I was admiring perusing my Ravelry projects page the other day and I realized that I have no in progress photos of any of my current projects. Shame on me! So, what’s on the needles at Carole Knits? Glad you asked.

Twist

I wanted to cast on for this sweater the minute I tried on Caro’s back at SPA. And I finally did a few weeks ago. The back is about 3/4 done at this point. The yarn is Peace Fleece and the pattern is very well written and easy to understand. I’m so glad I got over my fear of cables. You all were right, they really are fun! I’ve sort of lost my steam on this project since it’s gotten too warm to wear it, but I’ll plug away at it and be rewarded with a nice new sweater when the fall comes.

Daffodil Socks

Because there are always socks. The yarn is Carole’s Eye Candy Friday in Daffodil in Mama E’s -C*EYE*BER Fiber Coordinates, dyed for me and gifted to me by none other than Mama-E. I love it! I didn’t expect it to stripe but I’m pleased that it’s happening. These will be on the plane with me tomorrow.

Icarus Shawl

This shawl has been on my to-knit list forever and I’m so glad to have finally started it. The yarn is Judy’s Arequipa from Ball and Skein and I was originally going to use it for Twinings. But the variegations and the pattern weren’t a good match and I ditched that for Icarus and I’m glad I did. I’m almost finished with the last repeat of chart one and then it’s one to the edging charts. Woot!

So that’s what’s knitting here. What are you knitting today?

Our fourth annual Frank Harlow Day was a rousing success! The sun was shining and we had an abundance of participants. Union soldiers, civilians, sutlers, musicians, Confederates, horses, Boy Scouts, politicians and spectators were all in attendance.

Our set up on Friday was simple and fast. Even a 12X12 tent and fly goes up quickly when you have such cute help.

We had two new additions to our program this year – musicians and confederates. The musicians are part of a local folk music group called Rocky Run. They made such a difference to the event. Not only did they learn period appropriate music but they even made a concerted effort to dress for occasion.

The addition of Confederates allowed for a tiny skirmish to take place and spectators always love a good skirmish! Those Confederates held the Union soldiers off for a good long while but eventually the odds (20-2) caught up with them and they surrendered.

Dinner Saturday night was a wonderful meal of beef stew cooked over the campfire along with a chicken cooked on a spit, biscuits, and homemade pie for dessert. Eating outside always makes everything taste better!

Here’s my favorite picture of the day, taken by Chris, a blogger I met for the first time on Saturday. See that smile on my face? It’s two fold. First, I’m smiling because I’m waltzing with my husband. Second, I’m smiling because the event is winding down. It’s a lot of fun but it’s a lot of work and I’m happy to put it to rest for another year.

P.S. More pictures on flickr, if you’re interested.

Thanks for all your well wishes for a great weekend for our living history. We had blue skies and lots of fun. I’ll have pictures and details tomorrow but today I have socks.

These are the finished Primavera Socks. They are for my May Day Sock Swap pal. The yarn is Trekking color 145. It’s very bright orange but my sock pal indicated orange as one of her favorite colors so I think I chose well.

Teyani brought this pattern – a free Ravelry download – to my attention and I’m so glad she did! It’s simple but entertaining and I found that it knit up very fast. I did substitute my usual heel and toe treatments rather than use the ones as written in the pattern.

On Thursday these socks will be winging their way to my sock swap partner. And I will be winging my way to Maryland Sheep & Wool. That’s right. I’m going to stay with Hillary. We’ll be touring DC on Friday and hitting the festival on Saturday. I’ll be back home on Sunday night – a whirlwind trip, for sure! But you know it won’t be so fast that I won’t remember to capture every little detail for you guys. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.

Two posts in one day! I couldn’t resist showing you the mince pie I made this morning. Dale says it’s a work of art and should be on the cover of a magazine. But I think we’ll eat it instead.

This weekend is our 4th annual Frank Harlow Day – the living history that we put on here in our town. Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies for us. And I promise to save you a slice of pie!

I hope you aren’t tired of daffodils because I can’t seem to stop photographing them. They are everywhere I look right now, dotting the landscape with their sunny yellow petals and bright orange centers. Ahhhh.

Have a great weekend!

It’s a random post today. Random picture post, that is.

On Sunday we drove to Plymouth and saw brant and seagulls. And seagulls and brant. There were a lot.

I love the combination of my husband and a telephoto lens.

Don’t you laugh at this one! I bought Mason a harness so that he can be outside with us. The success of this venture remains to be seen.

You just never know what to expect when brother-in-law Randy shows up with the backhoe.

The thermometer in our kitchen yesterday. It sure felt like summer. We celebrated by having lobster rolls.

A flowering tree at Borderland State Park. So pretty!

These are the chairs on my deck. They are quite obviously empty in this photo. However, last Saturday they were full of spinners and knitters as I had a small gathering at my house. I was thrilled to have Cheryl, Judy, Kathy, Manise, Martha, Maryse, and Sharon over for a terrific afternoon and evening.

The weather was wonderful. Warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze. The lunch was terrific. We had macaroni and cheese, homemade salads and sandwiches along with brownies, fruit tarts and strawberries for dessert. Some wine and beer was consumed, too. Oh, and fresh brewed iced tea. The spinning was prolific. Merino and BFL and silk fibers were furiously spun into yarn. The conversation was stimulating. We covered politics, recipes, ravelry, husbands, gardening – you name it, we talked about it.

At the end of the afternoon we took a walk down back to the river. It was really great to go on this walk with everyone. I got to show them the flag pole that nearly killed Dale and the campsite we have in the woods. Its a terrific spot and I’m so lucky to have it right in my backyard and even luckier to have shared it with my friends.

It was a perfect day and I wish we could do it every Saturday. Sigh.

I had a great time Patriotizing (as Deb put it) yesterday. Dale did yard work and I sat on the deck and knit. I also took a few photos.

But enough of that because this week’s Ten on Tuesday is:

10 Things You Love About Your Life

1. I have a wonderful, loving, funny, supportive husband.
2. I have a great kid. She does well in school, she has good friends, and she reads every day.
3. And 3 great stepkids. And 2 great stepgrandkids.
4. I have a job that I enjoy.
5. I get to work with people I truly like.
6. I have friends all across the country.
7. I have satisfying hobbies. I love knitting and spinning.
8. I live in a great part of the country. We’ve got history and scenery and I can be at the ocean in 30 minutes.
9. You know I love my cat, Mason.
10. I have all the stuff I need and want. Sure, I save for certain things but mostly, if I want something I get it.

What do you love about your life?

I should have told you this on Friday but today is Patriot’s Day here in Massachusetts. Carole Knits will be taking the day off to enjoy the holiday. Dale thinks I’m going to do yard work. Yeah, right.

See you tomorrow!

There is a mass of these sweet little squill growing between my yard and my father-in-law’s yard next door. The blue is so bright and the green is so vivid and I took about a million pictures of them yesterday. This one is my favorite – hope you like it, too.

Have a terrific weekend!