A Gathering of Knitters

On Saturday, Janice & I headed out of our mountains and a little north of here to Graves Mountain Lodge to meet up with some plurk/Ravelry/ Facebook knitting friends from other parts of Virginia and North Carolina. Here's what we saw as soon as we got out of the car.



We met up with knitting friends, Lara, Summer, and Julie- even though we didn't know them, we recognized them by their hand-knits! We knitted for a bit, then were found by Frances and L-B, and then by Wendy, Aimee, and Dani. There was a little more knitting and then lunch-where even more knitters showed up!



Right after lunch, we hit the road for a trip out to Kid Hollow Farm -



where Pat and Steve graciously opened their studio doors so we could fondle a little yarn



and more yarn



and more yarn



and more yarn....who's that?



-and then they introduced us to their herd, a.k.a. "yarn on the hoof". :)





It was good day and good to put names to faces and get to know folks a little better, but our knitting time together was all too short...here's hoping for another chance for more gatherings of knitters in the near future!

Finally Fall!

Well finally! This is more like it! Here are the fall colors that make our neck of the woods so lovely this time of year.



Looking at that photo, it's easy to see where the inspiration for this stash additive came from-



That's Zen String Loopy Legends in Debbie's Autumn Joy and it makes me say....mine-mine-mine! It's so lovely!

As is clear from the above photo, it's a bit cloudy & rainy here today, however it's warm and there's a nice breeze, so Ishbel is finally blocking on the screened porch. She must be ready for birthday giving and it's coming up fast! It's knitted from Wollmeise 100% in Pfefferminz Prinz. There will be additional photos when the sun decides to shine.



- must now rush back to the much cherished Saturday knit time. I hope you have a little time, too!

Central Virginia Girls' Excursion

Even after several cool rainy nights, we're still waiting on the full crash of fall colors here in the Blue Ridge.



Today was still cool & a little cloudy - a perfect knitting day. Several Central Virginia Girls met up near Lovingston to visit Marilyn's house and see her knitting shop. It was very nice to meet her!



Afterwards, we gathered at Rapzunel's to enjoy some coffee, cookies, and well - knitting!

Here's Judy's blanket square:



...and Cynthia's potholder-



...and Janice's scarf -



...and my sock - which is too big, so I have to fiddle with it or RIPPIT.....grrr.



The only thing that might have made the day more enjoyable would have been the pleasure of your company with us! Hope you can join us next time!

Knitting Forecast - Cloudy with a 30% chance of knitting

Today's weather forecast - cloudy & windy with s-l-o-w-l-y changing leaves.

Today's knitting forecast: scary because with just ten (10) more rows to go on Ishbel

I have only this much yarn left....eek! Please cross your eyes, fingers, toes, and legs - and hope that I make it through the bind-off!

There's only about a 20% chance of any further progress on my Lacy Rib sock-

because DS#1 is coming home for the weekend (a surprise!) and we have NO FOOD IN THE HOUSE!

Cleaning, shopping, & hugging first - there'll be time for knitting a little later!

FFF 2009

Over heard on Friday at school: "I'm not going to FFF this year...nope....I have too much yarn and I haven't knitted down last year's purchases.....need to go on a yarn diet.....so I'm staying home."

So, what happened? I ended up driving over to the FFF today - alone.....just for a teensy little bit. I did it in the service of a friend as Janice is up in Massachusetts with her mom. Someone needed to go get her a little lace yarn and I felt it should be me!



I think I accomplished a lot in the two hours I was there. In addition to getting Janice's yarn, I ran into friends Gren & Jeri. Jeri was watching a spinner Navajo ply and then got to give it a try. I tried it too & hope I can remember how to do it on my own wheel.



I saw these lovely creations - Trindles - drop spindles with a very nontraditional top whorl. One of them might have followed me home. (link to etsy shop)



...and of course, the dog trials were amazing!




Hey, doggie! No gripping, OK?

Maybe by next year, I'll have developed the will-power to stay away, but that wouldn't be as much fun, would it?

Ciruclar Progress

It's a gloriously cool Saturday here in Central Virgina - overcast and rainy, but still gloriously cool! In fact, the season's first marching band competition this evening will probably tend more toward cold and will provide a great excuse to break out a sweater!

Speaking of sweaters...and wool....and knitting....here's an update on my Circular Vest progress. I'm ready to place stitch markers for the sleeves - then it's more circular knitting for me. I like the weight of the Noro Chirimen. It's mostly cotton and blended with a little wool and silk.

Ishbel is also going well. I only have three more lace patterns until I finish. There wasn't much knitting time this week as I had to be out of the house on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Thursday evenings. Unfortunately, most of today will be spent getting caught up on excess paperwork.

I'm also resisting casting on for Girasole. I bought the yarn a while back after seeing Janice's beautiful completed shawl. (link is to Ravelry-you must be a member to see it) I'll be knitting mine in Dream in Color Baby's November Muse with hexagonal beads. They're very sparkly!

I also was sucked into - I mean lovingly convinced- to join The Enchanted Woods Lace Shawl KAL sponsored by the lovely ladies over at The Unique Sheep. The KAL doesn't start until January which is, I think, I the perfect time to have a nice warm shawl on your lap! Do you think you might have some time to knit along with us in January? Check out the KAL at the Unique Sheep linkie on the sidebar!

Yay for Saturday!

Here's why.....it's a beautiful, cool morning here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge - I can feel a hint of fall in the air.....oh yes, and rag weed too....lol..



There's plenty of coffee -



...and a little time to make more progress on the Circle Vest



before switching to Ishbel, and then to odious cleaning and reading for class. You see - on Saturdays, I always eat my dessert first! Excuse me while I get back to my pie.... :)