Happy Halloween and Dia de los Muertos to all! These are the Blackberry Ridge Pumpkin Patch socks in progress done in the Blackberry Ridge brown worsted yarn and some Nature Spun orange. I added the Boo! and changed the way the feet were done. These socks are now done and I'll be wearing them to make the day more festive.



Thanks to all for commenting on the Sanquhar gloves. I used size 00 dpns instead of the size 000 dpns called for in the pattern simply because I didn't own any size 000 dpns. Yes Lisa there are 33 stitches per finger plus the 9 on the three fingers that have the little gussets at the base. I enjoyed working with the yarn and the pattern and the needles quite a bit but I did find working on them at night was tiring for my eyes. I still have some J&S jumper weight yarn in black and white which I'll use for some Sanquhar socks. DH expressed interest in a pair of Sanquhar gloves for himself but I'm not taking the bait. He already has three pairs of gloves I made him, including some gorgeous Norwegian ones from Knitting in the Nordic Tradition, which he NEVER wears.











Snickerdoodle is planning to disguise himself as a rabbit with upright ears this year for Halloween. He urges everyone to send him raisins for looking so cute.

Sanquhar Gloves

SANQUHAR GLOVES

Here we have the back and the front of the gloves. The one on the left is still wet from blocking because I was in such a hurry to photograph them.



Inside out.



The famous finger gussets - look for the black triangle the needle is pointing to. The gussets are actually salt and pepper/lice but I'm amazed I managed a photo that shows them at all.



And on my hand.




These gloves were done using the Japanese online pattern HERE with a decorative cuff from a Sanquhar pattern from an old issue of Cast On magazine. They were knit in Jamieson & Smith laceweight yarn in size 00 dpns.

I lied about the Sanquhar glove photos being ready today. For some reason they still haven't been processed at Snapfish.Tomorrow maybe? Hope springs eternal.







Here's all I bought at Taos Wool Festival this year - a 20th anniversary commemorative t-shirt with a ram and some of my favorite whiter than white Cormo yarn from Elsa Sheep & Wool.



I completely agree with everything Geane said about the current issue of Interweave Knits. Look in the comments of her October 27 entry. Why would you knit gloves on size 7 dpns? I assume the yarn is worsted or heavier - I think I'd have trouble moving my fingers with such thick gloves. I was really straining to figure out what they were talking about for the design of the one adult colorwork sweater I noticed with the photography. I will keep the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts info on intarsia in the round though.



I started a new pair of gloves that may prove to be my favorite project of the year. I am doing the colorful Peruvian Patterned Gloves from the VK small mittens & glove book with the scalloped gauntlet cuffs. I am using Nature Spun sport weight in the same colors used in the book and am fortunately getting gauge on size 3 dpns. This project is going quite fast although I'm unsure if I will give them away or selfishly keep them for myself.

Tomorrow I'll have lots of photos of the Sanquhar gloves. Sorry about the long wait but Snapfish seems to have slowed down in online photo processing. I may try Ofoto next time.



I'm now into baby projects in Nylamb (my favorite baby yarn and really soft) for my friend who is due in December. I finished the Turkish Infant cap from the Spin-Off book Tops with a Twist and tomorrow I'll start the teeny tiny infant entrelac socks from Zoe Mellors baby bootee book. I'll color coordinate the two projects so they look like they go together. I also know how well Nylamb launders so no problems there.



I just have a few more things to do and then I'm done with my holiday knitting.I'm sending one box of various goodies to a friend and her family and the Koigu cross stitch scarf goes to my mother.



Here are a few more Taos Wool Festival photos - the wool judging in the main tent and La Lana Wools.

I finished the Koigu Cross-Stitch Scarf. Thanks Theresa for recommending this pattern - I know my mom will love it. I ran out of one of the skeins of Koigu so wasn't able to finish three repeats of the pattern as the kit specified but I enjoyed the knitting and it was really nice to have a knitting project that did not require a chart. I decided not to fringe the scarf with just the one color as I like how both colors look together.



The same thing happened with the J&S jumper weight yarn I recently purchased (in skeins, not balls). I only had enough of one color to finish half of the second Paradoxical mitten but I have plenty of the second color. Go figure. I'm so focused on finishing projects it is really quite strange having to wait for more yarn when you're about done.







Here is the San Francisco de Asis church in Ranchos de Taos which some say is the most painted and photographed church in N.M. It was built between 1772 and 1816 and the massive adobe walls are four feet thick and need "re-mudding" annually by the descendants of the original builders. Georgia O' Keefe and Ansel Adams made this simple church famous. Services are still conducted but it is open to visitors. If you can manage a tour you can also see the Mystery Painting inside the rectory.







They use sheepskins to smooth down the finishing coat of sand and water on all outside surfaces of the church when they do the annual re-mudding. I tried to show the actual straw used in the adobe in this photo of DH. If you want to see some terrific photos of this church in all different lights which include the often photographed buttresses on the back exterior, go HERE.