Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, all! It's been a lovely day at Casa Batty. Even if the weather didn't quite cooperate. You see, I was going to go as a novice knitter. Wear my ill-fitting Banff sweater and carry US #17 needles and Fun Fur. See the picture below?


That was not today. That was 2 weeks ago. Today, the temperature outside was over 70 degrees F. Not good for thick wool sweaters. So I wore one of my regular bat shirts... and bought some bat earrings while we were out.

Then, there were the cookies. I bought some awesome cookie shapes and made cutouts. Lovely, aren't they?


They looked fabulous after I baked them. We ate some and threw out the rest -- they burned. The recipe didn't say how long to bake them... just "bake until the edges are brown." Uh... dude, the freaking cookies are brown! How am I supposed to know when the edges are brown? By the time I see them, they're burned. So... yeah. Lesson learned.


But we did go down to Porter Square today, where I sat in a cafe, ate a yummy oatmeal raisin cookie, did some spinning... and then, Mr. Batty and I stopped by Mind's Eye Yarns, and I bought some pretty purple/burgundy roving.

No Halloween post would be complete without a picture of my very own Helloween kitty. Poor Morgana went to the vet today... only to find out he'd looked at her tooth when we took her in a month ago and didn't have to go in at all.


But she's happy now. He just looked in her mouth, and that was it. She wasn't there long enough to pick up that vet smell... her brother didn't even hiss at her. So, all things considered, Halloween worked out pretty well.

Mojo?

Wow, it seems like I ripped out my knitting mojo along with that sweater! If anyone finds it, could you please tell it to come back? The holidays are drawing near. I need it!

Ribbit

Today was a not-so-good knitting day. For the first time ever, I messed up undoing a provisional caston. It was done right, but somehow, I started from the wrong end, and that was that. I ended up ripping 7 inches of Manos Silk Blend, which, it turns out, doesn't like the rough treatment. With any luck, I won't need that partial ball to finish my project. After I start it again, which is not happening today.

I'm doing a whole bunch of gift knitting, but can't show that off yet either... I'll have something interesting soon, I promise!

Rainy Sunday Morning

It's a lazy morning for me, that is. My food consultant, Merlin J. Fuzzbutt, CPA (yes, he also does our taxes) is working hard on Sunday morning recipe selection. Or he's trying to squeeze himself into that tiny spot on the bookshelf. If the head fits, the entire cat fits, right?


Following Mr. Fuzzbutt's culinary advice, I decided to make apple pie pancakes. Pancakes, with apples and raisins. Very yummy, and they're sweet enough even without syrup. The unsweetened almond milk I used is perfect -- with added sugar of any kind, these would have been cloying. As it is, they are just right.


In addition to my culinary exploits, there has also been some knitting progress. I won't say too much about it as it might reveal more than I want to... it's that time of the year. So: Here's my portable project. Yes, a sock. No, it's not for me. 'nuff said.


This one I can show off because you really can't tell what it is. Could be a scarf. Could be a sleeve. Could be a hat that gets sewn up. If it weren't rainy out, I'd turn off the flash so you could see the amazing color variations in the Manos Silk Blend. They are lovely deep chocolate browns, except cool-toned.


The burgundy stuff on the bottom is a provisional caston. For more information, check my rav page... I'm not going to say more here.

Snow!

There was snow this morning! It wasn't a lot, it was mixed in with rain, but still. This is Massachusetts, not upstate New York. I guess sweater season has officially arrived. Perfect weather for staying in and knitting.

Flash, Aaaah!

Not the Flash Gordon theme from the movie, but rather, taking pictures of a bulky knit with the flash going. I swear, it's not see-through, and I'm ever-so-happy I wore a shirt under Abrazo, or this pic wouldn't have made it on here.


It's cold enough for knits, and I remembered I never gave you a modeled shot of Abrazo. From the look of things, I should have waited until the sun came out! Oh, well.

Long Time No Blog...

It's mid-October already? Where did September go?
Time flies when you're trying to get things done in time for the holidays! I've suddenly realized that Christmas is closer than I thought, and that there is a whole bunch of gift knitting to be done. But first, I have to get some WIP's off the needles.

These are the October mystery socks for SKA 09, designed by Nancy Bush. The month's challenge was "yellow" -- and boy, was it ever! I'm not much of a yellow person, but the deep, gold tones really spoke to me. Must be an autumn thing.


I had to contort myself considerably to get this picture. And yes, those are big full moons with witches and bats flying through them on my pj's. Because... well, there are bats.


Boring details:
Pattern: Fox Faces by Nancy Bush, SKA 09 October mystery sock
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn in Saffron
Needles: US #0/2mm
Comments: Knit exactly as written. At first, they were a bit loose in the ankle, but now that they're finished, they fit very well. The Dutch heel fits my skinny heel beautifully, but the toe, while pretty, is better for people with narrow toes (which I don't have -- I have duck feet).

And, because I can never be without at least one pair of socks on the needles: the beginning of some men's socks. Yet another try at toe-up, we'll see how it goes.


I actually have some non-socks on the needles right now, but as I said, we're getting into the holiday season, and showing what I'm up to will get a bit more difficult.
I'll try to make up for it with spinning and baked goods!