I did it...almost!

Another shawl designed and almost finished. I took the candle flame triangle shawl found on the net as an inspiration, but instead of only knitting the triangle, I decreased the pattern and made a square for the inner portion of a square shawl. I then added an inner border inspired by and based on a vintage design from Sarah Bradbury's site http://www.knitting-and.com/. Now, "all" I have left to do is come up with a border and knit it. As all of us shawl knitters know the border is usually an excercise of endurance since it will take 1624 rows to knit all the way around. Oh boy, I'm sure glad winter is coming. The yarn is 100% Merino, amethyst, fingering weight from Brown Sheep Company. I bought a one-pound cone from http://www.paradisefibers.com/. This was my first purchase from this company and their service was excellent. The balance of the pictures are in the photo section under works in progress. Constructive criticism and comments are welcomed.
Renate
Peace, Frieden, pax. paix

Something had a delicious dinner last night...

...but it wasn't me. While I was dining yesterday evening on the humble lentil and Spaetzle (German Black Forest egg noodles), something ate one of my beautiful Buff Orpingtons. And "the thing" didn't even have the decency to clean up after itself. It left behind the skeleton, the feet and a few back feathers. And, to top it off, "the thing" seems to be health conscious, since it left also a whole lot of fat on the bones. The photo shows the Buffs when they were about three months old. As hens, they are a beautiful buff (almost rust) color and have been prolific layers until the recent molting season. So, it's back to putting up the barrier at night, so it'll be more difficult to get "at them." I can hear my dear departed mother saying "Renate du, bist faul gewesen." (Renate, you were lazy.)
Frieden (peace), Renate

Angie's Socks

Knit-Along Doily

Dreary Weather

The dreary weather outside was made more bearable by the picture of deer outside my living room window. I counted a total of six, but only five made it into the picture. Even the little ones had their winter coats on.

Angie's Mittens

My daughter wanted a pair of mittens, so here they are. Made from her homespun yarn and Muench Mohair. Thick and warm, they will hopefully help her cope with our Michigan winters.

Stash Enhancement Expedition

I did it! I went and spent money on commercial yarn at a most unlikely place: Michaels! (For those outside of the U.S., Michaels is one of those mass retailers where you can buy anything to do with arts and crafts.) I bought 17 balls of Paton's SWS (soy silk and wool) at $5 each. I feel a little bit as if I cheated my LYS, but at a cost of $5 vs. $8.25 there really is little contest.
The cone is Brown Sheep's Homespun fingering weight, color amethyst, from Paradise Fibers. What a pleasure to order from them. Their service is fast and courteous, and I will order from them again.