Over the River and Through the Woods...

We didn't actually go over the river and through the woods (well, I guess we did cross a river), but we did brave I-20 and city traffic to visit Ganny and Papa yesterday (husband's parents). We had a nice afternoon with them and enjoyed some delicious vegetable soup and cornbread that Papa made. It really hit the spot on a chilly autumn afternoon. Husband helped Ganny finish up the hat she was making. She's a new knitter and still working on the most important part of knitting--gaining confidence in herself. She is now the proud wearer of an adorable red stockinette stitch hat with a roll brim and a cute i-cord attachment at the top. She's quite pleased with herself at having finished this project, and of course we're proud of her, too. While we were there, Ganny cast on for a matching garter stitch scarf to go with her hat. You go, Ganny!

I started a mohair scarf yesterday while we were visiting, and it's destined as a gift for one of daughter's friends. I bought the yarn on e-bay last year but then didn't like the looks of it much when it arrived. Daughter's friend saw it this summer when we were all at the beach together (I keep a basket of yarn and some needles at our beach place--emergency knitting supplies, you know) and she fell in love with it. I'm working a plain garter stitch on size 17 needles, and it's making a nice, airy fabric. I was worried that I would not have enough yarn to make a decent sized scarf since I have only around 200 yards, but I think this is going to be fine. I cast on 25 stitches, so the scarf is wide enough, and the one ball gave me about 24 inches of fabric--that's a guesstimate. I hope to finish off the scarf today so that we can get the package ready to mail within the next couple of weeks.

We stopped off at Barnes and Noble last night on the way home, and I picked up the new Debbie Stoller book Stitch and Bitch Nation. I bought Stitch and Bitch last year and loved it! Debbie's writing style is so entertaining, and the patterns in the first book were so cute and easy for a beginner. I'm certainly not disappointed in this new book. Debbie's style remains true--quite entertaining--and the book is chock full of patterns. Some of them I'd never make--like the knitted tankini swimsuite--but others are too cute to pass by.

Speaking of reading, I went to the library Thursday in hopes of finding some knitting or spinning books. Well, no luck there, but I did get put on the waiting list for The Shop on Blossom Street which is set in a knitting shop. I could not leave the library empty handed, though, so a book by Emilie Richards caught my eye. It's called Wedding Ring. Click on the link to read more about this book. It's the story of three generations of women learning about themselves and about each other. This book is wrenching my heart out. I dissolved in tears last night during a particularly moving scene, and it isn't the first time. I often rate a book or movie on its "cry factor" and this one certainly gets an 8 or 9 in that department. I can't say that this is an emotional "feel good" book, but the story is well-written and the characters are interesting people that you can really care about. I hope we're heading for a happy ending, but who knows? I still have about 5 chapters to go.

Today is the first anniversary meeting of The Tangled Threads, our local fiber group. I have a yummy, zesty flavored cheese ball ready to be put on a platter to take along. I'm going to try to make some party sandwiches, too. Other members of the group are brining nibbles so we should have plenty of food, fiber, and friends.