It was a very good day

When you last heard from me, I was taking a day off to go on the boat with DH. We had a wonderful day. I enjoyed the sunshine and mild temperatures and even the winds cooperated - the water was a calm as could be! I sat in T-shirt and shorts for about 2 hours - in November! It did cool off quickly later on, but it was wonderful while it lasted. I fished and knitted (not at the same time, though I did try!) the afternoon away. sigh. If only more days could be like that one.

The next day was spent sleeping in and then heading off to Stitches East. I suppose I might regret it in the future since Stitches will be in Connecticut next year but I took no classes this year. There was one I wanted, but apparently not enough to fight through the family issues we were having at the time and make me register. I just don't want to spend money on classes for the sake of classes, so when the one I wanted was full by the time I got back to it, I decided to just go to the Market. I wandered and browsed and bought a few things. I saw many beautiful things, but only a few called to me, and those came home with me. I bought a merino/bamboo /silk blend in shades of purple, denim and white, which is marled nicely due to the different fibers taking the dye differently. That came from Maple Creek They were very nice and I had to work to limit myself to only one selection.


From Knitting Notions I bought some superwash merino in shades of teal that matches the blouse I wore that day. I usually struggle to find something to wear with it, and now I have (or I will have once I make it - LOL) something that is just right. I didn't get the color right in the photo, but this was the best one. 


I also bought another sock needle protector from them because I usually have two pairs of socks going at once.
And I bought a gift for Karen that will, of course, not be shown or described here. giggle.

Sunday was spent cleaning and doing laundry (it all dried on the line!) and then knitting while watching football. Another good day.

I finally wove in the ends of my Thelonious socks and they are now officially wearable.



I am making several pairs of Fetching fingerless mitts as holiday gifts - two down, 3 or 4 to go.



Brian's vest has halted because I need to try it on him to see if it's time to join at the underarm, but the colorwork is complete. It looks good. I knitted anohter 2 inches on the Silk and Ivory scarf.

I finished the hat I was knitting in my hand dyed yarn, but I think I will rip back and make it a little longer/deeper. I want it to cover my ears completely, and it doesn't. Yet.

I have become quite expert at frogging. I thought about that the other day - I used to hesitate and dread ripping a project back, put it off until I couldn't deny it any longer, and by then I frequently had more to frog. I have finally accepted that a) my instincts are better than I think and I shouldn't fight that (which translates into when you first think that it might have to be ripped back, it does and don't bother dithering) and b) it's not so terrible to re-work things and c) I am more of a perfectionist than I thought. giggle.
I am a pretty easy going person and I can forgive or overlook a lot (when it comes to my knitting, anyway) but not as much as I used to. Is it the fact that I now submit projects to competitions? Is it that my skills have improved and I know I can get better results now? Maybe a combination of the two? I am not sure, but I surely am an expert at ripping out my knitting. The next question is: Is that something to brag about or not ever mention again.

I am sorry to say that I haven't done any spinning lately. I want to, but then life (in the form of work, laundry, walking, cleaning, etc.) gets in the way. I think I will bring my drop spindle with me to NY and hope to get some spinning done that way.

We were going to NY tomorrow to visit with my mother and to get DH out to Montauk one more time for fishing this year. The weather is not looking good, so we've changed our plans and will leave on Saturday and come back on Tuesday night. I will be brining yarn to make more Fetching mitts, Brian's vest and Bob's sweater to knit on, possibly with the addition of a second skein of the yarn that I dyed to start on the coordinating scarf. Oh, and a sock, of course. We'll be busy, so I don't know how much knitting I will get done, but I will be prepared.

I'll close with a view of my bird visitors that makes me chuckle every time I see it. Have a great day.