Monday

 I picked up some evidence of the season on our Reggie walk and around our yard this morning. There is no doubt. Fall is here.

I finished the Big Crush sweater. It has soaked and now is gently spinning in my washer. I'm hoping that the main color hasn't bled into the contrasting color too much. The water kind of looked like diluted red wine when I took it out of the basin. Here it is pre-soak..

I'll give it a light blocking after the water spins out of it.

I started the Dissent Cowl. I really am hooked on mosaic knitting. This is so fun to knit and keeps my attention. The yarn was from stash. I had bought these two skeins from a yarn store in Annapolis for a brioche knitting class that I took. I used it in class, but pulled it out and rewound when I got home. 

I think that this will be a Christmas present to a friend who will appreciate it. Have a good day! Hope you have a sunnier sky than we do here.

Home Treasure Friday

 This Friday's home treasure isn't mine. It's actually my daughter's. When she was at college, she had a very good friend (and still is her good friend) named Andy. He was a film maker, a photographer, a pianist, and an artist. He went on to work for the Discovery Channel, I believe. 

Anyhoo...He always gave my daughter thoughtful birthday gifts that he made himself. This is an origami koi fish that he made over weeks. It's made from a one dollar bill. I think that it's amazing. It resides in my house currently, because my daughter moved to England after college and left many things behind for me to keep for a while. After five years (and a husband and 2 kids and the dog) she moved to Southern California. BUT..in November they are all driving back here and will live close to me again! So Mr. koi will probably go to its rightful owner. 

He even lined up the design on the dollar to look like eyes! And look at those scales!

So that's it. Do you have a Friday home treasure?

Thursday

Today was a good day. Well, it started out a little rough. My shingles and flu vaccines yesterday were making me a bit achy, but it was nothing that a little ibuprofen didn't take care of.

So in the afternoon, the husband and I went to the store. I have been reading that flour may be hard to find again soon, so I picked up a bag. Just on a whim, I went down the cleaning aisle and lo and behold, they had disinfectant wipes! I picked up 3 tubs of them. 

While we were in line, I told my husband to go ahead and pay and I'd meet him at the car. I went back and got 3 some more wipes, and then delivered them to 3  different friends who have immunity issues due to cancer and other ailments. It felt good to drop them off on their porches. These wipes are such a rare thing to see these days!

On to knitting...

I received a package today. I bought some yarn during NY State Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck) during their virtual event last weekend. I've been to the actual festival once with friends. It wasn't the same, but I did find some nice yarn.

This is why I love getting yarn from independent dyers/spinners. The receipt had this fabric bat button pinned to it with a big handwritten thank-you! And the tissue was beautiful, too.

This yarn is from Starcroft Fibers in Maine. They raise the sheep on an island off the coast, and have done so for over 100 years. If you want to read about it, go HERE

The yarn is so rustic and beautiful. They had a deal that they would give you the sweater pattern for free if you buy enough yarn to make it. The pattern was what drew me to the yarn. It's Muriel, and here's a picture off of Ravelry:

The main color that I'm using is the pumpkin color, and the navy is the yoke design. This may be my next project!

Tomorrow is Home Treasure Friday! I'll be posting a picture of something that I have in my house. Join me if you would like!

Wednesday

 Today is kind of drizzly here in Maryland. We managed to get a walk in with Reggie, though. Later today, I'm going to my doctor's for the flu shot and a second shingles shot. I may not feel so great later. We'll see..

Yesterday, I managed to get a shot of a butterfly (Cloudless Sulphur) on the Lion's Ear. The larger butterflies are few and far between now.

Knitting progress:

I'm coming down to the wire with yarn now. I have one ball left. I stopped the 2 inch ribbing on the bottom of the sweater at a little over 1 inch, and started the sleeves. That way, if I don't have enough for the ribbing at the bottom after 2 sleeves, I'll add a band of the contrasting color. Stay tuned.

The sleeves are supposed to be a bit short (thank goodness). Here's a picture of the finished sweater from the pattern. 

The husband likes to take a ride on his motorcycle on sunny afternoons. Reggie goes on alert and waits for him to return. This was yesterday.

I have no idea how he got that black smudge on the back of his neck. Must have walked under something. It will disappear today when he gets a bath.

Such a vigilant boy. Have a good day!

Monday

 This morning was grocery day. I masked up, took my Clorox wipe to wipe down the cart handle and forged ahead. $200.00 later, everything is put away and done. I used to like going to the grocery store. Time to think and meander down the aisles....now, not so much.

Yesterday morning from about 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. we had visitors in the yard. The security camera went off 7 times. 

I HAD five or six roses left on this bush. Not any more.

Later on, the whole family showed up. 

On to knitting:

I have about four more inches before I start short rows, and then the ribbed band at the bottom. Then the sleeves. 

I took this picture while on our walk the other day. I thought that the cloud looked kind of like an extension of the tree.  

Hope you all have a good day.

Saturday

 It's Saturday, or as we like to call it in this house, "Svengoolie Night". Svengoolie is a really campy movie host out of Chicago that shows really campy (and sometimes classic) horror movies. His puns and corny jokes make you moan, but for some reason, it has become a tradition for us to watch him every Saturday night. I think it gives me warm fuzzies because it reminds me of being in college and watching bad Saturday night movies in the dorm lounge with a bunch of friends. Back then, the hosts were out of Cleveland. Big Chuck and Little John. Back East, we had Count Gore De Vol out of Washington D.C. I think that every city had a B movie host back in the day. Everyone remembers Elvira! Svengoolie is a hold-out from that era. 

On to knitting...

I had eight balls of this Tahki Tweed (now discontinued) in the stash in Aran weight. I had one skein of the lovely blue/green/white Shetland tweed that was given to me by a friend who went to Shetland Wool Week last year and brought it back for me. 

So, I put down the previous red yarn from two days ago, and I started this:

I'm hoping that it will grow when blocked. It seems a bit small. Oh yeah...I forgot to do a gauge swatch.  I was so excited about starting it, that I just jumped in. Duh. I will gift it to someone if it doesn't fit.

I almost forgot- Reggie had his one year birthday on Wednesday! He still acts like a knucklehead puppy, but he's now officially a big boy. He keeps us laughing and entertained.

 Hope you all have a good Saturday!

Friday

 It's Friday, and I decided to start a challenge. From now on, I'm going to have "Home Treasure Friday". As I look around my house, I realize that I have so many things to be thankful for, and so many treasures that either I have acquired or I have had passed down to me. 

So every Friday, I'm going to post pictures of a home treasure. It can be a special yarn that I like, an heirloom that I have from my family or anything from my home that brings me joy (as Ms. Kondo would say). 

Want to join in? Just post one of your own home treasures with a little story about it!

Here goes:

This little cupboard was my Mother's. She had 2 sisters, so they probably played with it too. Being the only granddaughter, It was passed down to me.  It was probably made by someone in the family out of old scrap wood. I would say it's from the mid-1920's. I remember playing with this at my Grandmother's when I was little. I am fortunate to have ended up owning it. 

Here's a teaspoon for scale.

It's just as it was when I was little. Packed up with treasures inside. I love the little glass jug with a tiny cork in it.

What's  one of your home treasures?