Happy Halloween!

We may have had some fun.  Hope you did too!

Make one passing comment about the weather...

and the next thing you know it's dropped 20*F, inciting rapid wool knitting for the sake of your fingers!  The real reason to keep extra supplies on hand.  A quick rummage through the stash produced enough yarn in a dark gray and muted amethyst purple to make two pairs of fingerless mitts. A few minutes perusal on Ravelry roaming my pattern library resulted in two patterns, matching my yarn gauge, that had been just waiting to be made.
I'm hoping the first pair will be complete before the weekend is over, my hands are cold!

This piece from Urban Threads has been transferred to a banner from Sublime Stitching. The floss has been gathered, the hoop sits next to it waiting.  Plans for holiday projects(all small), knit and otherwise, have already been made, the supplies being steadily acquired so a start can made at the beginning of November. All larger holiday projects are done or already in progress.  Direct, sensible, all within reason.
Then, the pondering of holiday ensembles begins.  I realize that the lovely garnet colored sock weight yarn I have waiting to be made into a snood would go perfectly with the red boots I had been hoping to wear....and wouldn't that pairing look amazing with that bronze rayon/linen top I've been waiting patiently to cast on? Especially with the alpaca/silk cropped cardigan with the art deco rhinestone buttons and a black pencil skirt...
Then that ever so small but insistent voice in the back of my head starts, not only pointing out all the projects already in progress, but that the wardrobe is sorely lacking in cold weather sweaters, that two and a half pairs of wool socks will not get you through the winter and to remember that it will get cold, typically with little warning (even if it's still 80*F outside right now).  Hats and fingerless gloves don't take long.  The striped shawl that's already started would work up fast, (if I read the pattern this go around, knitting on auto-pilot is bad).
I think, that maybe, I must finish all the things. 

A Friendly Reminder

Especially if you are like me and a total bath stuff junkie who knows the models are air brushed but wants to believe the labels.  Obtain sample sizes first.
In my endeavor to age well, paired with a need for bath products that will work with the fickle (and to me, quite odd) weather out here, I bought a sample set of a new to me face line.  A few red, rashy and oddly dried out patches two days later (it had worked amazingly till then) on my over sensitive skin and I was pleased I had only bought samples.  Admittedly, I was mostly kicking myself for not even thinking about my consistent stand-by until after the episode and allowing myself  to think my skin would somehow react in a positive way.  Luckily, I had some rosehip oil in the cupboard that is helping considerably and an order in with a place that has yet to fail me.  At some point, I  may remember that consistency is better than flash when it comes to the stuff in the beauty aisle.

A little more pink elephant

My lovely daughter adores making jewelry.  She was very enthusiastic when I requested she make me a necklace to go with my pink elephant dress.  It's sparkly! And more pink than I normally wear all year.  I look forward to the excuse to wear it!  She even used findings that match the gold in my wedding ring.  There's been talk from her about beaded martini glasses to affix to the headband I plan to wear, maybe even a matching brooch.  I'm starting to think my daughter may be interested in the 1950's aesthetic...almost as much as I am! ;-)

We went for a wander

After bugging our darling daughter for more than a month, the week of her birthday she finally announced what she wanted to do: go to the local botanical gardens and get more jewelery making supplies.  Kept things simple, and her hair was already purple.
Husband had that Friday off so  we voyaged the a whole five minutes to the requested botanical gardens.  We stopped at the lovely little cafe at the gardens to have lunch before we went tromping around outside.  Daughter seemed quite pleased to sit outside, in perfect weather, and eat mushroom brie quiche with birds flitting around, chirping away.
Once we finished lunch we strolled into the gardens proper, applied much sunblock, admiring all sorts of local flora, fauna and art for the next three and a half hours. Which worked up an appetite for the orange creamiscle cupcakes and squashed frogs (cornflake/rice crispy treats dyed green with candy eyes) that were awaiting us at home.
The next day, we drove to Austin and had lunch in a favorite micro-brew.  Feeling quite full, we thought a bit of a walk was in order, so we ended up at Lady bird Johnson's Wildflower Center . A very pleasant place, but it was a warmer than the day before and the bugs were out in force.  We gave up after less than two hours of wandering. After consulting with the birthday girl (who was just as hot and worn out as the rest of us) we agreed to go home and eat more cupcakes.
At some point over those two days, we also let her do a run through a store, steadily putting beads and cord and wire and findings into her shopping basket.  There was also the stop at the costume shop and a comic book store to round out the trip nicely.
The most important part, daughter seemed very content with her birthday!