Getting Back to Fun

After the rollercoaster of emotion we've ridden out over the past couple of weeks, we headed out to Amish Country to get some space to clear our heads, if not our hearts. I worked on the Clementine Shawlette, which I had to start practically from scratch. In my so-called genius, I decided I was going to knit the entire thing in one piece as opposed to the two the pattern calls for. I was about to start the decreases that would have taken me into the second half of the pattern when it just became a colossal mess. Argh. So I frogged it down to the first 46 rows, which may sound like a lot, but trust me - it ain't. It did knit up quickly enough, though, and I'm halfway through - and this time, I listened to what the nice designer told me and put this half on stitch holders while I work the other half:


I think it's showing up almost as a white shawlette, but it's a beautiful ice blue.

Amish Country is beautiful. I can't get tired of the area. There's great food, fun things to do, and we went with our friends Ron and Christine and their two daughters, so it was like a huge family vacation. The kids all had a great time together and it was great for Mom to be out and about.

Another great thing about Amish Country? The crafts. Folk Art is hugely popular in the area, and I've found myself buying sheep-related folk art the past couple of times I've visited. Then, there's the Amish quilts.

This was one of the four quilts I was able to photograph on a tour through an Amish farmhouse. It's so beautiful, and man, am I determined to learn to quilt after seeing these beauties. No, I have no delusions of grandeur; I know this will not be my first, or maybe 100th, attempt, but if I could just sew a few squares together, I'll be tickled pink.

Oh, and the yarn:


I finally bought something at the Lancaster Yarn Shop! I went last time, but it's a bit pricey for an unemployed gal. This time, though, I caught a sale on some beautiful Brown Sheep yarn in this beautiful teal color that begs to be made into a scarf or gloves and hat this winter. I think a nice slouch hat would look great, don't you?

And now, back to the quilts.

This quilt was my absolute favorite. It's hard to tell from the picture, and a close-up I tried to take didn't really show the detail as well as I'd have liked, but there are heart designs sewn into the body of the quilt, outside of the print areas. These women do this by hand or using old treadle sewing machines - I'm completely floored by the beauty they create.

And of course, the kiddies were all over the buggies that were out in the farm area.

More pictures to come.