Knit, Knit, Knit, Spin, Spin, Spin

Just a shot of a typical 13 year old . . .



Here is the start of the baby blanket from the Knit Cafe book I won from Guido of the It's A Purl Man podcast. This is addictive because the yarn is SO SOFT! My daughter keeps fondling it - I may have to make a bigger one as a throw for the couch. Of course, then I'll have to actually make THREE so that we each have one of our own! The yarn is GGH Esprit made in Italy - yummy!


Here's a picture of the "bump" the blanket is destined for!



My Rozza socks from the latest issue of Interweave are coming along great! The yarn is some beautiful handpainted merino I got on EBay. I really like this pattern. I've adapted it to work toe up and used the heel from the Diamante pattern from Knitty. I really like the heel construction from this pattern and it seems to fit me like a glove (or sock ;-)!





The first skein of yarn from the Louet all spun and plied! It's a bulky weight so I think it's destined to become a hat.


The Louet in all it's glory!


Here's my first spindle of the Forcast fiber - the February Spunky Eclectic selection! It's very soft and springy - a superwash merino. I'm attempting to spin it fairly thin - we'll see how it comes out. I still have to spin the second spindle and ply it together. I went back to work yesterday, and we have a wedding to go to this weekend as well as guests on Sunday, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it soon. But I'm sure having fun!

And it snowed again this morning . . .

Guess What's Here!

Here it is in all its glory - the Louet wheel has arrived! It's currently residing in my Dad's garage receiving its coats of stain and poly. It's so hard to resist just putting together, but it has to be done right! I should be able to take it home this afternoon - now to decide what fiber to start with . . .




And the Rowing Cat picked up the needles once again this week! She decided to make a little shawl for one of her Webkins (anyone else's kids obsessing over these?) Look at those nice garter stitch rows and color changes! She said she just took yarn out of her "stash". So now we have TWO stashes in this house (THREE if you count the roving ;-)


My luxurious striped socks are finished and boy are they comfortable! I wore them all day yesterday! I've done some casting on this weekend. I cast on for a new Clapotis in a solid off-white, a pair of Rozza's socks from the latest Interweave knits and a baby blanket from Greetings from the Knit Cafe. Whew! I'm using very soft and squishy yarn for each of these projects - I thinkI'm going into a soft, comfy yarn stage . . .

This morning we're off to Camp Chingachgook at Lake George for an Easter Brunch - YUM!

And - would you believe that it's SNOWING this morning???? Should just be some snow showers before clearing up but it is COLD - I WANT SPRING!!!

Take a Walk With Me!

Since it was a beautiful Spring day yesterday, I decided to go for my usual walk and share some pictures! Here is a view of the Skidmore campus. It will be green and lush in a few short weeks!


I love this old rock wall. The college built a new soccer field right next to it last year, but thankfully left the wall just as it was. There are daffodils planted all along the wall!

Here are a few daffs poking their heads up!

Anybody want to buy a red barn in the middle of town?

This is an interesting house. This is the back of the house, but it was built to be the front! Actually the original owner wanted the back of the house to be more ornate because the family and their freinds would be spending more time relaxing in the backyard. So the back of the house is what most people would have facing the front. I have a shot of the front further down. What do you think?

This is the Adelphi Hotel. It's an old Victorian hotel that has been beautifully restored. It's only open from May - October. The rooms are beautiful with full length windows and vintage wallpaper and furniture. There is a wonderful courtyard inside where desserts and drinks are served during the warm summer months. And, it was the site of my wedding reception! I wore a vintage gown that had been my great great aunt's wedding gown. The gown and the location matched perfectly!

This is the Spirit of Life statue in Congress Park. It was sculpted by Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. During the summer, the reflecting pool is filled.
This is the Canfield Casino, also in Congress Park. It was once a gambling casino famous as the regular haunt of Diamond Jim Brady! Ladies were not admitted upstairs into the gambling rooms. There is a beautiful reception room in the Casino with Tiffany windows in the ceiling. The Casino is home to a small museum today and is open most days!

This is a picutre of the Carousel. It is a fully restored working carousel! It opens in May and all of the kids ( and adults) can't wait! You get a sticker everytime you ride and then wear it around town for the rest of the day as a badge of honor!

This is a lamp post on the fence surrounding Congress Park. The wrought iron work is beautiful!

Across from the park is one of the many mineral springs hidden around town (Saratoga SPRINGS - get it?) The water comes naturally to the surface and tastes different in each location. Try some if you dare!

Just up the street is Ben & Jerry's! Did you know that Ben and Jerry wanted to open their original store in Saratoga???? But an independent ice cream store had recently opened and they did not want any competition. So off to Vermont they went and so goes history!

Here is our library - it's quite large!

This is the building on Broadway that my husband and I owned until a few years ago. It is beautiful and I always pass it with a little nostalgia!

And finally, the front of the house mentioned earlier! As you can see, it is a little plainer than the back. I think is was built sometime in the 1920's. I think both front and back look good!

Thanks for joining me on my walk and I'll have some knitting content later in the week!