Whether I'm painting, quilting, or spinning,  I'm always looking for inspiration... and here it is!
OK, so it's no secret that autumn is my favorite time of year... and mostly because the of the amazing show the garden puts on just as it nears the end.

This week was the first chance I had to catch it on camera. As I let the dogs out one morning, I noticed the sun coming through the red maple leaves which already have such a beautiful color palette of dark reds and purples. But when the sun comes through them you get a whole other experience of olives and golden tones.


Then there was the peppermint. It gets these cute purple flowers on the end of vine like stalks, which normally hold dark green leaves, but now are beginning to turn pink with touches of yellow!

  

The miniature pink roses are actually still in bloom, but have begun to show these pumpkin like "hips" that are perfectly suited for the season. This crazy ornamental grass just showed up in my garden this year(I think it blew in from the neighbors yard), but it's a great fit. And with it's purple plumes on blue-green stalks, it has a subtle cool palette that I can't resist!

 

Petra: the mummy

Adorable and undead, Petra was my surprise Halloween project last year... and now she's back, available as a pattern in my Halloween collection (etsy shop, ravelry shop, craftsy shop)! And by popular demand, she comes with instructions for both a knit version of her hair, and a crochet version! 
Are you making Petra?Join us on Ravelry: CALwithDawnToussaint

A little overboard?

OK, I may have overdone it... but with the holidays coming up, gifts to make, and travel time to spend knitting, I think I was justified. So it all started when I saw that WintryFlowerByDesign is having a sale! With the prices as good as they are, the awesome color combos I was looking for, and the high quality fibers, I couldn't resist.

First, I wanted something soft and durable to make a scarf for a good friend... She likes an earthy olive green, but everything I found was just so green! Then I saw this "Mer" and thought how perfect that will be spun up and knit together... it has an overall green feel, but so much variation. Beautiful!

Then I saw the alpaca in a similar color way, but with a little more pink. It also has the hint of grey that silver alpaca lends. I can spin or ply this with my undyed sliver alpaca fiber for the most amazing shawl! I'm thinking "Nuvem" by Martina Behm.

And finally, I saw "Painting the night sky" and knew this was the colorway I needed for my halloween cowl. Perfect for trick or treating in the crisp October air. I better get started! Check out my ravelry project page for updates on these projects, and others.

But wait, what's this in the bottom of the box? A FREE sample of another amazing merino fiber. 

Talented and generous ;D

Petra: my halloween mystery project

If you've joined our ravelry group, then you may have seen the beginnings of my latest project... you may have even tried to guess what she was going to be.
Well, I've finished her just in time to keep my jack-o-lanterns company this Halloween! And here she is: Petra the mummy! She's not the conventional mummy, but that's OK... She'll happily take her place along side my wolfboy, pumpkin witch, scarecrow bear, and kitty noir in the Halloween collection (pattern to be available in the near future). Find more pics on her ravelry project page ;D