Boy, this fall has been zooming super fast for our family. It seems as though the second school starts, our lives go into hyperdrive. Girlfriend is in 3rd grade now–I can’t believe it. She got the teacher she was hoping for, which is always nice, and her best friend is in the class, too–which is awesome.
Some of our new chickens started laying–which is always fun to discover. At first the eggs are so much smaller than they will be later:
They are fun to eat–Girlfriend spent a couple of weeks eating tiny hard boiled eggs. Only three of them are laying, but we don’t know who. Clover, our Partridge Rock, has turned out to be our resident blabbermouth–she does a whole lot of yelling each time one of her coop-mates lays an egg. Luckily, all of our neighbors say they love hearing the chickens because it makes them feel like they are in the country.
I have gone lace crazy this fall. I joined 3 shawl/stole knitalongs (KAL): the Secret of the Stole 3 from the Nautical Knitter:
The Mystery Stole 4 from Pink Lemon Twist:
The Halloween Mystery Shawl 2008 from Goddess Knits:
So far I’ve been able to keep up fairly well. Each week you get a piece of the pattern, so you don’t know the overall design you’re knitting until you’re finished. The SofS3 is a contest of sorts–she gives out prizes each week to people who finish before the next clue is given (she picks names out of a hat of all of those who have finished each week). At the end of the KAL, she’ll give out prizes to who guesses the theme correctly. With each clue we’ve gotten a hint for a crossword puzzle that we’re filling out. Each clue has to do with the larger theme. I have a pretty good notion of the basic idea of the theme, but I’m not sure what the exact theme is yet. We still have a few more clues, so I have a little time…
We just found out last week that the theme of the MS4 is Serendipity. So, no more guessing there.
The Halloween Shawl is based on old symbols of Halloween (Samhain)–my favorite holiday! Each week we get a clue with an explanation of the symbol in the clue. Last week’s clue was yew leaves (you can see them in the picture above), which some people have used in incense to contact spirits of the dead. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s clue is!
Each project includes beads, which I’m really enjoying. I’m using the crochet method of bead application which is extraordinarily easy. Who knew something so easy could be so beautiful? Kinda like cables–once you find out how they’re done you can’t believe you avoided them because they looked hard…
I had so much fun choosing beads to go with the projects. The SotS3 called for cool colored yarn with complimentary beads. So, I chose a light sage color with lavender beads. The MS4 called for any color yarn with contrasting beads that would “pop” against the yarn. I chose hot pink yarn with bright green beads–very fun! For the Halloween Stole I have variegated dusty blue yarn with beads that are several different colors–each one is different and they look very pretty with the yarn.
For the SotS3 and the MS4 I’m using one of my favorite lace yarns–Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18 lace yarn that is 50% merino and 50% silk. For the Halloween Shawl I’m using a special yarn spun/dyed especially for the KAL from Zen Yarn Garden. It’s called Bellismo Lace and it’s cobweb weight–in 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere. Sooooo soft. Honestly, I have never knitted with such scrumptious yarn. We had a choice of a variegated blue, plum or red. I chose the blue.
If that wasn’t enough crafting, Girlfriend and I have also gotten into beading jewelry. We took a beginning beading class together at the end of summer and had a really fun time. Girlfriend was the youngest person there by far, but she did really well and everyone fell in love with her. She made two projects that are just wonderful–a bracelet for her and a pair of earrings for me.
I’ve started branching out and I made a bracelet for a friend who had a birthday last weekend. She told me that she was into red, so I did several types of red for the piece:
