This is my current project in the fall Interweave Knits. It's the Swallowtail Scarf from Evelyn Clark (Fiber Trends designer). The yarn is a little bit busy but when I stretch it out as if blocked it does look nice and the edging is large enough I thought it oculd probably take the color variation...we'll see. This is a Christmas gift. So far it's pretty easy. I forgot to mention on the socks below that they are made from Trekking XXL which is so wonderful...LOVE their color varations! 

I actually finally finished one of dh's birthday socks...we won't mention when the birthday was! :o) I used an article from Interweave Knits by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts called Dream Socks. I am not sure I will use it again, because I don't like the way the toe joins up...can you see that knit ridge? It's smooth on the inside so it feels okay on the foot, although hubby hasn't tried it with shoes. The pattern uses a short row heel and toe which weren't bad. I would like to try Wendy's short row toe up socks next and see how I like those. I do have the second sock started and it is my goal to get it done before it's cold, but right now I needed a break from the size 0s and sock! 

This is the bottom of the sock. Sorry again for the poor quality photo. The toe and heal are both using the same short row instructions and they are reinforced with navy reinforcement yarn, thus the color change. 

When I was in Washington, my best friend Shelley came up for a weekend and we got the chance to poke around some fun stores. She even indulged me and went to the knitting store. There is an awesome new knitting store in Bellingham http://www.marilynsyarn.com/ called Marilyn's Yarn. They had some really cool stuff. I took some pictures in the store that I will post later, but here is some of my stash. I had a little birthday money left over and then I also got this fabulous yarn with my money for my shawl ministry. It's called Fino from Alpaca With A Twist and is 875 yards/skein of 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk. Mmm...it's delish! So soft. The photo makes it look blue but it is actually a little bit greener teal color. I am thinking about possibly doing the Fiddlesticks peacock pattern in this for someone on my list in the shawl ministry. 

I was so excited to finally find some Socks That Rock! They had just gotten a new shipment in and it was hard to narrow down to just two skeins. I love the feel of it and can see why people ooh and ahh over it! It will be hard to discipline myself and wait until after Christmas presents are made to start in on this one. The color is Azure Malachite. 

This is hard to see but it is Socks That Rock in Azurite, it looks all black in the photo but it has a lot of purple in it as well. Purple is my favorite color in case you haven't noticed! :o) 

This is some JaggerSpun Zephyr in Chanel. It's the exact color (although it's hard to tell in photo) of the burgandy used in my wedding. This is a splurge for me. I want to make a scarf with this that will remind me of my wedding day! :o) 

This is Kid Merino from Crystal Palace Yarns which I found at Hank and Bolt in Bellingham, Washington for $3.72 on sale! I got two balls of each color. The one in the rear of the picture is rainbow colored. On the right is one I want to use for my Mom...all her colors! This was a great buy at 40% off and hubby got these for me so that I could make them into Christmas presents. 

Well, some of you reading probably already know, but for those who don't, my family and I are looking at different possibilities for relocating. As part of that prayer and research process, we felt led to check out Spokane, Washington which would be approximately 6 hours away from family, as opposed to 16 that we have now. We did find a lot of things favorable and we are still praying and looking for God's will as to whether we will move forward in this direction. So far, both Tim and I feel positive about the possibilities. So I am posting some pictures on here to share with friends and family who may not have been to Spokane before. A lot of them are snapped out the window while driving so aren't the best photographically speaking, but will give you an idea. There's also some miscellaneous pictures towards the end. Everything is labeled. If anyone is surfing through from Spokane, please drop me a line! :o) 

This is the traffic heading east out of downtown Spokane on I-90 at 4PM on a Wednesday afternoon! We were almost in shock. I'm sure it can be worse, but wow! This is awesome. It is only this light of traffic in the wee hours at home. 

This is part of the park that was built for the World's Expo in 1974. 

The falls were pretty low but still very beautiful. This runs right through downtown! 

There is a lot of nice art and many cultural venues that you would expect in a larger city. This sculpture was just down river from the falls. 

We took all these shots out the window in downtown, while driving the car (I drove, hubby shot). 

More downtown area and the cool clouds. 

Another shot out the window, it's hard to tell but the windows on the Macy's building were beautiful. 

I loved a lot of the architecture in Spokane, including this art deco building. There were some old churches that I would like to go and photograph and some other interesting buildings. Overall the downtown area looked really clean and nice. 

This is the road in Mead. Mead is just north of Spokane but really connects to it. There are more trees there and we both really liked that area. 

This is driving east from Spokane on I-90, through the window. 

West of Spokane we watched the combines harvesting wheat. That was pretty cool. 

Grandpa and ds near an old locomotive. 

Ross Lake, North Cascades National Park, Washington State. 

This art/map was in the Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls, Idaho...I don't recommend it as a place to eat but the decorations were cool! 

Liberty Bell Mountain at the Washington Pass Overlook in the North Cascades National Park in Washington State. 

This is a heron in the waterway across the road from Lake Couer d'Alene.