And I'm off!

So it's arriving tomorrow. Marketplace. November 1st. Which means that I will be away from the shop from Thursday, November 1 through Saturday November 3. We will remain open and all your orders will be mailed on Monday November 5. Sadly, I will not have access to email so all correspondence will be addressed on Sunday, November 4.

All orders today will ship first thing in the morning.

Have a great weekend! And get busy on those holiday gifts...

Lace ... yummy Lace

I have not ventured too far into the lace world yet but it is slowly grasping my attention. Since we are carrying Aurora Yarns Hand painted Merino, it has really sparked my interest. Also it doesn't help that my darling enabling friends at Noble Knitters, namely, Diana, Nancy, Pat and Ellen, to name a few, are knitting some dynamite things. I am in awe of their pieces. I'm not exactly sure which of these went to SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival) this past weekend in Asheville NC but I know Nancy and Diana did and I cannot wait to see their loot. Next year - no one is going without me!

Here I show you a delightful, delicate lace scarf my darling friend, Paula, knit for me. Paula had called me to ask if there was anything else she could help me do to get ready for our show this week and I gladly said yes. I had started a toe up sock with J. Knits Palm Springs sock yarn and had put it aside. So I sent Paula the following:

Evelyn A. Clark's Oak Leaf & Acorn Scarf Pattern from Fiber Trends
The entire beginning of my toe up socks, dpns included with an adorable stitch marker.

Above is a photo of what arrived in my mail Saturday. This scrumptous, lace scarf! I love it! I am blocking it right now (I put the white paper under it so you could see the design) and my poor blocking board is only so big so this is Day 2 of blocking. But I will have it done before Thursday. Thank you my friend! I will gladly pay you on Tuesday for the scarf today (you know what I mean hehehe).

Applesauce started and finished Saturday. Put up 17 pints, all chunky this year- with just a small interruption. Here's the scene: I am up to my elbows in apples and applesauce.

Peeling, dicing, cooking - phone rings. It is noon.

Son: Hi Mom! How are you? What's for lunch?
me: Hi honey! lunch? what? Where are you?
Son: I am just on I-285 in Marietta on my way to Savannah for a conference. Want to do lunch? I have my boss, Rebecca with me too.
me: Ummm, sure, of course I want to see you. Where do you want to meet? No need to come by the house.
Son: Yea, we'll just stop by. I want her to meet you, John and Mimi(my mom).
me: (voice escalates) Ummm, house is a disaster. Apples and applesauce everywhere. Never mind the fact that I am packing The Yarn Grove for Marketplace. Christopher, there is a difference between a mess and a disaster. This is the latter. There are boxes, bags, apples everywhere. Besides Mimi just hung all her freshly laundered bras all over the kitchen, ceiling fans - it's a dangerous situation.
Son: (laughing). Ah Mom, Rebecca is gonna love you guys.


Ya gotta love him. They came, they saw, they laughed, they left. I also told her she wouldn't recognize me next time without all the apples on my face, hair, glasses, and shoes. Yep, all over my shoes. But we had a nice visit and a quick lunch at the local deli. I did smell delicious though.

Gobble gobble...

Where have I been? I have been busy getting ready for our Marketplace next week. No more procrastination. Oh, but a short trip up to the GA mountains yesterday to forage for apples doesn't count. I'm a little late this year for making applesauce but tomorrow will be the day. Bought 3 1/2 bushel bags which look like they should yield about 100-110 apples each. The photo is deceiving. These bags are huge... One whole bag will be for apple pies. I just prepare the filling - freeze it - and poof! It's ready for me for pies. I usually only get Winesap apples - they make excellent applesauce and they freeze well and great in pies...

Finished my turkey banner so thought I would post a picture of that since I have no knitting to show. He was a lot of fun to make. Mine looks like he is jumping up in the air and I noticed the sample on the front of the pattern shows his legs should be at the end of the 'white' area. Oh well, he's like me... Always in a twirl!

I am knitting - working on a pair of Opal Rainforest Tiger socks, just plain, toe up and also working on my Chevron scarf. I really enjoy that.

That's about it right now. Have a wonderful fall weekend...

The Tweetest Thing!

My friend Jill has two of these precious little creatures perched on her window, and I knew I had to have one too! The pattern is "Birds of a Feather" by Hannah Kaminsky. This little chirper took about an hour to crochet with Lorna's Laces. They're so cute, I think I'll make a whole flock!

Feathers and a Cap

This cap is the O~Wool Sideways Cap and the only modification I did was I did not put the buttonholes in it because I knew I wanted to put this gawgeous bauble on it. Just a 'little' sparkly for Lily Purl. She will be wearing it at Marketplace. This is a fun, quick pattern and makes a super gift. Uses one skein of O~Wool Classic Organic wool and we do have more colors of that in and I will put it up on the website shortly...

Well not real feathers, of course, fabric turkey feathers. Yes, sewing and knitting can go hand in hand because in order for me to get a nice point on the feathers, I used a bamboo knitting needle. I took a class on Saturday at my local LQS for a turkey banner and I'm almost done. I'll show finished product soon.

We have in Lorna's Laces Little Can of Paint which is a minature plastic paint can and comes with 2 skeins of LL Shepherd Sock and their basic sock pattern. This is great packaging and would also make a great gift - for the sock knitter or you knit the socks and put them back in the Little Can of Paint.

It's raining here in Georgia today! Yay! I swear I saw the little birds outside smiling a minute ago...

She knits, she sews, she's...

Wonderful! Happy Birthday to my sweet, fun, loving Cheryl. Cheryl is my daughter-in-law and she is a blogger here with me and Lily Purl. I couldn't have picked a greater match for my son, Chris if I had found her myself. She is a breathe of fresh air ...

They met at Clemson. She graduated with a degree in Costume Design - talk about talent. And creativity. She amazes me. And she is thrifty- searching those estate sales, thrift shops for the next great treasure.

Cheryl's greatest love is vintage clothing. She has quite the eye for it too. Cheryl sells her wares on FashionDig.com and the name of her shop is With a Twist. Oh but she also teaches knitting classes, sewing classes and sews for others, on request, like puppets for theaters, costumes, and clothes.

So enjoy this day, Cheryl, you are so loved and may all your wishes come true...

Anticipation ...

More Kaffe Fassett Collection Line from Regia is in here at The Yarn Grove. We were sold out of several colorways but all are back in stock. Right now we have all the colorways. The sock shown here is one that Regia sent to me as a sample. This is Landscape Fire #4259. This sock yarn also makes great knitted toys, bags, gloves and hats.

On my needles is a Sideways Hat from O~Wool in their Coal. I will show that very soon as I am almost done. Instead of buttons on mine, I'm putting a 'gawgeous' bauble on it.... Stay tuned.

Finished the quilted Bargello tree I showed last week. Put the finishing Swavorski crystals on that and I must say... it has just the right amount of sparkly on it. We'll use it at our show in Nov. Yikes! November? OMG. It is coming so fast. Time for a little procrastination again. No wonder I pulled out an unfinished Santa door hanging I took a class for almost 2 years ago. The teacher of that class went so fast and I was completely lost. I do not like unfinished things. Yesterday I decided to tackle it - head on - and I am having fun with it. It is one my mom will love.

Had to show this picture of my Junior. He loves Peanut Butter. We gave him this empty jar (which is frequent in my house because I *love* it too) and he knew what it was. Big Girl (aka Lucy) got a lick too...

Tonight is Noble Knitters night but I have a girlfriends date with 3 of my oldest friends. Well, not old ... just known for many many years. It'll be a nice fun evening of a little sip sip (as one of my friends calls it) and laughter and solving a few of the world's problems.

Has anyone out there started getting a little frantic on holiday gifts not finished / started / planned? Yikes!

A Busy Weekend

Well, when I began work on this green cloche, it was going to be for me...but when I felted it, it shrunk to the size of a small child's head! So I went with it- needle felting an orange flower and brown band. I may just tuck it away for my own little fashionista some day...Yarn is Karaoke and flower was done with the Louet Needle Felting kit.

I hit a huge sale at Belk today. This Belk was closing because the Parisian on the other side of the mall is becoming the new Belk. Confusing...Anyhoo, I got a French Connection shirt for $5, a Kenneth Cole shirt for $2 and Paper-Denim-Cloth Jeans for $5!!! It was a very successful morning!

Chris and I are carving a pumpkin, and the seeds are roasting as we speak. I love autumn!!!

2 Hoots ...

One Hoot: I just received my copy of a new book by Laurie Perry aka Crazy Aunt Purl: Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair. For those who don't know her, Laurie has a popular blog titled Crazy Aunt Purl. I have only started the first few pages of this book but I already know it will be entertaining.

Two Hoots: Check out these lovely socks knit by my friend Paula in Opal Rainforest - Owl. Great socks. Fun yarn.

Cooler weather here ... High in the low 70's during the day ... night time 50's. Have a great, safe weekend and hope it involves fiber...

and the answer is... Pagewood Farm!

Yep, Pagewood Farms is here and the winner that was drawn by an independent third party (hubby) is.... Tara of VA. She is blogless but a frequent reader of The Yarn Grove Antics. I had 27 correct guesses and about triple that for other yarn guesses. Thanks to all who played and keeping my email overflowing. That was fun. As I said earlier, I *love* to give stuff away.

This Pagewood Farm yarn is even lovelier than I remember. I had not laid eyes on it since the first week of June when I was at TNNA. It was a long time coming but it's here and more will be on the way soon. This yarn is a tight twist, generous yardage at 450 yards and perfect for socks or lace work.

Speaking of lacework - just in for refill - Aurora Whisper 100% Merino hand dyed lace. Gorgeous.

Busy day and since I have to sit a while today with a friend, I'm taking knitting... Hope your day finds time for something fun for you too...

Long Live Holly Hobby!

Now, I'm pretty much a die hard fan of Project Runway (even though Uli should have won last season HANDS DOWN!) but the one thing I can't stand is that they use the phrase "Holly Hobby" in a derogatory sense. Um, excuse me...Holly Hobby rules! As crafters, we have an appreciation for all things handmade, but the fashion world is catching on too. Look at this adorable sweater from the ever trendy Free People. Knitting meets quilting meets appliqué. Adorable! It feels good to be on the cutting edge of fashion, doesn't it???

My name is Mulley and I am obese...

You can skip this part if you don't want to read about my obese cat and scroll down to my contest ...

Mulley - short for Mulligan (second chance) aka Wooley Bully aka Tubby Lard A*s (in a sweet tone). This cat is large and in charge let me tell you. Mulley was/is my mom's cat but came to live with us a few years ago when my mom was traveling a lot. Poor kitty was alone for 10 days at a time and he is a real people cat.

Mulley *loves* people. Well my mom is visiting her sister in Annapolis for a few weeks and this cat is experiencing eating issues, I swear. A week ago, I thought Big Girl aka Lucy (our very old black lab) was crawling up the stairs and helping herself to Mulley's food bowl. Not the case. I knew Mulley was not voluntarily giving 'anyone' else his food.

Now this cat is enormous. Any day of the week, any time of the year, he is obese. He has been on prescription diet food from the vet - to no avail. He is just a big cat. He tops the scales at a current fighting weight of 22+ pounds. He seeks me out and tells me when the food bowl is empty and I tell him there is no way he ate that food by himself. If I do not fill his bowl immediately, he claws up the door jambs. No - I mean he destroys them. But he is who he is and we love him just the same. The vet has a chart in the exam room to find your pet's current weight. It starts out as too thin and goes up to obese. Yep, my cat is obese but he is a sweetheart. To put him in his carrier to take him for his vet checkups, I have to stand the carrier on its end and stuff him in it. At the vet the asst. cannot get him out so they take the cover off.

Contest Guess the new line of yarn due to arrive within the week. You could win a skein of the new yarn. Hint: I have talked about it before. I ordered gobs of it and it was ordered at the TNNA show we went to in June. It is finally ready. All correct guesses go into the bowl and one winner will be drawn by an independent third party. Contest begins today and ends Monday night (10/8/07) at 11:59pm(est).

Leave a comment or email me. Employees of The Yarn Grove are not eligible for the prize.

A sock and a tree...

If you remember from my blog the other day, I am famous for procrastinating when I have copious amounts of other things to do. Like getting ready for Marketplace... But I took the Bargello Christmas Tree quilt class from my local LQS and loved it. Finished sewing the strips on in 2 short days . Just have to put on binding and baubles (of course mine shall have baubles) and done! This one is for me.

Look what Regia sent me. A finished sock - this one shown in Kaffe Fassett Mirage Fire. The others I cannot show yet since I am out of 2 of those particular ones ... but soon. The Kaffe Fassett goes quickly here at The Yarn Grove everytime we get refills in here. I do have more on order...

My window shutters are all clean too. Yep - also from my procrastination. Now the dictionary.com reads one definition as: to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost. . I won't go that far.

How about you? Keep the holidays stress free by starting all those holiday gifts now. To me, there is nothing like a homemade gift.

In other news... we had a block party this weekend on our street and everyone brought a dish of some sort. I chose a healthy one - namely Broccoli Slaw Salad. At the end of the evening, everyone voted on their favorite dish and the winner got a gift certificate to Ted Turner's restaurant here at The Forum. I won! I hear they have a killer veggie burger.

Here's the simple recipe:

1/2 cup of vinegar

1/2 cup of veg oil

1/2 cup of sugar

Couple shakes of cayenne pepper.

Stir together. Pour over Broccoli Slaw (comes in a bag at your grocer). Then I add Cocktail Peanuts. Just regular old peanuts. It makes a great crunchy salad. The regular recipe calls for sunflower seeds and rahman noodles (just the noodle part) but they get so soggy. The peanuts don't and the first time I made this it is all I had in my pantry.

Note: I doubled this for the block party but when I make one batch I don't always use a full 1/2 cup of sugar and oil. You can experiment to your liking.

Look for me now on Food Network ... oh yeah...