Welcome back!

So I have been gone for a bit. It's been a rough few months but I'm really trying to get on an upswing. I had a get together at my house in memory of my friend, Becky, who passed away in July. There ended up about 15 or so people, enjoying good food, beverages and the most perfect weather we could have hoped for. I think Becky had something to do with the weather, considering it was terribly hot and humid for weeks and cold and rainy the day before the party. I'm still struggling a bit with her not being here but someday I know I won't look back on her with such sadness.

The day after the party, I messed up my back (again) helping my dog get up the ramp to the SUV. I ended up missing 3 days of work, barely able to move and sick as a dog because I managed to give myself a bowel obstruction as well (long story - lots of abdominal surgeries). I'm somewhat mobile now and back to caring to knit and read again. I don't like being forced down like that so I'm hoping to get through it soon.

Onwards!

On The Needles
So a lot of what is on the needles will be acting as Christmas presents so I can't quite say much about them now. I can say that I had Voolenvine yarns custom dye some yarn for presents for my mother and sister. I can also say I've ripped out 3 projects that I started knitting with it, not because of the yarn or colors because they are beautiful, but because the patterns weren't showcasing the colors. I finally went back to an old favorite and got about 3 inches knit up and I think I'm happy now. The colors are the focal point and that's what I wanted.

I dug up some Noro from my stash and started a scarf for a special person. Not really for Christmas per se, just because I felt the need to give this person something beautiful. I've not knit with Noro before, although Becky and I enabled each other to buy quite a bit of it and she did make a scarf out of hers, so I'm really happy to see how it's working. The color changes are very potato chip knitting, I keep wanting to knit to get to the next color! I love how the pattern (Waterfall scarf) is working out as well. I also know of other yarn in my stash that needs to become this scarf.

Noro!

I'm working on another Dichotomy for my massage therapist for Christmas. I showed her my Game of Thrones one and she loved it so I decided to make her one. I found some really cool yarn in my stash that I got in North Carolina at Charlotte Yarn. It reminds me of a campfire, the way it runs from tans to grays to yellow to orange. It's from Classic Shades in Natural Glow. I think this will be amazing when it's done.

I still have a pair of vanilla socks on the needles for me in Gnomeacres Smell My Feet. I have a feeling they won't be done for Halloween. Ah well. I want to buy her new fall colors but I must stay on a yarn diet!

FO Party!
Truly?!?! I got another project done!  I made my mom a Gaptastic cowl because she really wanted one after seeing the one I made for my sister and for me. Mom knits but I don't think she's as enthusiastic about it as I am, so I bought some Knit Picks Full Circle bulky yarn in Tomatillo. It's wool and made from recycled fiber. I love it and went back and got some blue for myself. The only thing about making this cowl in a solid color is boy, you can see the mistakes in the seed stitch.

In Your Ear
I've been trying to catch up on podcasts and failing so I went back to Craftlit and am trying to finish Little Women. My book club for it is long over but now it's a mission to get that book done. It's not really my type of book but I'm halfway through so I will be getting it done :)

For Your Eyes Only
Finally finished up Season 4 of Haven and ready to begin actively watching Season 5. Also working through Outlander on Starz and am really enjoying it. I'm being slow watching that because I'm still reading the book. I think Voolenvine is doing some Outlander colorways which might damage my yarn diet. Darn it!

Quenching Your Thirst
A friend and I went to a new (to us) winery in Fishers. Harmony Winery is a cute little place that actually offers up a lot more than you would expect. You can make your own wine there using all of their equipment (no investment!) and you can even have custom labels printed for your wine. They had a huge selection of wine with about 10-15 on their actual tasting menu. For $5 you could taste 10 wines. I like fruit wines to an extent (and no one does them better than Butler Winery in Bloomington) but Harmony takes regular wine and adds the fruit to it, instead of making wine from fruit. I enjoyed pretty much everything I tasted! One of my favorites was Ghost Berry - a white cranberry wine.

Dog is intrigued... or wants a treat

If you are in the area, it's worth checking out. I'm wanting to try the wine and yoga night myself. What could go wrong with that?!?!