Part 2: Stitching, knitting, and hiking

My knitting:
I haven't been doing a whole lot of knitting since the fair, but I was wanting to make this:
With that yarn <--.
But I don't have enough of that yarn, which is a shame because it's a really neat, coppery-colored, chenille yarn, and I think it would look nice in that vest. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to figure out something else to make with it.


I'm planning on making this, with the yarn I got a few months ago. I had started on another pattern using that yarn, but it was a sleeveless top, which I was going to wear as a vest, and it was made of dozens of tiny knitted squares. I got about 14 squares done and realized I couldn't stand to do a hundred-some more! So I'm going to make this other pattern instead.

I also want to do a pattern from the latest Interweave Knits magazine I got the other day. It's called "A Cardigan for Arwen"...I don't quite get the LOTR reference except that the hood is sort of pointy, elf-like? I really like the celtic-knot looking cabled border:
It calls for a hideously expensive merino/cashmere yarn, and 14 balls of it, so I think I'll be finding something just a bit cheaper. I'm not paying over a hundred dollars for a sweater, especially if I still have to knit it!
I got a good deal on 19 balls of yarn on eBay last night, it's Jaeger Siena and usually goes for about 6 dollars a ball, and with shipping I got it for about $2 a ball. I have a Jaeger pattern book already, and now I can make two sweaters from it.

Hmm...what else have I been up to? Let's see... I found a pair of reasonably comfortable dress shoes on sale last weekend. I say reasonably comfortable, because: 1. very few dress shoes are totally comfortable, 2. I have very picky feet, and 3. I don't like to pay a lot. Which all adds up to it being hard for me to find shoes, but I actually found some at Kohls, and I had giftcard from my birthday, so I was able to spend it, plus get two nice fall kitchen towels that they had on sale...yay! ....all for about 26 dollars. Successful shopping.

I also realized the other day that I'm ready for Christmas already. It's not even Thanksgiving (which I'm looking forward to also), and I'm all ready to start decorating for Christmas, and making Christmas food... Maybe I should do some Thanksgiving decorating...

I made a triple batch of pie crust last night, and put together an apple pie today to freeze for Thanksgiving. So now we have a pie ready to pop in the oven, and four pie dough rounds to make pumpkin pies from. Not that we'll have four pumpkin pies, but if I can find a mince pie recipe, I'll probably make one, and that will take two crusts. I don't like mince pie myself, but my grandpa does, and I thought he might like a homemade one, as opposed to a frozen one. And who knows, I might like a homemade one too! Now I just have to find a recipe, because I don't want a real mincemeat pie with meat in it. I think the frozen ones usually have apple, raisin, and maybe something else...I'm not really sure what all they have in them!

I had a chance to play my guitar some last week, and I actually played something that sounded roughly like it was supposed to! Yay for small achievements! ...then I had to sleep with a soft sock over my hand because my fingertips were killing me...you don't notice the pain until you stop playing and the blood starts really flowing through your fingers again...ow. I need to play some more before the calouses wear off again...since the almost blisters turned into light calluses... (calouses, or calluses? Neither looks right, and the spellcheck doesn't like either)

If I ever get my room cleaned up, I'll post pictures of the finished decor. Right now I'm in the middle of switching out winter clothes for summer ones, and I have boxes, clothes, schoolwork, and the ever-present miscellaneous craft stuff spread all over my room...oh well, I'll get to it someday...hopefully before we have company for Thanksgiving. I'm also thinking about starting a few more hobbies, so I have library books on various subjects in big piles on my floor as well!

Well that's all for now, and I'll try to update more often than I have been!
Here's a picture of the falls we hiked to. Lower Cascades at Hanging Rock State Park:Psalm 19:1- The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork.