Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you are able to be with family and/or friends on this special day. A day to be thankful for the blessings of family, friends, health and prosperity. Although my favorite holiday is Christmas, I think Thanksgiving is a universal holiday that should be more greatly appreciated. Please don't shop on this holiday. Enjoy and appreciate the gathering of your family. Take the time to be thankful.

I have finally returned to knitting my Barn Jacket. The right front is finally finished. I cast on the first sleeve. I finally feel like I am more than halfway done. I can't wait to finish it and wear it.

I'm joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading?

I finished reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I loved this book and I will definitely be reading more books by this author. This is an intriguing story that weaves through several generations of women. There is mystery, family intrigue and self-discovery all wrapped up in one fascinating story. I am not sure what I will read next. I won't have much time in the next week as my family will be visiting.
 

Thanks for stopping by!



Not So Much Yarn Along

For the past week my house has been in the middle of being painted. We have spent our days trying to find a place to park ourselves. Now I have to finish putting the knick-knacks back in place, hang the curtains back up and figure out what I want to hang back up on the walls and where. Not everything will be returning to its former place. I don't know whether the last will be done before Thanksgiving.

 

I finished two Christmas gifts. I just had to get on with the finishing and then they were done in no time. Not much crafting has been going on as I put most of it away to avoid getting paint on anything.

 

I did begin a small craft project with some yarn from my stash.

The colors above are dark grey, dark teal and black. I couldn't get a picture that did them justice.

 I am almost finished, but this too will be a small Christmas gift that I can't currently share.

There will certainly be plenty of photos to share in January.

 

I'm joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting or crocheting? What are you reading? Stop by her site to see what others are crafting and reading.

 

My reading hasn't changed: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

I am truly enjoying this fascinating story. I just can't seem to sit and read when I know there is a lot of crafting and Christmas shopping awaiting me.

 

Thanks for stopping by.



Quilted Yarn Along

 

Although I am crocheting like crazy every day, I can't share any pictures at this time. I am hoping to finish my current project this week and then get back to my sweater.

I can share some pictures sent to me by my quilter of my almost finished quilt.

Here it is before any quilting was done:

 

The quilting is just what I chose and is so beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally:

Ooooh,  I can't wait to bind it.

 

I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what others are crafting and reading. I'm still reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Totally enjoying this book.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 



Harvest of Quilts

Saturday, I went to the Evening Star Quilters' Harvest of Quilts Show here on Long Island with my mom. I am sharing with you some of the beautiful quilts their guild members entered.

 

I love the gradations in color on this star.

The quilt below won first prize overall.

 

 

 

Beautiful applique below.

 

 

I am always a sucker for a log cabin quilt. The first quilt I made was a queen-size barn-raising log cabin that I hand quilted. What was I thinking?

 

 

 

I love redwork.

 

Sorry for the wonky photo but there was not enough back-up room to photograph this one head-on. I love the black, white and pink combo.

 

 

 

The umbrellas in the quilt below remind me of an antique quilt my mom has. It is an entire quilt of umbrellas.

 

 

This whole quilt is called "Amazing Silk" and won first prize for whole cloth quilts.

 

 

 

The two quilts above were pieced and quilted by Galyna Sokolova-Miller. You can find her web-site here. She is the quilter who will be quilting my Flying Geese quilt.

 

 

I just dropped it off to be quilted. I can't wait until I get this back and on my bed. Of course I will have to bind it first, but I never seem to mind doing that. Any suggestions for a name for this quilt?

 

Thank you for stopping by?

 

Frogging Yarn Along

 

So here I am knitting away on the right front of my sweater when I realize that about 15 rows back there appears to be a hole. My knitting is correct but there is a loose spot and it is bothering me. It was on the front, so I knew I had to frog all those rows. I still have a decent amount of the right side done as you can see below.

 

I will continue it soon, but first I need to put it aside awhile and go back to my secret crocheting. I am using the yarns below that I shared last week. The denim color yarn works up a little larger than I want so after crocheting about ten rows, it too was frogged. I switched to a smaller hook and although it is still wider than I would like I can't go to any smaller hook as the yarn is too thick for it. I will make do and I think it will work out.

 

I was really excited to work with the brighter colored yarn. I was told it would stripe up nicely and I loved the colors.....or so I thought. Well, the yarn doesn't stripe, it chunks. Also, there is a muddy golden color mixed in with the bright colors that just doesn't work well. 
 

You can guess that this piece will most probably also be frogged eventually. I will try to use this yarn for something else. Thankfully, I can make the denim color yarn work for the gift I am planning.

What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? 

Normally I would be joining Ginny's Yarn Along, but her baby boy, Sebastian was born yesterday. Pop on over to her site to see her beautiful new addition. 
 

 

I have finished reading The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I enjoyed it very much but you have to be in the mood for a mostly somber read. Next up is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This is my first book by this author and so far I am finding her writing style quite engaging and the story very interesting.

 

 

Look what bloomed in my garden this week!
 

 

I don't remember planting this lily and November is a really odd time of year for this flower to be showing itself here on Long Island. A bright spot in my day after all the frogging this week.
 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 



New Yarn for the Yarn Along

~" Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? " ~ Ginny at Small Things. I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along.

 

 

Look at this soft colorful yarn I just picked up. They are both sock yarns, one bought at AC Moore, one at the local yarn store. I have a secret crochet project in mind for each one so I can only share the yarn.

I finished the left side of my sweater and have started knitting the right side. It is so true that knitting gets much easier as you go along. The left side took me just over a week. I know, I know, there are those of you who can knit much quicker, but I have many projects in the works and I can't decide to stick with any one.

 Especially when I feel guilty about some of my projects such as my daughter's holiday quilt that should have been quilted many moons ago. Sigh..... I'm not sure if you can see the quilting in the green and red borders. It is a string of Christmas lights.  I didn't take into account the constant direction changes needed to stitch the bulbs by hand. It is slow going. 

 

I am thoroughly enjoying reading The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. It is not at all what I expected, but it is quite interesting none the less. I fear I will be reading it for quite some time though for the same reason that my knitting is going slowly....too many crafts calling to me. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 



An Inset Pocket and Yarn Along

~" Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? " ~ Ginny at Small Things. I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. Feel free to check out her site and peek in on what others are knitting/crocheting and reading.

 

I am so excited! I have managed to knit an inset pocket.

 

See that stitch holder, behind it is the pocket piece I knitted last week. I know, I know, those of you who are accomplished knitters are wondering what the big deal is, but this is a first for this 50-something lady and I am quite impressed with myself. I can even understand now how I might be able to inset a pocket in a crocheted sweater - something you rarely see.

My knitting is moving along much quicker now that I am more sure of what I am doing. Hopefully I will be able to finish this sweater soon, although there still seems to be an awful lot to complete. There is no time frame though so no real pressure.

I finally finished The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs. It was quite a good book, so I'm not really sure why it took me so long to read. My next book is The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I've seen it recommended by other Yarn Along participants and thought I would give it a try.

 

 

How do you like my little witch below? I made this outfit several years ago. It is from Hooked on Crochet magazine, number 53. The edging is more purple than the picture shows. She is the first craft you see when entering my home during October.



Thanks for stopping by!