Fall is in the air

Fall is in the air and I had to start up a fall/winter wool project. This is a vest from the most recent issue of Knit Simple magazine. It is a Nora Gaughan pattern made out of Berroco, Inc.'s Ultra Alpaca. Don't you love the color? It is a real pretty cranberry. There has been quite a bit written about Nora's new book "Knitting Nature" and I took time to flip through it at my Barnes and Noble one day. I guess I just didn't like any of the patterns well enough to spend all the money on the book. She is a fantastic designer, but her interest in geometric shapes didn't translate well into wearable clothing. I much prefer patterns like this one. I guess I am a traditionalist at heart. I love all the cables in this vest and the moss stitch that frames the main pattern repeat finishes it off nicely. The back of the vest will be all moss stitch. Some folks object to backs of garments that don't continue the interesting pattern from the front. But, I think it makes a project versatile. Specifically: I have to really concentrate on the front of this vest - can't really work on it in front of the TV. But, when I finish the front I can relax and just knit, knit, knit on the back while looking for, or working on, another fun complicated pattern during my quiet time. Does that make sense? This vest is the most complex cable pattern I have done to date. I think my work on lace this summer has really helped me to grasp the concept of left-leaning and right-leaning stitches and I'm starting to perfect my pattern reading abilities. I'll keep you posted on this one.

So -what have we here? Yes - it is me and my family at Wake Forest Univerisity. I freely admit that I am old enough to be attending my 25th college class reunion. What a blast. And, how weird, too. We were all walking around thinking, "Do I know you?" and "Hmmm, you could maybe be that guy from my biology lab, 25 years later, with less hair and more weight." I was so lucky to get to visit with both of my college roomies. They, of course, had not changed a bit and we picked up right where we left off in school. We didn't have nearly enough time to visit with each other...but this is just a motivation to get back together again....soon!

I call this my "leaky year" because it is the last year John will be here at home and I often find tears rolling down my cheeks thinking about all the last times we will do things. "This will be the last time we fill-in-the-blank." But when we went to Wake and John went on the tour and interview I realized it will also be a year of many firsts, many beginnings. We're entering a new phase of our lives and that is truly exciting.

And now for some random houghts:

• Check out www.deweys.com for fabulous sugar cake. I no longer have to buy 5 sugar cakes, freeze them, pack them in my suit case, and transport them.
• Why have a common college application if every school that uses it is going to add their own supplement?
• Why do all teen-age boys want to learn to play the guitar?
• Does anyone really care about Mark Foley anymore? (Ahhhhhhhh!)
• Alicia Marble - route manager
• How bad is it when you and your brother are in the same city visiting and neither of you knows it so you don't see each other?! (Yup, Patrick was in Winston-Salem with his wife and daugher the same time we were there and we didn't even know it. Ahhhhhhh!)
• How many Bar-b-q joints can you get to in one weekend in NC? Doug managed 3 - but he plans to break that record on our next trip.
• Political lawn signs - tacky.
• Political lawn signs - free speech.
• Political lawn signs - too many of them.
• Political lawn signs - we live in the greatest country on the planet.
• The picot edged socks were a big hit with my sister.
• Have you tried the two-circular-needles sock knitting method?
• Have you tried the one-large-circular-needle sock knitting method?

Have a great week!