Hi y’all. If it seems like I just took off, it’s because I did. If I could contrive a way to live in the mountains here in NC, I would. Just look at this sky.

The family and I went on a little camping trip to the mountains. It was great fun, complete with knitting time around the campfire. The photo above was taken from a mountain meadow, where we were nearly in the clouds. The sock I was knitting was too complex to do in the dark*, so I ended up knitting this in the evenings:

A plain MDK baby bib. It’s in need of some embellishment and a button to fasten it around the little cherub’s neck. Anyone know where I can find a pattern for a crocheted froggie patch or some such? I’ll have to go on a search.

And, I finished up my first River Valley sock shortly before we left. Here it is, lying about in its native environment. The lovely yarn is from Cabin Cove Mercantile – the Inkblot colorway.

I’m ready to go back now, please.

* It freaks the muggles out when you knit in the dark around a campfire. Each evening, a different person would ask, “How can you see what you’re doing?” Easy enough to answer – I can’t!

Today’s sky is blue, with just a cloud here or there if you really search. More exciting is this cheater sky from this May in the Smokies.

I found out today that I won the Fantasy (Yarn) Island contest over at Crafting Morrighana’s. I’m really excited – I haven’t won anything in decades! Well, except for my hubby, but that wasn’t really a write-in sort of contest.

In knitting news, I’ve started on a pair of River Valley socks with a nice subtly shaded dark blue yarn from Cabin Cove. A pair of socks for me, me, ME! I love the pattern, but I’m thinking I need to drop down a needle size. So, I have some experimentation to do there.

I spent the morning designing a pair of sock blockers so I can block my Hogwarts socks in style. I haven’t cut out or prepared the blockers yet; if the next picture you see is the Hogwarts socks on purchased blockers, you’ll know how it went.

This is where I’ve been. Would you want to leave? I didn’t… even with my allergies wreaking havoc with my head.

This little guy looks cute enough to take home with you… until you realize how big he’s gonna get. I spent a fair bit of time before the trip reading two knitting books. The first is No Sheep for You by Amy R. Singer. Now, I probably won’t end up making anything from this book, pattern-wise*, but it’s a great read for those of us with animal fiber issues. I found confirmation for a lot of the things I’d suspected about different fibers and their uses. My favorite part of the book was the advice on how to test out different yarns to discover their suitability for an application. Some of it I knew, and some was brand new.

I’m more confident that I could figure out a non-animal-fiber substitute for any given pattern, now. That alone was worth the book’s price. And, who knows, if I get courage up to do a sweater, Morrigan looks like fun. But, not before I make Eris.

The other books I’ve been sticking my nose into for the past few weeks is Mason Dixon Knitting. I finally ordered it through my library after seeing Chris’ baby bib parade over at Stumbling Over Chaos. I know I’m years late to the party on this one, but these gals are funny. If you’ve been living under a rock (like I apparently have) go find this book somewhere and take a look. It’s filled with stuff I’ll get around to making eventually – most notably the baby stuff. No, I’m not having a baby.

* Just to be clear, the patterns in No Sheep for You are quite fetching. Just, not on me.

Lynn commented:
Ok you SO need to tell me abt this kid friendly B&B in the Smokies… We have a trip planned for the area and I would love to stay in a place like this……

I know how you feel! I wasn’t sure a kid-friendly bed and breakfast really existed. Many B&B’s have an outright “no kid� policy, and many that say they’re kid-friendly seem to just tolerate kids. This was the first one I came across in my search that seemed to actively embrace families. We were extremely happy with our short stay there, and will be going back. A word of warning: you may want to plan one full day to stay at the farm. The kids didn’t really want to go anywhere.

The B&B we were at is called Persephone’s Farm Retreat. You can find them online at http://www.bedandbreakfast.cc. If your kids like gathering eggs and petting animals, this is the place for you. There is a large farmhouse with rooms, as well as two cottages (full kitchens) down toward the paddocks. We opted for a cottage – there was no extra charge for the kidlets – and lucked out with a really nice family in the cottage next door. The kids all got along; they petted the animals and played with the outdoor games together. The innkeeper also has musical instruments on hand for those who play and a fire circle for evening fires when appropriate.

Spring has sprung chez Flyin’ Needles. This is a sock for Tweedle-dee from some panda cotton we picked up on vacation. He says the yellow is like “having sunshine whenever you want it!� This kid is destined for marketing.

The Panda Cotton is treating me all right so far. It’s less bumpy than I had anticipated, which is a pleasant surprise. Also, it doesn’t annoy me nearly as much as Cascade Fixation does with its use of elastic. I have a hard time getting even tension with Fixation. That said, it can be a rather splitty yarn, and don’t think about frogging and reknitting large sections. “Rather splitty� morphs into “these seven strings are all one yarn?� at that point. I’ll let you know how it goes.

We’re back and slowly acclimating to life at home. Now, if I could find the energy to buy some milk for the fridge and groceries for dinner, we’d really be on our way. So, in the name of procrastination, I’m writing my Saturday Sky entry instead of doing what I should be doing.

We had a lovely time in Huntsville, though I am glad not to be living in a hotel. We spent most of our adventure time at the US Space and Rocket Center, though we did get out to Sci-Quest (a children’s science museum) and a few playgrounds. On the way home, we stopped by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I love this place; it’s lovely out of season as well as in. We spent Saturday at a kid-friendly B&B with lovely views. Here are some of my Saturday Sky photos from last Saturday:

The morning:

Mid-day, on the way over to Cades Cove:

Sunset, shortly before we had a nice little campfire:

I’m glad to be back! The second sock is almost done, so expect photos later in the week.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day! This was the view during our weekly Saturday Drive.

This gorgeous stuff is on my needles now. Just the thing for the winter blahs. It’s Jitterbug 100% superwash wool in the Mardi Gras colorway.

Last week we were up in Ohio, and my sock came along (as always.) This week, I’ll make its mate on the way to Alabama. Life lately has been a lot of laundry and packing with homeschooling stuck in between. I’m pretty bummed that I’m going to miss the Harlot’s event in New York this week. But, my hotel in Huntsville is only three minutes from a yarn store. The fact that I know this before leaving home amuses my hubby.

So – we’ll be hitting the space and rocket center, the local science museum, and the yarn store. Is there anything else in Huntsville that we really must see?

Sunrise from my mom’s front yard. Happy Birthday, Mom!

In unrelated news, this sock is no more:

I could have gotten away with the 60% cotton / 40% acrylic black yarn. What I didn’t count on was stepping on mercerized cotton all down the bottom of the sock foot. With my newfound ability to knit machine washable wool, there was just no need to torture myself. Bye bye, sock. I shall meet you again with more suitable materials.

An update from sunny Florida…

Much to my surprise, Crystal Palace yarns came by the blog to visit. Thanks for stopping by! I also received a rather prompt reply to my inquiry there. You see, I’m still quite excited about their Panda Cotton and Panda Wool – especially the wool. To date, I have found one store online that stocks the wool: Little Knits. I also found a nice little shop across the country from me that said they’d order it and ship it to me. Isn’t that nice?

To be fair, it is really new, so I’m sure it will be easier to find in a few months.

In the meantime, I shall continue to play with this…

That’s my very first ever toe-up sock in the Blossom colorway from Dave’s Place. I’ve just turned the heel and am ready to start the cuff. I might be making it a smidge too loose, but I’m really not sure how much (or if) wool shrinks*, as this is my first woolen sock. I have no idea how well it will fit, but it sure is fun to knit.

Tonight, the family and I had quite a treat. We were at an uncle’s house, and he took us on a guided tour of the property – including the cypress trees, dry lake and creek bed, and a bald eagle’s nest. There were a few trees down where the lake ought to be that are amazing. I am assuming they are live oaks. Huge, and majestic. Unfortunately, the light was failing so my photos aren’t that great.

I’m standing on the dry lake bed here, looking back up the hill.

This is the walk down towards the lake bed. No eagle sightings today; I’d stay in my nest, too. Brrrr!

* Yes, I know I CAN make it shrink. I just don’t know if it’ll shrink if I manage to treat it nicely. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?