boy, it was a glorious weekend for weather here—sunny, warm (it got up to 70 degrees yesterday), and colorful. the ivy covering our garage has finally turned flame-colored
i know everyone is waiting patiently to hear who won the book—thank you for the ton of comments you left!—the winner is . . . kate (the enabler), yay!
and i had the doors and windows open to the breeze all afternoon yesterday.
it was a good weekend to wash some sweaters and then get outside for a bit while they dried.
sunday we had spinning class and barb brought goodies for everyone (i’ll share mine with my knitting class this afternoon).
the spinners are all getting into holiday knitting, trying to use handspun to make gifts. barb had a beautiful pair of fine cabled mitts she’s knitting in some fingering weight merino she spun up a while back and we were all so busy admiring them that i forgot to take a picture, arrgggh. but she did make us laugh at the number of mitts she’s made since our last class (barb is a very quick knitter).
i am back to my baby camel/silk lace project but i made an executive decision to switch wheels after the experience i had in my rhinebeck class (i was spinning it previously on my merlin production wheel).
when i first sat down on the merlin yesterday morning, i was really struggling to get the same feel i had just had with the luxury samples i spun. i just couldn’t get the double drive to have the same flyer-to-takeup ratio that made spinning fine fiber so comfortable on the single-drive lendrum.
so i broke off, got out the lendrum, and set up to spin the rest of the camel/silk fiber on it. what a difference. i was able to set the brake for a much lighter takeup (for control with the short camel fiber) while still working with a fast flyer speed (to get enough twist for a fine yarn). lovely, lovely and much less work on my hands.
after everyone left, i got busy in the kitchen, making a quiche with more of the greens i picked earlier in the week, some mushrooms, and a layer of thin-sliced potatoes at the bottom.
and just a little while after i pulled it out of the oven, our houseguest for the next few days arrived bringing a good appetite along—welcome to the magic kingdom
it’s my friend cookie!
she’s visiting with us for a few days between teaching dates. i’m so excited we have a chance to spend time together this week; can you tell we’re gonna be having some fun?
the first thing we did was eat, hahaha. then we opened a plummy shiraz pinotage from south africa, got out our knitting, and sat down for a marathon catching up session.
i had finished my henley sleeve on saturday, so i cast on for my new front while we talked and got about five inches knit. look at all i got done . . .
cookie tried to get me to cable without a needle but i’m just all thumbs with it. it’s faster for me to use a third stick, seriously.
i’ll keep working at it but honestly, i dunno if it’s going to take . . .
i am getting deeply addicted to this project—i could knit on this for hours. cookie was kidding me about finishing the sweater before she leaves and i laughed, but you know, i think if i did knit on it solidly for the next two or three days, i might just be able to do it. it’s that engrossing for me.
or maybe it was just the wine, who knows?
after a while we decided to watch a movie, so i dragged myself away from the sweater and switched to my new sock project.
now, i may have mentioned before that i have succumbed to the spell of josette and her gorgeous yarn and fiber, but i’m not sure i fully imparted the magnitude of my crush on this particular skein of enchanted knoll BFL sock in colorway sari, shown here at the bottom of the photo.
i saw it in her booth at sock summit and instantly knew i had to have it. i am being noble and knitting socks for david with it, because it really does express my deepest, most abiding love for him, but can i just tell you how hard it is not to keep it for myself?? sigh . . . love conquers all.
and, at least i get to knit it. the touchy-feely part is all mine. just look at how yummy the colors are—they go really well with shiraz, just sayin’.
well. so, ok, i picked a stitch pattern, swatched it flat, and liked the way it looked. i cast the cuff on and got that knit, then i started the patterning and knew pretty soon that it wouldn’t work. it’s the kind of pattern that increase and decreases, which worked fine in flat form, but looked awful in the sock. plus, i wasn’t sure i’d have enough yarn—each repeat was using a lot of yardage.
so i’m halfway back to square one with it—i’ll keep the cuff if i find a body motif that works with it, but if not, i’ll rip back and start over. in the meantime, i have to say that for once, my considerably inflated crush ion the yarn is justified—the knitted fabric has a high-quality hand and beautiful stitch definition, with a nice round feel as it goes through my fingers, despite its smooth, sleek profile. very nice indeed; i can’t wait to the show back on the road with it.
we were still only halfway through the movie when i got to the stopping point with the sock and i tried to sit still and just watch, but before long i was getting antsy. so i retrieved my mink scarf from another room and settled in with that—perfect solution
i got another repeat knit before bed.
i must congratulate you all on helping craig to sell out all of the purple mink yarn almost as soon as he got it restocked last week (as well as several other colors)—way to go, yarn fans!
i am seriously proud of you, doing your part to keep our friends, the small producers, in business and the economy chugging along. i’m also incredibly pleased that such a nice, reasonably-priced product is getting out there in the hands of people who will love it most—it is very much deserving.
and no worries for those who missed out on last week’s restocking; i’m sure craig will have more soon.
ok, it’s time for me to find some lunch and then get ready for this afternoon’s class. it’s sure to be a fun week around here, what with the company, the knitting night on wednesday, and—believe me—plenty of laughing. we even plan to do some baking!
(oooh,cookie just got up and wants to look through stitch dictionaries—don’t wanna miss that. gotta go!
36 thoughts on “my favorite cookie”
So many beeutiful things in all of my favorite fall colors!
I can’t cable without a needle either… 😉
Houseguests are so much fun! Especially when they too love knitting 🙂
I am losing my mind over the concept of mink yarn! I didn’t know there could be such luxury!
Oooh, how pretty. I recently laid hands on some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock for the first time. It’s intended to be socks for my boyfriend, but it’s so pretty and smooshy and I just KNOW he won’t appreciate it like I would . . . (By the way, how many stitches would you usually use for plain stockinette David socks? Stupid men and their enormous feet.)
Wow, sounds like a fun week ahead! I wish I had been faster on the draw and gotten my own skein of that lovely purple mink/cashmere. Oh well, patience is a virtue.
What fun to have Cookie for a houseguest! It must be all knitting, all the time!
I’m eagerly awaiting the purple mink re-stock.
so many beautiful colours in this post…I am a sucker for all the purples!
So beautiful! I totally miss fall living in Arizona. The leaves are incredible and the yarn, yum, yum. That color “sari” is unreal – I am drooling over it. I have to see if she sells online! She does, but no more of that sari 🙁
Wow, I love all the purpliciousness! And since Craig was out of the purple, which I have yet to try, I did console myself with a (second) order of black. I was afraid of being without mink-cashmere yarn. Have fun with Cookie!
My current sense of humor says you and Cookie should make a batch of Snickerdoodles. lol
Oh, to be a fly on the wall to hear you and Cookie chat! I can only imagine all the ideas the two of you will have by the end of the visit. Enjoy your visit, and I am planning on getting some of the lovely mink yarn as a treat to myself for finishing up my Christmas knitting.
Hi Cookie!
what a wonderful blog entry! So much to look at and think about! That purple mink (gasp)
Omg, I’ve been seeing “Cookie A” designs everywhere and JUST NOW put it together… wow!!
Two of the most talented (and nicest) knitters under one roof!! I know you will have a wonderful visit together.
Love those socks! What type of cast on do you use for socks? The edge looks different than with long-tail cast on.
It seems I wasn’t the only knitter taking advantage of the weekend to wash the woolies.
Happy knitting!
Hope you two have wild and happy times – and may they involve chocolate, yarn, and many laughs:)
Sounds like a great party! You knit that fast WITH a cable needle?? I should hate you…lol. Love the ivy-my oakleaf hydrangea is turning that color too. So lovely!
Sold. I hustled over to the Enchanted Knoll Farm etsy shop and bought myself some yarn. So beautiful!
Hi, Cookie! You guys are going to have a blast, I can tell 🙂 I love the colors in those socks — you are very good to give them to David, I’m not sure I’m that generous, heh. Have a great week!
I hope Cookie loves my room as much as I do!!! hahaha (but tell her not to get too comfy!).
I’m with you on cabling with a 3rd stick. It’s faster for me, too, than all the fiddling with stitches cabling on 2 needles. I use a crochet hook just like a small needle, ignoring the hook portion. I guess if I had a 4-5″ needle, I would like that even better.
The color of that sock is divine!
Have fun with Cookie, and I too can’t do the no needle cable!
How wonderful to spend time with someone who shares your passion! And the Henley is amazing. Play hard.
That sounds like great company and great fun!
I finally succumbed to the lure of the mink yarn. I was at a knitting retreat this past weekend & someone else had bought it (after reading here, of course) and feeling/seeing it in person was the last straw. Eagerly awaiting delivery of yarn!
i hope you won’t mind but to me the ivy covering your garage rather seems wine 🙂
Ooh, that sock yarn really IS yummy. I seem to be in a sock slump, maybe I need to cast on with something über-decadent. Hmmmmmmm…
Oh wow, I love that Sari colorway!!! It’s so gorgeous! I can’t wait to see what you knit with it.
Ooh, that purple-red sock yarn is really lovely!
The leaves surrounding your garage is pretty. The leaves are still green in my neck of the wood. The color of your socks are stunning also. I have a preference for the red family lately.
BTW, I like the new font on your blog.
I’m loving all your projects! I’m the same way, I cannot sit still during a movie, I need to be doing something. I’ve always been like that and I blame my mom. Growing up we always had little crafty projects we would work on while watching movies. People think I’m crazy for keeping myself occupied during a movie, but I think it’s crazy people can sit still that long!
jen
how very wonderful that you and Cookie get to play for a week! I am certain that you will be having some serious fun 😉
I’m a bit behind on blog comments (again) but just had to say that I think your newest sweater, sprossling is so gorgeous. I love the details in the shaping. Truly fabulous. and those hayrick socks are, dare I say, pretty! The design is wonderful.(as yours always are)
Can’t wait to see the Henley.
I have that same paper that you have in your kitchen! Bought it about 25 years ago from Williams-Sonoma and have never seen it anywhere else.
Looks as if you had a great weekend all around. Just have to ask, is Cookie eating a cookie in the first class photo?
Love that cuff knitting with the purpley/greeny yarn!
I noticed ome Green & Black’s cocoa on your helves, tht is also our household’s favourite cocoa! We also eat a lot of their chocolate!
I love peanut butter and Nutella cookies (Nutella is a chocolate and hazelnut paste/spread – dont know if you get it over there across the ‘Pond’?)
Also love chocolate chocolate chip and blueberry cookies….I’ll stop now as I am drooling at the thought of lovely crunchy-yet-chewy cookies warm from the oven washed down with a giant mug of cocoa with honey……
Quelle joie de pouvoir tricoter entre copine et aussi de déguster de bon gâteau. miammm….
Ici c’est en célibataire le tricot!
bisous.
A+
Esther
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