Back in the UK

England, oh England, my green and pleasant homeland.....

For my new job, (which I was suposed to start at the beginning of October - oops), I need a new visa. A new visa means lots of paperwork, even more money and a visit to the US Embassy in London.
Now, I love the fact that I get to come home for an unexpected visit with the folks but why does it have to be now???? Only a few days before the US NE knitters event of the year - RHINEBECK!!!!!!!!!
This is the weekend that we look forward to all year as we exit the gates of the festival the previous year!!!!
I am soooo sad :o(
Not only am I missing out on all that fibreous fabulousness and the fun-filled weekend of hanging out with my SnB sisters and scoffing down mouthfulls of maple candyfloss and apple crisp, (mmmmmmmmmm, apple crisp....) but this year I'm supposed to be signing books in the Authors' Tent! My name is on the website and everything!!!!!! Even the great and powerful Harlot linked to me!!!!!
When I told my fella that I had to make this trip his first reaction was, "I'm going to miss you." Then suddenly he reacted, "You're going to miss Rhinebeck!!!!" I think that is when I realised that he really was the man for me - hehehee. I had thought of sending him, decked out with a long blonde wig in my place - do you think anyone would notice?
My Mum is knitting a doll for a charity event at her Women's Club.
I did think about dressing it up like me and sending it off to take my place, but the sale is this Saturday so the timing for that is all wrong too. Drat! Drat! Drat! Dratted Double Drat!!! (Sorry for that outburst but hard times call for harsh language!)
Oh well, I'll just have to live vicariously through the experiences of others and catch up on all the goings on in blogland........ have fun if you're going and don't think about me, sat here, thousands of miles away, drinking Yorkshire Tea, wishing I was there.... with you......

All that hasn't stopped me from knitting though.
I grabbed a few skeins of yarny yumminess at Annie's opening party and started to knit this wrap out of Great Adirondack Caribou. I loved the way the colours worked together in the skein but am not so happy with the shortness of the spacedye sections. I wanted it to be more stripey.
I'll put it to one side and see how I feel about it later before ripping the whole thing out.

Talking of ripping, I've been doing a lot of that with another project I'm working on. It's a commission piece for my new friend, Marlene, who works at Annie's a couple of days a week.
The top photo is a sneaky peek at the complicated cables on the back of the cardigan. It took quite a few atempts to get it looking just how I wanted it. Now I have to wait and see if she can get more yarn in the same dye lot. I really do live on the edge!

Pumpkin Season

The skies were overcast and the pumpkin-covered ground was moist but that didn't dampen our spirits as we rummaged for bargins at the local Annual Barn Sale.





It's a good job that we drove there in Spud as we needed the cargo area to take home a rocking chair, (to rock while I knit), wicker baskets, (to sit by the chair and store yarn/projects), a sewing box made from an old barrel, (to hold drinks/snacks while I sit, rock and knit), as well as a tonne of other goodies that are all still in boxes....




Once our acquisitions were safely stowed away, Christo and I had time for a little clowning around...






















The comedy scarecrows were all wrapped up to protect them from the threat of precipitation, which, for me at least, made them appear even more sinister!



















All this fall frolicking hasn't been getting in the way of my knitting. Here are a couple of FO's that I knitted for Annie's.
Ribbons Baby Blanket made in the silky Be Sweet Bamboo:



The Nomad Hat Scarf from this month's Interweave Knits. I worked this up in the dreamy Misti Alpaca.



Loved it so much that I'm doing another one for me in green.
(Either I made the same mistake twice or the increases in this pattern are incorrect. I'll investigate this further and let you know the outcome. It's very possible that I am the one in the wrong as I was talking when working these sections on both hats!!)

In other, (non-illustrated), news... I've got a new job, bought a car and am a bone fide member of the fabulous Ravelry! (find me at armyofknitters) All exciting stuff for little me! More info and pics to follow when I've got a minute.

Happy pumpkin carving! ;o)

Flippin' ek!!!

I can't believe that I didn't manage a single post for the entire month of August - where did the time go???

The lazy days of summer are all but a distant memory as I've been thrown head first back into the world of work. The long commute into the city gives me some time to get a bit of knitting in but my days have been a constant stream of; getting up early, traveling via car/bus/subway, working then back on the subway/bus/car, eating then back to bed. No time for the frivolities of blogging. - I have no clue what's going on in the world, (of knitting or otherwise)! Big thanks to both Smitten and Minx for putting me up on those nights when making the long journey home was just not an option - you're the best!!

Being a holiday weekend, (Labor Day, for the non-Yanks out there), I have some time to spend in front of this glowing screen and see if I can make some headway on my website. I don't want to jump and down with excitement just yet, as I'm not sure if I've done it right but I think I may have cracked it by getting some of my patterns up there and available for purchase!!
Thanks to the lovely Jen for pointing me in the right direction for the final stages in this process - you saved me from banging my head against the desk in frustration!!

Here's a taster of the patterns I have up available - more will be added soon :o)

The Cable Guy

A Big Thank You to my lovely friend and fellow SnBer, blogless Johanna for sending me a promotional flyer for Ms Debbie Stoller's new book, Son of Stitch 'n Bitch. (Links on sidebar.)
The book looks as though it will have some good stuff for the fellas in it, especially a certain sweater designed by my fair and modest self - hehe ;o) I was very excited to see my sweater featured in the flyer and can't wait to see it in
the real book!









Here's a taster:





















I'd also like to say thanks to all those who said nice things about the last post, I just can't see myself in all that white!
And Rain, I would be honored to be your imaginary big sister - just don't go trying on my clothes while I'm out!!!

At last..... some Finshed Objects to show off!!

Inspired by the voluptuous shot of our own little Jenn in her Coachella, I went a-hunting through my stash for some suitable yarn to make one too!
I found some gorgeously soft, unlabeled, white cotton - must've come from a yarn swap, long ago...
Not being anywhere near as curvy as our dear, aforementioned friend, I didn't have to alter the pattern, except for making it longer to fit my extended torso. I like it, but white just isn't me - I don't really do pale colours. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get around to dyeing it one day.....




The baby blanket is finished too.
Now let's all keep our fingers crossed that it's recipient will be a boy - It doesn't really matter either way because if I know the parents-to-be at all, he or she will be forced to be a Yankees fan!! (Yankees colours are blue and white, right?)






Another baby blanket - this time my own design, for a girl.
If you are reading this, my friend from long ago who had a baby earlier this year, I'm so sorry for taking an eternity to get knitted gifts to you - I will get to packing them up and sending them off before the little one starts school - promise!!!!






Summer's here! Which means more crocheting!
Here's the bag I finished over a month ago but have yet to use. It would've been right at home on my recent trip to Woodstock!
It's more Lion Cotton worked in single crochet stripes with a giant granny square for the flap.
See, these colours are much more "me".











More stash diving was involved to find a mixture of colours and textures for these crochet flowers - they are on their way to becoming part of something bigger - I'll let you know if it all works out!






And finally, to round off today's show and tell, "Carol's Cable Clutch", a bag pattern I designed for one of my students, (I miss you, students!!). This is one of the many patterns I have all written up and ready to be sold from my website. I've been working on my website this week and managed to fix all the broken links. I just need to figure out how to sell patterns, (in PDF form), from there. I've been reading up on the subject and hope to get it going soon. If anyone has any tips, PLEASE let me know!!

Thank you - is it time to eat now?

More Tales From The Sticks....

Ooooh, that would be a good title for a knitblog or book, maybe??

Anyway.... I'm still playing at being a country girl - this past week the camping destination was The Poconos in Pennsylvania - nice but I preferred the vibe in the Catskills. The rain didn't help matters much either but that did mean more time to sit under the tarp and knit and EAT!!!!

Check out the King Size garlic!

And the beautiful Corn on the Cob.

Here it is with it's siblings all grilled to perfection!

And scrumptious vegetables on sticks - mmm-mmmmmmmmmm!

I started work on a Pinwheel Baby Blanket using Lion Brand Lion Cotton - from the depths of the stash.

Something tells me that Lucky likes to ride in the camper but her legs aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals!

Still with a taste of wanderlust on our lips, we set off for another day's driving in the Catskills.

I had never been to Woodstock before, I thought it would be just another farming town with maybe a few old hippies hanging tightly to the memories of the first summer of love but I wasn't expecting to see any - let alone shops selling tie-dyes and the kind of outfits the extras wore in Austin Powers!!

But it seemed as though that is what the other tourists had come for.

Me? I was there for the knitting!!

When checking out *What to do in the Hudson Valley* this weekend, I stumbled on this website - HOORAH! A Knitting Shop!! I hadn't been to a knitting shop in AGES!!!!

I had a nice chat with one of the owners, Paul. What a lovely man!

Woodstock Wool Co. is HUGE!

There's a great space for sitting and knitting and looking through their fab selection of vintage knitting and crochet mags

They have a nice selection of yarns as well as their own hand-dyed stuff. I was hoping to walk away with a skein or two of lime and turq sock yarn but they didn't have any in stock. Looks like I may have to pay them another visit or buy it from their website.

If you want to visit this shop, don't hang about - they're selling up and moving to a smaller place.

After tearing myself away from the yarn and out again into the sunshine, I stumbled on this pretty bike - Look it's orange and lime green with flowers - I want!!

I had hoped to find a funky cafe in Woodstock to have some lunch but I really didn't like the look of anywhere that I walked by.
Then I remembered the delicious pancakes I had eaten in a really cool place at the end of the first camping trip. - It was back in the bus and onto Tannersville.

Maggie's Krooked Cafe did not disappoint!
If you are ever in the area, the oatmeal pancakes are killer!!

I bet this place does a roaring trade with the skiers - it's a very quiet place in the summer. I love the brightly painted buildings and Spud looked right at home parked on the main street.
My plan is to return when the snow falls and try my hand, (feet?), on the bunny slopes.

Back in the Barn.....I don't know why but I crocheted a box.

Stash string and a bit of mohair to trim the top

Maybe I'll line it with some fabric and use it to put bathroom-type-stuff in it.

But for now it folds flat.

Spud Lives!!!!!!

Hip Hooray - Hip Hooray - The Sun has got his hat on and we're coming out to play!!!

At loh-hoh-hah-hooong last the magical mystery bus was up and running and we were able to go away on a camping trip!!

The weather was fabulous, the cooking was excellent, the accommodations were somewhat cramped but cozy and I even got in a tiny bit of sock knitting! We took enough food to last a family of fourteen about 3 months but we didn't get eaten by Black Bears, (which was my main concern and kept me on high alert for most of the trip!)

We hope to do it again this week, taking a little less food this time.

The following photos tell the story: (click on them for a better view - although some are a bit blurry, sorry.)