Gretel, Take III

Alright, I'll admit it.  I love this Beret.  Its interwoven cable speaks of sophistication, but the slouch is all casual.  The fact that this is the third time I've knit this pattern is a testament to what a great knit it is!  I really don't like to repeat patterns, but this one is fun, it's well-written, and the results just speak for themselves.  Not free, but absolutely worth every penny.  Ysolda Teague sure does know how to write a knitting pattern.  I can definitely see a 4th and maybe a 5th in my future at some point.

This time, I had the brilliant idea to try it in City Tweed, something soft and rustic looking.  Why not combine one of my favorite yarns with one of my favorite patterns?  I now own the perfect fall hat:

Right?

Sorry, no action shot.  Walker and I have been extremely busy lately.  Maybe some other time--I am looking forward to the cool weather that requires such an elegant topper!

We have had an unusually busy fall this year.  This past weekend we went to Quebec City to celebrate our anniversary (two years can you believe it)!  The weather was absolutely amazing--70 and sunny the whole time.  Great food, beautiful city, lovely husband: this girl had it all.  If you're friends with me on Facebook, you can see the pictures I posted when we got back.  If not, maybe if you're nice to me, I'll post some when I get home tonight--if I have time that is.

Which brings me to our next event: Walker's mother is coming to visit this weekend.  Dun dun DUN!  Just kidding.  I really do have a lovely mother-in-law, but we didn't get back from Quebec until Monday evening and now we're scrambling to get the house in order before she comes Friday afternoon. 

It wouldn't be as bad if we hadn't also just gotten our new dining chairs (some assembly required) last night.  This "some assembly" took this spatially challenged girl about 3 hours to put the first chair together AND I used the wrong screws in one spot, which means the holes are now too big for the little screws that were supposed to go there and silly Allie has to go buy some more big screws after work tonight.  Oops.  So I still have to put two of them together, clean up the resulting mess, clean the rest of the house, put laundry away, prepare something tasty and pumpkin-y, and maybe get a workout in to maintain sanity all by bedtime tomorrow night. 

MIL keeps emailing me, telling not to worry, that she's low-maintenance, etc, but c'mon, this is me.  I don't DO half-measures.  The house is going to be clean and perfect because I say it will be.  Damn it.  Don't worry.  I'm sure I'll get it all done.  I just worry and think too much when I can't be there getting it done NOW.  And really, if worrying were an Olympic sport, I would win--or something.

Anyway, TL;DR: I've been crazy busy the last couple of weeks and that's why I haven't gotten much knitting done.

I did make decent progress on Lowry--I'm now up to the armpit on the body section--and I started Walker's Christmas sweater--6" into it--but I have a long way to go on both.  If my social calendar doesn't slow down soon, Christmas is going to be a harried mess!  I don't see this happening, either, a dear friend is getting married in early November and is graciously including me in some of the preliminary events.  Knitting can wait.

For next time, the final piece in my decorating overhaul is coming next weekend, so I'll take you for a tour of our now grown-up apartment with some tutorial links where appropriate.

Until next time, I hope you're enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

Cheers,

-Allie