SCARING CROWS? NOT !

Happy Halloween friends !  This will be the last post I will be able to get in before October is poof - gone.  I just returned from a rug hooking retreat on St Simons Island Ga with our local rug guild.  We had about 18 in attendance and had a great time.  I brought 2 rugs, several knitting projects and even a bag of stitching projects but I was having such a good time with this fellow I devoted all my time to him.

Long time followers of my blog have probably seen this guy before.  Sad to say I only work on him for several months a year in the late summer and fall then he gets rolled up and put in the red cupboard until the next year.  I am really excited about the progress I made on him - I completed 3 partial pumpkins, 2 complete pumpkins and started the final pumpkin.  I completed 1 partial leaf - completed 2 large leaves and started another.  This rug is finished as far as the color planning goes which has all been my own.  This is a Bev Conway canvas and almost all the wool came from Bev.  I did a weekend workshop with her in St Augustine a number of years ago but she had a large class with 4 people who had never picked up a hook before so I was basically on my own for wool selection and placement.  I had picked up a ton of wool from her so I really had lovely choices.  I am so pleased with how it is coming out.  This is not a small rug - it is about 30 X 30 and is hooked in a 6 cut for those hooking fans out there. The fence at the bottom will be ho hum so I will try to get him finished up - truly I will.

We had magnificient sunsets all weekend at Epworth by the Sea retreat center.  It was mostly a gray blustery weekend with Sandy brushing the south Ga coastline but not a drop of rain which we appreciated.  I really feel for those people in the NE and even for miles inland who will be affected by this monster storm.  I'm just thankful we were spared this one.

the following night - the sunset was even more dramatic - my IPhone and poor skills just does no justice to how gorgeous and unusual this sunset appeared to be.

This is the view from our hooking room - which overlooks the marsh and the intercoastal waterway.  That chapel is just to the left in this shot.  This is the sight of the Hamilton plantation.  they grew Sea Island cotton.  Much history about the island can be found by just googling St Simons Island.

We made a trip to the LNS and yes I did my part to influx the local economy.  I have not taken any photos of the yarn stash yet so that will be blog fodder for another post.

I see that I have finally tipped the 100 mark on blog followers - YEAH ! Welcome to all my new friends who joined me.  I will be putting together a giveaway in the near future to celebrate my 100 follower mark.

Many thanks for visiting my blog - for leaving your comments - I read every one and appreciate the time you take to visit and to comment.  Comments are important to bloggers - it lets them know people are visiting and reading.

Hope all my friends in the path of Sandy will be spared any damage to their homes. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone.

AUTUMN DAYBREAK

The title of this post is really referring to two different subjects.

First - HALLELUJAH - I finished Daybreak.  This was supposed to be finished in August as the last of the 3 Camp Loopy projects with online shop The Loopy Ewe.  I've given those links in previous posts so I won't be redundant.  Anyway - I didn't finish on time - didn't get my prize for finishing all 3 projects on time so I just lost interest in finishing this shawl.  Now it's time for the 4th Quarter Challenge project and I just wanted Daybreak off my needles so I could move on with a clear conscious.  It was a pleasant project to knit - no problem there - it's just that the joy and thrill of the chase had left me so finishing was just an obligation.

This photo is pre-blocking - It is also not black like it looks - see the close up photo for a more realistic look at the color.

The edge and the stripe is called sable and it is a brownish gray color - the top color is perfectly plum and  it is beautiful.  The yarn was Fiberphile MCN fingering.  For all the non-knitters - the MCN means merino/cashmere/nylon.  The blends with cashmere are my very favorite.  I can't hardly say the word CAAAAASHMERE without remembering that hilarious Seinfeld episode involving the cashmere sweater that was purchased for a great price because it had a spot on it.  Anyway - who doesn't love caaaaashmere.

Next up is my long neglected Autumn House by Melissa Shirley Designs.  I went great guns on this design - doing tons of research into stitches and made up my own stitch guide.  I was so very pleased with how the fields came out.  I agonized over what and how to stitch those wheat sheaves/stacks/bundles thingys.  You see I've never seen wheat after harvest and of course now days there is no bundling, tying and drying like they did in the old days or the days prior to mechanized farm harvesting.  So I had no clue what they really looked like - anyway - I got about half way thru those wheat things and I just put this project away.  I mean AWAY away - it has not seen the light of day for at least a year or more.  Last month I went to a fun "girls night out" at a not-so-local needlepoint shop with DF Kris and I needed something to work on.  EGADS - it took me a week of studying this piece - just staring at it to first figure out what stitch I was using for those wheat things and then to decide if I really wanted to jump back into the field with it. 

Well - jump I did and I promised myself I would not put it down again till it is finished.  So I finished those hateful wheat things and started on the dirt below the fence.  Here is a close up of the fence - I'm not sold on this stitch which is just a simple brick done both horizontally and vertically to give the illusion of the wood planks having grain.  Anyway - it looks pretty good in person so I decided to leave it and press onward - The canvas is so busy - I don't really want the fence to be the star anyway but I also didn't feel I wanted simple basketweave for the fence.  I am still pondering what to do with the sky.  I ordered Gloriana Florimell a long time ago (maybe 18 mos to be exact) for the sky - I do want a basically black sky so I am happy with my color choice however I am wrestling with whether to do basketweave on the sky or some simple horizontal type stitch.  I am also toying with the idea of putting tiny beads for the stars.  I've never been a big beader but that is all the rage in needlepoint these days and I took a recent class (see last post on Candy Claus) and there was some beading involved.  So I got reacquainted with beading and now I feel empowered to do more beading.  I am going to put a few in before the final decision to bead or just do tiny X stitches with krenik.

Another poor neglected project is Saroyan - I picked it up after finishing Daybreak and decided it would be a fairly quick finish since it is done with Malabrigo Rios a worsted weight wool.  So after a few nights - I am about at the halfway mark.  The pattern is a 14 row repeat - simple if you keep accurate track of the rows.  This is not an accurate representation of the colorway.

This however is  - isn't it lovely - I've never been much of a blue/purple person but it seems like I have been on a purple binge lately and everything that I look at is purple.  Nothing wrong with purple - in some cases it is a very cheerful color - mixed with my favorite yellow/green it is smashing color.  See the fun leaf border - I just love how the pattern creates a vein in the leaf.  Plus it is a free pattern on Ravelry for all you knitters out there.

LOVE LOVE my pottery pumpkin I got while on vacation last month in the Smokie mountains.  We dropped a load of $$ this year in the Old Mill Pottery .  Last year I bought some soup bowls with handles and I wanted at least 1 or 2 more.  My mom wanted some too - they are awesome and each one a little different.  Last year I saw these awesome pumpkins scattered around the store - the clerk said every year they sell out as they only make a certain number for the fall season.  I could not resist this handsome fellow - It is heavy because it is solid not hollow.

Here is a good view of the stem and also the dried corn I put with it on my tablescape.  I wanted to find something else to throw on this pewter tray - however I have not run across anything I liked yet. 

I finally felt like putting out my fall things last weekend.  I usually start in September but when it is in the 90's around here - it doesn't remind me much of fall.  We have finally broke into the 60's in the mornings and a few mornings it was foggy, damp and very fallish looking so it's time! 

I hope you are all feeling very fallish and are enjoying working on fall projects.  I am a "stitch in the season" type of person.  I work on fall things in the fall and christmas things in December.  It just helps me get in the  mood for said season - so enjoy what you do when you do it !  Thanks for dropping by my blog - hope you will leave me a comment - I love hearing from you all.

MUST BE CHRISTMAS

Hi friends

Confused by the blog title - well - give it a day or two and it really will be Christmas !

Our local EGA chapter is having a canvas class tomorrow. We are so excited to be working on this cute guy.  Met Candy Claus - a canvas by Carol Dupres.  Our teacher Janeann Sleeman created a darling stitch guide for this canvas and we've been excited for months about having her.

Looks like Christmas around here and look at these festive gift bags made by our chapter member Devon - hope on over to her blog and then to her Etsy store to see all the beautiful pouches and project bags she makes.

SHHHHHHH - I'm not telling what's inside. 

The kits for this class were put together for us by In Stitches in Atlanta.  Just look at the beautiful packaging Bam and her team did for us.  I've not had a chance to visit In Stitches in person yet but it's definitely on my list of things to do SOON.  Pop over to their website and see what fun they are having in Atlanta.

 Just to prove I do still stitch - I stuck in this one Fat Man photo - I don't know why it's so blurry.  It is worked on 28ct R&R Antique Cotton in the called for overdyed threads and it just the first of the 6 Fat Men by Lizzie Kate.  Guess I better get busy since now the Snow Belles have made their debut.  This is a fun project with bright colors and it's easy on the eyes.

Couldn't resist sharing my excitement with my friends in blog land.  I hope you all have a bit of Christmas magic in your needles in the upcoming weeks.  Everyone is immersed in Halloween and Fall stitching now and I've so enjoyed seeing all the lovely projects.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that Fall has come to your area.

BACK IN THE GROOVE

Seems I start every blog post saying I can't believe how much time has passed - Time is just flying by and the month is half over tomorrow - HALF OVER !  how can that be !

Well - I started my month off with a blissful vacation - our favorite spot in the Smokey Mountains in Tenn.  We did some shopping and relaxing and it was a great time.

On the way up - I wanted to stop in Swainsboro Ga at the Coleman House B&B - they serve lunch to the public 6 days a week so if you are ever in the area  - don't miss seeing this grand old Queen Anne style home.  It is on the national Queen Anne registry.

Jody is approaching the front steps - it is a beautiful place.

 A group of about 12 friends booked this whole inn a few years back and we spent many happy hours on this porch.

The grounds and gardens are beautiful too - look at that old brick smokehouse.

Ever heard of the mysterious Georgia Guidestones ?  They were erected in 1979 -

They are in direct alignment with certain stars and constellations just like Stonehenge and other monolithic structures.  That is the hole where you could see them on certain days of the year.

There is ominous warnings written in 9 languages

 There was a segment on the TV show "Decoded" - we knew they were there but we had never bothered to go hunt for them.  After seeing that episode we decided we'd track them down because we travel right near the spot on the way to the mountains.

Speaking of mountains - a twilight shot of the view off our balcony.

A beautiful clear day to see Mt LeConte -

Natures bounty from the farm stand we love in the North Ga. mountains.

I spent a lot of time working on a vest for  my mom - It is a Noro bulky yarn and a Noro pattern.  It is more green than blue and the colors reminded us of fall.  She requested I have it done so she could wear it back to the Smokies next month - hummm - at the rate the days are flying - I better pick up the pace.

Here is my Daybreak shawl - it is very hard to photograph because it is in the final stages now.  I'm on the border and have just a few more inches before it will be done - YIPPEE !

I did visit the awesome cross stitch shop in Pigeon Forge - Dixie Darlin but I just purchased some overdyed threads and no new projects - My mom however fell into the pit big time and added several new projects including Boo Scurry and Yum and my dad started the new Mirabilia Santa and got all his supplies on that.  I worked on a BBD piece from my stash - the "remember me" series  and I just did not remember to get a photo.  Next post I promise to show my progress on that and I have a couple of needlepoint classes coming up this month so hopefully there will be stitching photos coming soon. 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog today - I appreciate each and every comment.  Hope you are enjoying a lovely fall weekend in your area.

CATCHING UP A WHOLE MONTH !

WOW - it is very frightening how fast August has flown by.

Seems like I have been chasing my tail all month trying to catch up with myself.  I have had some taxing projects at work to deal with and also business travel to Auburn AL this month. 

There was a little fun sprinkled in among all the hard work.  One of my favorite things about working in Auburn is visiting the wonderful Yarnhouse Studio in Auburns sister city Opelika.  There are 2 or more great restaurants on the same street as the shop so it is a great stress relief for me to go spend an hour with the owner after work and then have dinner.  I have some great stash purchases to show you from that trip.

Earlier in August we spent our long weekend at St Augustine Beach.  I did a little stitching and I do mean "very" little stitching.  I re-started a wonderful Brenda Keyes design called "A Sailors Wife" and watched these very strange storm clouds move in.  This huge tube shaped cloud was just so strange - I've lived in NE FL my whole life and I don't recall ever seeing anything this strange.

 Here is another shot showing how that long tube fed into the huge thunderhead.  Very scary stuff.  It looked like it was sitting right on top of the condo unit next to ours.

 We found a great new restaurant while at the beach this year.  GAS Full Service is owned by a young couple and I think the man is the chef.  His wife seats guests and waits tables too.  It is a great old former gas station and they have decorated in a 50/60's motif and have great beach music from the same era playing.  Not to mention the food is great.  They don't have a website but do have a facebook page if you're interesting in learning more.

 We like it so much we drove back down there this past weekend and ate there again.

This time of the year - the pull of Fall days to come and wool fumes overcome me.  It doesn't take much prompting for me to start stashing for the fall/winter knitting season.  Heck I think I started in July this year but who's counting. 

Another fun adventure I had this month was going to a new-to-me shop downstate a bit in Bunnell.  The Sew and Quilt Shop has a great little yarn corner.  DF Henrietta lives near there and has been telling me what nice things this shop has and that their yarn selection is varied and growing.  So mid month DF Kris - my mom and I set out early one morning to visit this shop and have lunch with DF Karen and Henri.  We had fun - obviously evidenced by the beautiful Noro yarn pictured below.  My DM who doesn't even knit was overcome by the wool fumes and a great sale price on this lovely Noro yarn.  Can you make me a vest out of this???????  She quiried - So we set about looking thru the new Noro mags and books and found something I think she will like.  What lucious fall colors in this yarn.

My mom won the prize for the big spender of the day but I had to buy one little souvenir of the trip - this is Prism Saki - a beautiful superwash merino sock yarn.  Hand dyed of course by local florida company Prism.  I can't remember the colorway but it is just perfect "mel" colors.  Yellow greens, olive greens, plum and maybe a little rich brown.

From my most recent stashing endeavor at the Yarnhouse Studio - 3 skeins of lovely Boticello Red MMMMalabrigo Sock - I really really like MB sock - I think it is an excellent product for the price and who doesn't love all their yummy colorways.

 Madeline Tosh is one of my favorite yarn companies - they do gorgeous hand dyeing and have a number of yummy yarn bases.  Pashmina is one of my faves with a blend of merino/cashmere.  This is Iris a beautiful shade of purple and will be used for the upcoming Quaker Ridge KAL on Rav.  I'm undecided if I will do the beads but I'm thinking the beaded edge will be a good learning experience and so I might try and find some great beads for this yarn.

An interesting Madeline Tosh yarn I have not tried is Prairie - a single ply merino lace weight yarn.  Also found this yummy stuff at Yarnhouse on my July visit.  As I said - wool fever hit early this year.

another gorgeous MT yarn - Sock - this is black currant  - what a lovely color - no plans for this yet but 2 skeins is almost 8oo yards so enough to do almost any shawl.

well - I've come to the end of my yarn adventures - I wish I could show a huge stitching finish but sadly I have just not been in a stitching mood.  I have also hardly hooked any at all this summer.  Just the clicking of my addi needles is the only sounds coming from my stitching nest these past few months.

I hope everyone in the gulf coast region is well and that Isaac passed you by with no ill effects to your property or family.

Enjoy the labor day holiday and I'll see you in September

SEEING RED

WOW - looks like I almost let all of July slip by without another post to my blog.  I see that I have picked up another couple of followers - welcome !  

The reason I have not posted is because I really didn't have anything exciting to say or to show  you.  I have been involved this summer with Camp Loopy projects.  Camp Loopy is a summer knitting challenge run by The Loopy Ewe  - a great shop in Colorado.  Sheri  does an awesome job selling online but also has brick and mortar you can visit.  Anyway - last month I met the challenge and finished the Peak Island Hood and yesterday I finished my challenge for this month which was Stripe Study - I used Skein hand dyed yarn from Australia and I LOVE LOVE the finish.  The yarn is gorgeous to work with and the colors are warm and rich.  Stripe Study was easy but not boring.  Take a look

Stripe Study is a biggie - I used every bit of the two skeins which was over 800 yards - I CAN NOT believe I was able to knit over 800 yards in a month.

nope this is not an illusion or trick of the camera - the left side is definitely smaller stripes than the right side - this is achieved by short rows -

So - I have done very little else but KNIT KNIT KNIT this past month.  I was stitching a little on BBD Flowers for You earlier in July - I am really starting to miss my stitching especially since I have gotten some stash enhancements lately.  Last weekend I picked up the JCS Halloween issue and can't wait to start the Town of Halloween by Primitive Hare and last week I also got my order of Old Salem linen for that design from the Attic as well as the Sampler of the Month for July - the Land of the Free with some yummy lakeside linen for it.  Just can't wait to get back to stitching but alas - there is yet one more Camp Loopy project to do.

This is my exquisite Fiberphile MCN luxe sock yarn that will be used for Daybreak - The requirements for CL3 are that the design be at least 500 yards or more and be a design that is 2 colors or more and something you have never knitted before.  I have done a few of Stephen Wests' designs and am excited about finally knitting Daybreak.  Still have to wind my skeins but I'm sure I will probably start tonight or tomorrow.

Well that's about all my news - it's lean I know but aside from finishing that BIG shawl - I don't have any more news.  It's just hot as blue blazes here in NE FL just as I know it is in many areas of the country - of course it is the end of July and very typical for this time of the year.  So whether knitting, stitching or hooking (what is that?  I think I forgot how) - I hope you have a cool fun filled weekend !

BOSTON

No - I'm not talking about the fine city of Boston but the band Boston.

We attended their concert last night at the St Augustine Amphitheatre and to say they ROCKED THE HOUSE is an absolute understatement!!!!!!!!!!  They played all their great hits spanning over 30 years in the industry.  They played loud hard and steady - never slowing down one bit for one solid hour and a half.  We saw Boston in the late 90's in the Tampa/St Pete area with more of the original members however this lineup was nothing less than stellar.  The performance was AWESOME and if you are a Boston fan - get on the internet now and see if they are coming to a town near you.

 As you can see - we had great seats - front and center -The only drawback was the excessive heat - however there was a breeze off the ocean





Moving on to what else I've been doing lately.  Camp Loopy 2 with The Loopy Ewe started on 6/27.  Her requirement for this camping project is that at least one color in your project had to use a color in your nations flag and that the project be a minimum of 800yrds - WHEW - 800 + yards in a month - that is a tough challenge for me.  I chose the ever popular Stripe Study Shawl by Veera.  Lots of people have enjoyed knitting this one and I have never tried it - It is a garter stitch and the unsual shape is created by doing short rows and the striping of two colors.  I am using lovely yarn that I have never tried before by Skein - a hand-dyer in Australia - it is a fingering weight 80% merino and 20% cashmere and it is really lucious.  I am enjoying using it very much.

The dark rich red is Little Red and the other color is Sugar - I actually love the Sugar and am really liking the two together.  As of midnight last night - this is how much I have gotten done.  It's easy knitting now that I've gotten the hang of the pattern and short row shaping.

A little patriotic stashing this week when the pre-order from the Attic arrived.  This is the limited edition Star Spangled box by Kelmscott  and the July Wordplay by With They Needle and Thread

Patriotic stitching was dragged out from the bottom of the WIP/UFO pile.  America by Handwork is almost 1/2 done I would say.  It is worked on the called for treasured BOAF Sparrow linen with the designers choice of GAST threads.  I am hoping to make some progress on this over the 4th holiday.

Last thing I got a month or so ago and keep forgetting to show is another piece for my Liberty Hill collection.  The Stitchers Station sits right on my table by my stitching chair.  It has a cute rolling farm scene all around - which you can't see very well - a threadwinder and a 3" ruler was included.  I find it handy to stick my stitching glasses, my Brighton pen and I have the threadwinder loaded up with the beautiful Gloriana Florimell silk I am using for I Wait for God design by Hands to Work.  I don't have enough of this done to show you yet.  There was an awesome photo of someone who used the same color silk for the same design  I am using in the recent Attic newsletter.

Well my fine friends - I wanted to wish you all a very happy and festive 4th of July - I probably won't make it back to blog land to post this week so I'm sending you best wishes for all your favorite 4th foods and plenty of time for holding a needle in your hand.  Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving your comments - I always love hearing from you.