Texas Thanksgiving

I spent a marvelous Thanksgiving down in the hill country of Texas. It was beautiful, with such a distinctive color and texture palette, and it kicked me into inspired crafting mode!

Soaring live oaks

Darling old farmhouse (where we stayed)

Dovecote

Cow face

Rusty barbed wire

Corrugated metal

Rusting out old cars

When I flew into Austin, I made time to swing by Hill Country Weavers, which is probably the most incredible yarn store I've ever been to. I was particularly impressed by their organic and eco-friendly yarn selection. If my bag hadn't been so full, I would've definitely come home with several projects worth of yarn! But I did treat myself to a pair of Addi Lace needles and from then on, knitted like the wind!

And just what was it that I was knitting? I finally picked a yarn for my final Vermont shawl -- Miss Babs "Yet" in Verdigris -- and by the end of the trip had finished about half of the shawl. It's so hard to see cramped up on a needle like this, especially washed out by the bright Texas sunshine, but you'll have to trust me: it's gorgeous!

gray & green

Snapshots from my apartment on a quiet Saturday morning ....

Shetland sheepskin (from Charlotte's farm)

vintage miniature muffin tin

rustic wool on an old milking stool

odd little hat being blocked

sunlight across my 1920s stove

The hat is a top-down cap that I whipped up over the last few nights, using a gray yarn from Hope Spinnery and (when the gray yarn ran out) a naturally-dyed wool that my friend brought me from Paraguay. I feel like a little wood elf when I wear it.

on the move

Things are moving again! It all started this past weekend, with another sweet visit to Claybrook Farm. Patches, a roly-poly Shetland sheep, was certainly on the move, running to dinner as fast as his little legs could carry him ....

The chickens were on the move, too, darting and scratching around the barnyard ...

I did manage to catch one, having learned how on the last visit. I tried to take a self-portrait-with-chicken, but it kept moving too much! Ha ha!

Anyways, it was a splendid afternoon. We played with animals. Drank hot chocolate. Admired Charlotte's incredible quilts.

And this time, we finally took a trip to the Iron Horse yarn shop. What a gem! I think I petted every skein of yarn in there ... it was definitely a much-needed infusion of fiber and color energy, and it's kicked me out of my crafting malaise!

*sigh*

Has it really been three weeks since I last posted? I don't know what's going on. A series of little disappointments, I guess.

rain on the window, uninspiring light

endless swatching

a too big hat that I need to unravel

*sigh* And the biggest disappointment that kicked off this craft/blog malaise was that my Rhinebeck yarn quest failed. I did not find yarn for my final Vermont shawl. It may be time for a local yarn crawl this weekend ...