Penelope

 I just realized that I never posted anything about a certain fuzzy little piece of joy! This past July, when the weather was quite hot, my husband and I took a rather late night walk. As we were approaching our block we saw a couple of older kids messing around in the street in front of one of our neighbors houses. I told my husband that they seemed like punks who were up to no good. As we got closer, and the kids had taken off down the street, we heard some terribly pathetic noises. We walked around a little until we found the source. A very tiny kitty. Scared. Extremely upset. And in a mailbox. We took her out, held her close and carried her home. She was five weeks old at the time. For the first few nights we kept her in a large box with no lid by the side of the bed. Fed her every few hours. Of course, took her to the vet. And then, when she was big and old enough, introduced her to all her new siblings. They took a while to warm up to her. Well, except for the dog. The dog wanted to love and care for her from the second the little fluff ball entered the house! We named this sweet little creature Penelope and she has been such a joy! Quite the little rascal but that will likely change a bit as she gets older. And so that is the story of our little Penelope

Family Times

We have been having a great and busy time with family. It all goes by far to quickly for my liking though. We all have little projects going on around the house, and while some of my projects really need to be dying of yarn, knitting and spinning, it just doesn't end up happening. I find myself playing a great deal more at the piano this time of year. Not all of it being Christmas music but certainly much more of it now than other times of the year. And it just feels so wonderful to be playing away and hearing family singing in the background or by my side.

My husband found an old spinning wheel at an antique shop this past week and decided to fix it up and perhaps sell it. Not quite sure what she is exactly but she looks remarkable like my ashford traditional. There are no markings though that we have seen. Sure looks great with all the dust gone. The wood freshly oiled and waxed. We are in serious danger of falling in love and keeping her. I have a name all picked out if that is the case. My husband doesn't know about that part yet. He can be informed if we do actually keep her.

Tomorrow I plan on sitting the family down and making some Christmas tree ornaments. I bought some fixings for it one of the last times I was over at Hobby Lobby. My mom and I participated in an ornament exchange at a nearby library and got some very sweet ornaments. I had to place mine on one of our indoor fig trees since one of my mischievous cats has knocked our Christmas tree down more that once. Hopefully, next year will be better on that front since this year she is still just a baby.

Hope everyone is able to enjoy time with family. Merry Christmas all and happy knitting!

The Day to Day Update!

Here I am once again, many days having gone by since the last time I was here! The price one pays for keeping busy I suppose. So here is a rundown on the most current and somewhat noteworthy events :)

In September, my husband and I took a camping/hiking trip over to Estes Park, Colorado. Just the two of us and it was incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating! The weather was most enjoyable and we went at a time when the park (we stayed in the Rocky Mountain National Park) wasn't completely packed. 

In October, I purchased a wonderful used Ashford Traditional spinning wheel at a price that truly could not be beat! I read somewhere that before you ever try a spinning wheel you should master the drop spindle. I did not go that route, am not the least bit sorry for it and further more, have no intentions of ever even trying the spindle. My spinning wheel is just so relaxing and I am thrilled to have it as part of my life!

November, was probably the least eventful. Still busy with the day to day living, just nothing out of the ordinary. My Husband spent a bit of time trying out different techniques and patterns with his weaving loom. Lucky me, I get to have beautiful woven items to display around the house :) 

I took part in a cowl swap which is always fun.

And let's see, seems like something else... Well, my husband and I enjoyed a very quiet Thanksgiving. Just the two of us as we really were just unable to attend anything with his or my family. We still made a beautiful and tasty Thanksgiving feast for ourselves though!

And on to December! Some of my family came over to visit me for a few days and before to long some of them will be back again for some more time with me :) Also will get to see my mother in law and niece! Those little ones grow so quickly! I imagine she will be running all over the house having fun discovering all sorts of interesting things in Uncle and Aunties' home! :) And I also imagine that certain cats will be quietly retreating to unknown parts of the house!

And in the knitting part of my world! Have just finished up another Color Affection that was gifted to a dear friend just this evening and am now working on my first sweater! This is so exciting for me! I am using Rowan Tapestry yarn that I bought a little over a year ago. So far it looks absolutely amazing! I just can hardly wait for it to be finished so that I can wear it everyday for a couple weeks straight!! lol Ok maybe not quite that extreme but I am looking forward to wearing it :) 

Take care all and happy knitting!

Since it has been so very long since I posted anything to my blog, I was rather surprised to find there are many changes to Blogger. This means some browsing is in order!

Life has been keeping me busy. Good things. Not so good things. But all things are a part of life and part of the journey and so here we are!

A few of the good parts!

I have a new walking partner who is also a knitting friend! Each morning and evening we get a couple or few miles in wandering around our little town.

Last month I did a swap on Ravelry which was oh so much fun! It was a shawl swap which is right up my alley at this time. The local yarn shop is also doing a shawl swap that I am involved in. The pattern I am using for that is Saroyan. It really quite nice and simple. Sometimes it's those simple ones that turn out the most beautiful and get the most use. Earlier in the year I did a Color Affection that I fell in love with and there is currently a shawlette in the blocking process on my dining room table! I think in total I have done about five shawl this year.

Last month, off the knitting topic again, I went up to Ontario to spend time with family and ended up spending a few days in Quebec. It was my sister's birthday and so we did a bit more of the tourist scene. It was really so much fun!

Within the next couple of months I have a few more travels lined up. One of which involves a zombie run! Feeling a bit nervous and excited about that one!!

Well, hopefully it won't be so long till next time! Happy Knitting!!

Been away from the blog for quite some time. Since the last time, I have been involved in two shawl swaps and have knit two color affections! It's been good.
The past couple of weeks were spent in Canada with my parents. We went into Toronto on my last day there to hop into a yarn shop. Lettuce Knit. Cute little shop in a rather interesting part of town. Would have loved to spend more time in that area but had more places to be and many things to do. Went away from the yarn shop with a very nice and full bag of yarn. All of it being sock yarn. It can be so hard to leave a new place with out taking a good portion of their inventory. I managed to keep it to one bag only because luggage space was an issue! Does it mean I have a problem when the only things I purchase when away on Holiday are yarn? Surely not! :)
Hope all is well in everyone else's worlds! Until next time....
Happy Knitting!

Knitting has not exactly been the top priority for awhile now but when looking at some yarn my dad had picked up for me some time back it seemed to trigger the need to knit up a shawl. The yarn is a worsted sage color by briggs and little and makes into such a cozy little item. Can't wait for it to be done! I think I will just love the finished product!