Secret Pal III !!…..Sept. 16, 2004

Secret Pal III

Today I found a package waiting for me at the Post Office. It was a package from my Secret Pal III :-). Some lovely treats awaited me when I opened up the package. First were 2 balls of Regia Silk and some matching nylon thread for the heels. YUMMY! Just perfect for the next sock in the six sock KAL. I love the color! Next was the really yummy part…….CHOCOLATE! 3 lovely bars of German Chocolate. We have a dear friend in Bremen, Germany who introduced us to German chocolate a few years ago. Ina was an exchange student here who dated my son for a year. She is still very dear to our hearts and we soooo love that german chocolate!! Thank you so much for your thoughtful gifts Secret Pal 🙂

Puppies

Before I get into the fibery going-ons, I promised pictures of the puppies, so here they are. :-). Luna (Ballymena Moondance) is on the left and Dora (Ballymena Tiny Dancer) is on the right. I decided in memory of Dancer to give these girls, Dancing names. .
I so love puppies! I could literally spend the days away, just watching and playing with them. Every day is a new adventure for them. Luna will be going to her new forever home in just a few weeks and Dora will stay with us
It is so hard to say good bye to these little ones that we pour so much of ourselves into in just a few short months. The only thing that helps, is knowing what true joy they will bring some lucky family. Luna will be going to a lovely family, not too far away. Don’t you just love her “sad eyes”!! ……and Dora with her “pacifier”…….too cute!!

Flowerbasket Shawl
I
t’s finished!!! Here it is all blocked and ready to be worn and I just LOVE it!! It was a fun pattern to work on, although, I ripped out more stitches on this,than any other project I have ever worked on. Two things to remember. No drinking a glass or 2 of wine when knitting this and do it when the kids aren’t home…haha!!! I am looking forward to making another one soon.

More Fibery Going-Ons
Now that I am done with the shawl and in between socks, I have started a few new projects. First will be a hat for my daughter who is in college. She loves pink and she loves the tight fitting hats that are so popular with college kids right now. When I got the new spin-off, there was the perfect hat on the cover!! I had just enough left over Desert
Rose Angora/Silk blend, from a large sale that I made and it is perfect for her hat.

On to the next project……….remember those skeins of yarn drying in the breeze last week? Well those are destined to become a celtic vest for me. The pattern is out of the Fall 2003 Knitters magazine. I am not sure if the yarn will give me the right gauge yet though, as I haven’t knitted up a swatch…..so important, especially with handspun. If not, I have some lovely musk shetland that would work nicely as well.

Question of the Week???

In addition to all of the work that we are doing in the kitchen, we are also searching for a new sofa. Our current sofa is 19 years old and very tired. We are contemplating either getting a new one or recovering the old one. I found this striking sofa in a quality furniture store near us and I LOVE it……..but then I love autumn colors. My husband being a conservative kind of guy, is not quite sure of this paprika color. I keep telling him……..trust me……..I have a vision…LOL. My question is………………how many of you like this color and how many agree with my DH? The flowered fabric on the side is the color of the throw pillows.

Of course, I did find an alternative………..a girl always needs an alternative, right? Well, on my trip to pick up my daughter at college for her orthodontics appointment, I stopped in at my favorite non-fiber store……Thimbleberries. There is a sofa in there to die for, however it is a bit pricey, but still very appealing. Given that I am getting a new kitchen, it is hard for me to dig my heels in for this sofa. However…………I can get the fabric that is on the sofa and put it on my old sofa which is a very solid sofa (made it thru 5 kids, 19 years and is still standing…haha).
The fabric is a woven lover’s knot pattern in colonial colors. Norm from Thimbleberries is such a nice guy and has an incredible talent for decorating! Any time you are in Moultonboro, NH, it is a “MUST” stop…..and of course, it is right down the street from Patternworks….mwaaahaaa!!!

Ah, the dilema? The first sofa is soooooo rich and warm looking……..and the other one is timeless. What’s a girl to do?