee shop.