I woke up today on the other side of Halloween — and I took a deep breath, smiled, and said “Hello, November!”  Do not get me wrong — I LOVE Halloween!  Always have, always will.  And we had a terrific one — with epic costumes and kids’ events at our golf club and all the spine-tingling trimmings of the season.  George and I came home and collapsed.  And this morning was kinda like climbing out of the rabbit hole (a pretty apt metaphor since I was the The White Rabbit this year) after a month of family events culminating in the Halloween festivities.  

I am so ready for November — that peaceful interlude between the Halloween Season and the Holiday Season.  When I was a kid, November bored me to tears.  Halloween was over — and in our house you could not whisper the word Christmas until after Thanksgiving.  But now I am all grown up and have my own house!  We leave our Halloween decor up all through November and watch any Christmas movies we want surrounded by skulls, pumpkins, and fake crows.  And if I feel like putting on a little Christmas music, I do.  My house, my crazy!

As I finish up my Early Fall Knitting (including the Fair Isle sweater Soldotna Crop by Caitlin Hunter)

And as Sarah and I near completion of our beautiful and exciting Q’mitl commission (Thank you, Jan, for being so patient! It is going to be gorgeous!), I am pondering some cold weather woolies.  I found a delightful line of yarns:  Round Mountain Fibers — and their Ornithology Collection captured my imagination!  A hat for George in Atlantic Puffin (he loves puffins)

And for myself and hat in Blue Jay with a coordinating cowl in Matisse Blue by Malabrigo with a rather feral gray pompom!

My big design project (once the Q’mitl is complete!) will be a Gansey for George using the techniques in Beth Brown-Reinsel’s  Knitting Ganseys — which will begin with my making a miniature sampler in order to learn the process (something exquisite that may end up on our Christmas tree perhaps?!).