Skipping Forward

I’m feeling particularly lucky.

I won $2 in the lottery.

I used the money to get 2 new numbers and didn’t win anything.

I also won a gift certificate in the Local Shop Hop.   Whoopee!  That almost makes up for not getting to go to SAFF.

The store I won it from is about an hour away.  I won’t have time to claim it until after the next show at the opera opens.  Now I know why people say winning the lottery is stressful.

I’m feeling so optimistic that I have signed up to eat something bigger than my head to write a 50000 word novel in 30 days.  During the month of November to be exact.  November when I have dress rehearsals at the opera, a monumental birthday, Thanksgiving and necessity of traveling to acquire yarn.  That’s right.  I’m going to attempt National Novel Writing Month.   I have officially lost my mind and if you see me wandering around Decatur muttering to myself just chalk up it to a plot development crisis and be gentle.

I don’t know yet what this is going to do to the blog and my knitting time.  Last year I obsessively posted to the blog every day in November as part of another absurd challenge and had trouble stopping in December.  I’m hoping the same euphoria will not only carry me thru 50000 words but my Christmas knitting too.

Meanwhile, this week I’m pre writing a few blog entries to post later in the month.  Just in case I can’t come with an additional 300 words a week to keep everyone entertained and updated.  Plus it will make me write everyday so by the time I actually have to start the book I will have locked myself into the routine.  I hope.

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When the Great Pumpkin gets here…

It’s pumpkin weather!  and they’re everywhere!

I was thrilled to see this:

I’m a little confused by the “dress for the event info”.  It makes me wonder why a pumpkin carving contest would be black tie?  Then I start imagining Fred Astaire in his tails dancing with a pumpkin on his head.

No Fred or Ginger but lots of little ones amid the pumpkins:

And even at the Botanical Garden where I went to see the Henry Moore exhibit:

Pumpkin Topiaries!  I want one.  I want to cover my Thanksgiving table with mini versions.

The sculptures were incredible.  I am so glad I live in a place where this is available.  I can’t imagine how they moved so many huge pieces here.  This one in particular is so big it dwarfs the man in front of it.

Right along with these classic modern works by an icon of the art world the Botanical Gardens also has…

ScareCrows!  This particular one was made by my granddaughter’s class at school.  Too Gorgeous.

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Wait… I Need a Jacket???

There was no warning.  One day I was wondering if I should turn the air conditioning back on and the next I was pulling hoodies and scarves  out of the forgotten dark corners of my closet.  I thought it was never going to stop raining.  I thought it was going to be warm and muggy for the rest of my life.  I thought that global climate change meant Atlanta was now going to have a monsoon season like the tropics.  Followed by the dry water restriction season.  I was contemplating the purchase of bright colored plastic boots.  I was wondering how long it would be before I needed to trade my car in for a boat.

I am not ready.  My sweaters are still bagged up.  Wooly scarves and hats are in plastic bins with the silk wraps and evening bags I want to have a use for but don’t really.  I need to turn out the closets.  Put away the linen pants and find my coat.

I’m not ready to turn my heat on and until the cats start trying to sleep under me, I’m not going to.  Take that Mother Nature.  Take that Gas Company. I currently have on a fleece hoodie and a scarf- if I’d ever knitted myself a pair of fingerless mitts- I’d have those on too.

OK, so I really like Fall.  It’s my favorite season.  I just expected it to arrive the way it usually does- with some crisp air, lots of sunny days,  and a riot of colored leaves.  It’s still green, it’s still mostly cloudy, it’s just !@#$%^ cold.

Of course Fall here means that  knitters thoughts turn to SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair).  I won’t be going this year- too much work, not enough wherewithall.  But I can tell some of my Friday night group are starting to get excited:

Famous Steve (he of SAFF sheep hat fame) modeling a cowl on his head.

Since I can’t go I have pulled out some Knitting Notions Merino Sport- which I bought at SAFF 2007- as a reminder that I have beautiful yarn waiting to be knit.  I’ve cast on for a scarf using a stitch pattern I found in a book from the library:

It just happens to be my favorite color.  I’d name it after my new favorite red wine but Montepulciano is a mouthful- so I am calling it Merlot.

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The Just Rewards of the Virtuous

Now it feels like Fall.

I have my sacrificial victim.  Although he’s too small for a Jack O’lantern and must become pie.  That’s OK- pie  goes really well with cider and warm scarves and trick or treators.

… and yarn shopping… which is Ok because I destashed by giving away some  in the contest, right?  I also enabled brought a few new converts knitters into the cult coven fold  just like sheep, via a costume shop field trip last week to my LYS.   Such virtue certainly deserves a reward, yes?  Like the pusher getting his for free.

This is what I scored purchased:

Schulana Kid Seta- for a lace scarf with beads.  I have some clear crystal beads for this and in the interest of making sure I don’t procrastinate about starting it after Christmas I have threaded them onto the yarn already.

Cashsoft 4 ply- I plan to make a scarf in which the colors ombre from the darker to the lighter. after Christmas

I have been virtuous in other ways too.  I have finished another  Christmas gift:

Wisp- in Suss Fishnet.  I was not so crazy about this yarn.  This is the second Wisp I’ve done and the 1st one just seemed so much easier.  Then about 3/4 of the way I discovered I was knitting on 6’s- not the 8’s I used for the 1st one.  Duh.  But it’s done, one more down, how many to go?

I have also completed this:

A super secret infintesimal  part of a group project that cannot be revealed at this time.  It’s Rowan Handknit Cotton, which I do like, for cotton anyway, and it’s actually a very nice bright green.  My photography skills camera couldn’t really get the color.

Now let’s see… there’s that hat to do and a scarf and what about that pie and I need to get out the sweaters and scarves and I couldn’t have gotten that much bigger over the summer, could I?

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And the Winner is….

is that your final answer?

Go away, wrong contest anyway.

so where’s the gold statue?

This isn’t the Oscars or the Emmys.

Yeah, whatever happened with that anyway?

We didn’t win.  Now let me announce the winners of my blog contest, OK?

The winner of the drawing for the Amy Butler Bag, the Lily Chin yarn, and the blue stitch markers is  Steph.

The winner of the asian bag, the A Star Alpaca, and the millefiori stitch markers is  Ikkinlala.

I have sent out emails to the winners- if you won and you don’t see an email from me- please email me and let me know your mailing particulars.

I haven’t yet determined a winner for the rose stitch markers.

and you thought it would be a piece of cake, didn’t you?

I thought this would be easy because my blog stats tell me when someone has linked to my blog.  Only it seems, not really.  I have not had any indication that any of the commentors have posted a link even though at least one person indicated that she did.  When I can sort out, by reading all the blogs I haven’t yet had a chance to, who really did post a link, I will announce that winner.

If I can’t get them read in decent time frame, say by next weekend, or no one really did post a link, I’ll have a 2nd chance drawing.

Yesterday was the annual Shop Hop in the metro area.  So in a worthy cause- supporting my local yarn stores- I hit the 3 intown LYS and yes, I bought yarn.

Pictures when I can get them loaded.  After I read the blogs.

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