My needles have been flying and I have finished almost all my projects for Christmas! I have a few I can share but some will wait so I don't ruin the surprise.......
Hats are always needed around here as I have girls that work outside with horses all the time so I made these two with stash yarn and the pattern is free! One has the cable and the other does not.....I loved the stitch pattern and will be making this again! Oh it's The Molly Hat!!


I also made this adorable little shrug for Hannah Grace to wear over her Christmas dress. It's Langston and I used American Needlework's cashmere blend .....ohhh this is so soft and cozy! And the gold color is perfect!


 I'm also finishing up some boot toppers right now and the boys have requested creeper hats......so  ummm....really?  I might not be as done as I thought! The only reading I am getting to is our advent readings. I am using Ann Voscamps book The Greatest gift. We are really enjoying it! It's hard to believe this is the last yarn along before Christmas.......where does the time go?  Joining Ginny over at the Yarn along today!

I want to wish each one of you a very blessed Christmas filled with joy and laughter! And may the New Year be filled with happiness and wool and lots of knitting!!

My needles have been pretty busy of late......some gift knitting that I can't share and some necessary knitting as well.........well it's always necessary when it's knitting......right?

I thought I would share my view with you from where I knit and spin......it's been chilly this week and everyone is staying close to the stove!! Loki and Moose don't move far from that spot!


I picked up this skein of eco cloud in Canada and it knit up so quick into this Hot Chocolate sweater for Hannah Grace. I made the 3t size so it's a little big but I'm ok with that as she look will great in it next season! It's very cozy and warm and such a great color! I love the seed stitch ribbing!


Just off the wheel is this skein of merino and silk......it was amazing to spin!


And I've taken a liking to my new trindle and am truly enjoying the process of spinning this polwarth fiber from The Painted Tiger in the Ancient Tomes colorway.....spinning is just soothing to mind and body!!


I'm also going to include the photos from this past Saturday.....when spur of the moment I decided to join in the Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl!! It's was a lot of fun and we visited 5 quaint farms and drove through beautiful mountains. Hannah Grace loved seeing the all the animals and Momma loved getting her hands on some new fiber. So glad we decided to go!!

Hannah Grace sporting her Lucy Top

Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool

Spruce Ridge Alpaca Farm

So as we approach Thanksgiving this week I am so thankful for all God has blessed us with and I am thankful for the Yarn Along where we can share our love of knitting and reading and all things fibery!!!
May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving!!

Brrr......I believe I finished my sweater just in time for the cold weather and snow! A quick post today with some pictures of the process........I bought a pound. of this fiber at the Endless Mtns. Fiber Festival in the hopes of making it into a poncho. After spinning it I was not sure I would have enough yardage and then I fell in love with the Idlewood sweater. Perfect......this yarn was just asking to become this sweater and I ended up with just enough yardage!!

From this.....

 to this squishy worsted weight 2 ply.....


 To this warm versatile sweater........






Thanks to my son Christopher for the great photos! I am looking forward to getting lots of wear out of this! No new reading this week.......lots of Holiday knitting going on!! Joining Ginny in the Yarn Along!

It's been 5 months since my oldest left to follow her dreams and further her skills in the dressage arena. Brian and I headed North with just Hannah Grace for a 3 day visit and what a great time we all had!

That first hug after 5 long months felt so good for this Momma! It has really been an adjustment for me to get used to her being gone! Tthe only thing that kept me happy was knowing how happy she is and what a great place she is in with such amazing people surrounding her! We are all truly blessed!

We were able to watch her ride one of the horses she is helping to train. And then we were treated to a great cart ride by Bandit the pony. Hannah Grace also was able to ride Bandit with the help of Emily and she did not want that to ever end!

Emily made us a great dinner and we hung out spinning on our drop spindles a little and talking about knitting!

We spent another day in Toronto yarn store hopping! My wonderful hubby escorted us around town as we checked out all the great shops......we went to 3 in all and yes we did make a few purchases!! Such a great day!

The 3 days went by way too fast and then we were leaving again......hoping she can come home at Christmas for a visit!

Here are just a few photos of our visit........

With all the excitement of Rhinebeck this past week I forgot to post about a mystery KAL I just finished! It was the Lonely yarn Club KAL and I am in love with the finished shawl! This was my first design of Susan Ashcroft's and I have to say I will be making more of her patterns in the future.
The idea was to pick some yarn that has been languishing in the stash for a while and put it to good use.....I of course could not find the right weight in the right color even though my stash is rather large.....so I found my yarn looking lonely on the yarn shops shelf and rescued it right away!
I used Madeline Tosh Sock yarn in 2 different colorways and I just love the results!!




 I am really glad I participated in this mystery KAL and I look forward to knitting more of Susan's patterns!

Well I know it's yarn along today and what better way to celebrate then to share about my trip to Rhinebeck! It was my first year and so it was a little over whelming you might say!!

We arrived early and got right in the gates when they opened...the line behind us went on forever! I did have a must have list of a few items but I really just wanted to look around and take it all in. The weather was great and perfect for sweaters.....which we saw a lot of!!! I was lucky to have 2 of my girls with me......here I am with Hannah Grace in our handknits and some homepun too!!

It got crazy crowded fast! But we just let the crowds take us as we took it all in! The sheep breeds tent was so fun....we loved touching all the fleece! Here are just a few of them....





and the aisles and aisles of yarn and fiber..........





The one item I really wanted to get my hands on was a Trindle.......and I got one and I love it! You can buy them on Etsy too but I really wanted to see it first. I also picked up lots of different fiber to make rolags on my blending board. Here is my loot!!




I told my daughter to keep me in line and remind me how I don't need any more yarn right now.......but how could I come away without even one skein?? So I ended up with one skein of Socks That Rock that I could not pass up!

Oh and here is a photo of the Ravely meet up......there was sooo many people!!!


What a great day and I am already looking forward to next year!!

I actually was inspired and casted on for a new project this week! I have been spinning this gorgeous 100% merino and decided it wanted to become and Idlewood sweater. So even before I have finished spinning all the fiber I have started knitting this......next week I will have pictures but this is the homespun I am using for it....it is knitting up so soft and squishy!