Baa, Baa Black Sheep

Here is the back of the Caorah Dubh sweater, pinned out on the blocking board.

I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to take a respectable photo of this color, but you can absolutely take my word for it:  My yarn rocks.

To describe knitting with my own handspun, I'll have to resort to a food metaphor:  If working with millspun yarn were a perfect hothouse tomato, dewy and chilled from the produce aisle, then handspun knitting would be standing in the garden, filching tomatoes off the vine.  They have blemishes, they are warm from the sun, and there is absolutely nothing else in the world quite like them.

Make me this promise, Gentle Readers, even if you have no interest in learning to spin yourself:  Get hold of some handspun yarn, and make something from it.  You don't have to become a Master Gardener to appreciate a good tomato.  Just find the right garden.
 

The Scenery Changes; The Dialogue, Not So Much

The cast of the Huff family made our annual sojourn to the Oregon Coast for Labor Day.  We joined three other families there for a fun-filled weekend of water sports, outdoor knitting, and other forms of lighthearted debauchery. 

Campbell did some snorkeling in the hot tub.

My two favorite fellas went for a paddle.

Phillip and Justin held down beach chairs, under the careful supervision of their dogs.

The Smallies became surfers.

I boned up on my required reading.  This, by the way, is how a knitter sunbathes: Sunblock two million and a great big hat.  I still got burned.

I spent some quality time with my Black Sheep.  I cast on for this on Friday, and snapped this picture on Sunday.  Knit Much?  Funny how fast I go when there's no deadline...

And then it was over as abruptly as it seemed to start.  I sent Phillip and the Smallies off to school.

And that's that.  My first summer at home with my family is in the bag.  The four of us made it through 90 days in 1400 un-air-conditioned square feet together.  Any lived to tell the tale.  The worst day of this summer was still better than my best day at the office.  I am the luckiest mommy in the world to have been able to share it with them.

The stillness in the house is deafening.  I think I'll get used to it.

The Results Are In

Many sincere thanks, Gentle Readers, for your words of opinionated wisdom,  What a clever and generous lot you are!  The winning candidate, based on your input, is "A".  Here is another shot of it, in natural light.

"A" would like to thank its many supporters, and promises to remain both deep and sophisticated, at least through the first few washes.

In other news, I'm leaving for a long, romantic weekend by the sea.  I'm taking someone very special with me:  Someone warm and dear, who has known me for quite a while, and who has been through so much with me that we have truly become soul mates:

I'm sure you all remember Caora Dubh, the 5-ply handspun.  Here is the very first swatch, with which I am pleased to distraction.  The sketch is my jumping-off point.  I have chosen some really pretty cables, and found some very special buttons, so I feel good about the direction we're headed, the String and I.  To say I have a crush on this yarn is putting it mildly.  Knitting with it is a sublime experience.  There are simply not words to describe the enjoyment.  I think we are going to have a really intimate and enlightening time together this weekend. 

Sure hope my husband and children being there won't wreck it.