A new fall hat + yarn p*rn

I had been really, really good in not purchasing new yarn for several months. Well, expect for the Magnolia Club, but I don't count that. A few weeks ago I was looking for a skein of yarn to use for backup in case I ran out for what I was using on a shawl I was knitting. When I ordered that I also found a skein of extremely pretty yarn in a very autumnal color. I clicked 'add to basket' and it arrived at my house a few days later. I decided it should be a hat for fall. The yarn is Jill Draper Makes Stuff - Hudson and the color is Cinnamon but I think it reminds me of a persimmon. I bought it at Happy Knits and they have some other really lovely colors. For the pattern I pulled the Molly hat out of my Ravelry queue. So far it's knitting up really quickly and has a super easy pattern, which is great for my addled brain.

 These gorgeous skeins are what I got with this round of the Madelinetosh Magnolia Club.

This first is Tosh Merino Light in Astrid Gray:

 The second is DK Twist in Chapterbook:

And finally, 80/10/10 Fingering in Sand Dunes:

I'm sitting out the next round of the club, the yarn is always beautiful but I'm at maximum capacity for yarn right now. Plus I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with all this pretty stuff!

Finally fall

I am one tired gal. Baby + work + working with baby in my office, is leaving very little time for blogging right now. Because of the busy season at work I started working again during my maternity leave at home. I went back to full-time work three weeks ago with George joining me at the office until he starts daycare at the end of October. Adjusting to life with baby hasn't too bad but having a tiny one and breastfeeding has left little time for me to bake or blog. I'm finding a little time to squeeze it in again though.

• I can't believe it's October! Time is flying. The weather has s-l-o-w-l-y started feeling a little fall like. In celebration I put out our Halloween decorations this weekend

• My geraniums and sweet potato vines have played out so I pulled them out and potted up some pansies, creeping jenny, and bronze mums.(no pics because neither flower has bloomed yet)

•  Saturday morning I sent Doug to Gibson's for pumpkin donuts (and maple bacon ones too) They were so good and well worth diet-cheating. 

• Once the new iPhone 5 was announced, Doug and I took the drop in price of the 4S as an opportunity to upgrade from our iPhone 3's. They are so much faster.

• While on maternity leave I started watching bad television, including re-runs of the 'Reba' show on ABC Family. I've watched almost the entire series. I'm a little ashamed about it. 

• Speaking of female country singers, I signed George up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and I can't wait for him to get the first book. I loved reading so much as a child and Doug and I are both avid readers. I hope we can pass along that love to him. 

• Previously I thought instant coffee was gross and I wouldn't touch the stuff. However, I tried Starbucks VIA in Pumpkin Spice and plain Iced Coffee and it's pretty good. The Pumpkin Spice is not the same as a Pumpkin Spice Latte but it gets the job done when you can't go get a real one. The Iced Coffee tastes similar to an actual Starbucks iced coffee and it's nice to have when you don't have the time or energy to make your own coffee concentrate.

And here's another gratuitous  baby picture, sitting in the chair that belonged to his late grandfather, also his namesake. (I'm right out of the photo frame for baby-safety)