"L"s the Word

I met Angelique at Yoga Central this morning. It was my first time there and I thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery. The smaller class was much more intimate than the classes at the "Y" and offered more challenging strength poses. From now on, I'm going to call Angelique "My Little Pretzel." She's so tiny and has wonderful flexibility with awesome form.

After yoga, I swung by Twist to visit with Shelly. She had Janet, a true artist at all she does, make me an L sweater pin from sterling silver. Right off, you think of Laverne and Shirley. Shelly is selling these pins at a very reasonable price in a variety of shapes and styles.

Duke and My Felted Cowboy Hat

My new felted hat came in pretty handy for today's temperature of 32 degrees. Duke sniffed around on the wool of my hat and tickled my ears with hot air from his nostrils. We fed him grain and locked him in for the dropping temperatures tonight. I'm hoping we get snow from our 50% chance later today.

Happy Thanksgiving

The turkey is finished and the side dishes are all prepared for our holiday meal. I still have a couple hours before family arrives and I'm thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving day.

I give thanks:

for being married to my best friend and making every day special

for the good or improved health of my family

for financial security for my mother and my father being able to live the retirement of his dreams

for having some really special girlfriends in my life to spend time with

for having a good job that is building my financial retirement goals

for emotional happiness and the material things I have worked hard for

and finally

for Twist and Ravelry for providing an outlet for creativity, sharing and the balance that knitting has brought to my life

Holiday Fixins

The anticipation is building for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm about 99% sure I have everything to fix our holiday meal. This year I'll be cooking for my husband, mom, father-in-law, sister-in-law and her husband. The pressure of fixing a perfect turkey and meal used to make me real nervous but I've pretty much got it down now. I'm looking forward to a long weekend of burning the fireplace, knitting and taking in a few yoga classes to burn off the extra calories.

Le Slouch

'Tis the season to wear hats for warmth and I like to wear them to keep my hair back. I sported my beret to breakfast and the grocery store this morning. I made Le Slouch in stockinette with an 8" slouch from Classic Elite's Waterlily from Twist. This merino yarn has a mottled suede look just perfect for a casual day.

Noro Hat

This hat made from Noro Kureyon is my first pattern project idea from Ravelry. I like the bands of color and the hat but it's taking everything I have to resist felting it into a bowl. Noro = Love

Winter Cowboy Hat

Winter's around the corner and felting's in the air. Thank you Lalana Wools for the inspiration to make this felted Winter Cowboy Hat. This is my most favorite finished knitted project EVER. I absolutely love this hat. I have several cowboy hats but this one is so special and hard to believe handmade. While in New Mexico in July, I found this pattern and selected Lalana Wools' hand dyed worsted wool in walnut (to match my favorite boots) and indigo for the hatband and trim. The indigo is a combination wool and silk that gives a nice contrasting sheen and dimension. This hat makes me want to thrown on a duster and ride a horse through a mountain of snow.

Market Bag

For me, knitting inspiration comes from the yarn shops I visit and the people I know. This felted bag was a combination of both. K.Anne had once come to a meetup showing off a new bag her felted exchange partner had made for her and it was gorgeous. I was attracted to the shape, color and lovely leather handles. I filed this bag away in a corner of my obsessive knitting memory for a future project. Recently, I was at Yarns and they had for sale leather handles and big, handmade wood buttons and that bag insipiration came flooding back.

And now you know the rest of the story.

Tree Jacket

The Tree Jacket is complete and not quite what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, I like it but I was going for a more snug fit, especially in the arms. I should have knitted the chest circumference in small instead of medium and I probably wouldn't have ended up with such roomy arms. It's all good and I will wear my labor of love, just in a different way than I had originally planned.