On The Needles

Knitting is still happening here at the Haus.

I was inspired by the Guild's speaker in October - Jared Flood.


He had knitted samples of some of his patterns. I fell in love with Wayfarer. Until I saw it in person, it wasn't really on my radar. Probably because pictures I had seen of it didn't do justice to the pattern.

I was so inspired, I'm knitting it twice in yarns of different fibers and weights.

The first is in Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb (color - Cranberry).


The second is in alpaca from Martinie's Ranch in Holland, MI


This is Summer in Kansas knitted with Wool In The Woods Ballet. I'm at the point of knitting the lace edging.



The Reflection Shawl is almost done.



The Lacy Kerchief Scarf knitted in Classic Elite Miracle is halfway done.


Progress continues on the First Socks. These are toe-up socks using Judy's Magic Cast On and Cat Bordhi's method of increasing until you're just able to cover your toes. For the remainder of the sock, I'm using Wendy Johnson's basic sock pattern with the slip stitch heel. I've started the gusset on one and am ready to start the gusset on the other.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. I'm using a skein for each sock. Although the dye lot is the same, the socks will end up being barely fraternal.

I'm feeling quite virtuous as the yarn for all these in-progress projects is from the stash.

I did find love elsewhere, though. This is the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf made from Lang Yarns Tosca Light - bought this past spring. This is an easy pattern that is reversible, good for Company Knitting, and shows off variegated yarns.

Since I've Been Back

My sister and I went to see my niece at a Revolutionary War reenactment. (She's the one who's standing.)







I dropped in for two hours at the sheep and wool festival.




DH and I took guests from Germany to the Milwaukee Public Museum. One of my favorite sections is the Puelicher Butterfly Wing.







At the September guild meeting, the guest speaker was Nancy Shroyer from Nancy's Knit Knacks.



I realized that I absolutely need to get myself this. That and some Bonine and I'm good to go!

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign, Part III

This was a sign in London - not Amsterdam's Red LIght District -



and on a baby-changing table in a public restroom.

Reason # 273 Why I Hate Commuting

Yes, it was raining that hard. Half mile later I pulled off into a gas station to wait out the worst. Then I had to wait because the streets surrounding the station were flooded. An hour later, I was able to put down my knitting and get back on the road.

Which leads to Reason # 942 Why To Always Carry Knitting With You.

Creepy

We had an early Halloween at our house.

When we got home from Germany, we had invasive weeds that were creeping up our porch and toward the front door.

It took us 2 full days to pull them out of all the bushes.








Can you tell we had a lot of rain while we were gone?



Ever since I've gotten home, the felines have been very needy - to the point of abandoning their preferred sunny spots in the house to sleep next to me on the couch as I knit.

Romantic Rhine

While in the Mosel Valley area, we visited Burg Eltz.

As you can see, renovations are underway.







I wish I could show you the inside of the buildings, but photos are not allowed. The family still uses the castle as a residence.



They have a treasury museum that was worth seeing.

This figurine is only about an inch tall.


This was one of my favorites.


On our last full day in Germany, on the way to Frankfurt, we detoured to St. Goar and took a round trip boat ride between St. Goar and Bacharach. This is one of the more picturesque sections of the Romantic Rhine.









We had a little over an hour to explore Bacharach. Oh, for more time.

Black Forest

Before going to Trier, when we left Freiburg we drove north through the Black Forest,



stopping at the German Clock Museum in Furtwangen. For a small museum, it is packed full of exhibits and has a well done English translation of the explanations.

These are just a few of the beautiful clocks on exhibit.







This clock stands at least 5 feet tall and is intricately carved.









One of the most interesting exhibits were assorted calliopes that museum staff play at specific times throughout the day.

Augusta Treverorum

Or Trier, as it's called in modern times is Germany's oldest town - it's history dates back to 16 B.C.

This was the view from our hotel - magnificent, especially at night.



One of the most famous landmarks is Porta Nigra, the Roman town gate.





The Cathedral and Church of Our Lady. The Church of Lady was closed for renovations. The cathedral stands on the site of the former palace of the Emperor Constantine.





This is Constantine's Basilica - the interior is the largest single room to surviving. It is now a Lutheran church. Photos are not allowed, but I couldn't resist and took one surreptitiously. Not a great photo, but you get the idea.



The Rhenish State Museum or Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier is a wonderful museum. While the exhibits don't have English explanations, they do have an audioguide in english that covers the majority of the diplays. It's a very large museum - hard to get through the whole thing in just one day. They have a lovely cafe that overlooks a beautiful park/garden area where I found this building.



But back to the museum.

Its displays of roman mosaic floors hold much inspiration.









Other finds in the museum...




I easily could have spent 3-4 full days in Trier - and would probably not have seen everything. This is one of the cities that I would like to return to someday.