Zig, baby, Zig

My last design idea for fall is all done and photos are up and everything's listed on Etsy. I have to admit I'm outrageously proud of this one:
It was a pain in the neck to work out the math and the construction on this one, but I knew exactly what I wanted and this came out exactly like it was in my head. I'm in love with the yarn I used and the colors and the length and the way the zigzags look next to each other. I'm so pleased.

We took the photos a couple of weeks ago, which meant I again ran into the conundrum of shooting Fall things in what was clearly not even close to Fall weather or scenery. We found this spot right next to Rock Creek, under a stone bridge, and Aaron of course worked his photo magic, and I think everything looks great.

Now I'm working constantly and obsessively on my Winter things. I'm really excited to show those off too.

P.S. I'm about halfway through working up a pattern/tutorial for this scarf, so if you're a crocheter, stay tuned! :)

a better Monday

A couple of weeks ago I suddenly realized that my weekends in Fall were almost totally booked, but I hadn't made time for camping in the mountains, which is an autumn must for me. So I ditched work one day and spent Sunday and Monday here:

with these guys:

We saw more deer than I could count:

We also ran into a full-grown black bear in the woods in the dark on the trail back to our tent:
{image unavailable due to I was walking too fast in the opposite direction and forget to take out my camera}

For breakfast we had sausages slow-roasted over charcoal and Graham crackers with apple butter I had bought for a little roadside stand on the way out (and homemade apple cider from the same stand):

(Aaron is so proud of the new camp sporks we bought just for the occasion.)

We hiked, just a teensy bit:

And took our sweet time getting back into the city. We stopped at a diner on the highway that we always see and I've always wanted to try:

(the Double Cheeseburger was good, the milkshake was okay, but Jared tells me the buffalo burger is definitely NOT worth the money.)

It's almost Fall in Shenandoah. Probably next weekend will be breathtaking:

It's not like I'm having a particularly bad Monday right now. It's just that, how can you beat that?

Best Friend

A few months ago, one of my best friends, who lives far away, sent me a picture of a ski cap she saw somewhere and asked if I could make something similar. Having learned (and fallen in love with) crocheted ribbing from Celeste's fabulous City Girl Cap pattern, I got really excited about designing something for a friend. And thus, the Best Friend Beanie was born.

A few weeks ago (still blazing summer weather in DC) my best guy friend and I did a photo shoot with all of the beanies I had made for my etsy store for Fall:

One nice thing about having Jared model is that, of course, he is a beautiful boy. He's just astoundingly photogenic. Which is almost a shame because inevitably 80% of the photos I take have me in the middle of talking or sneezing or sneering or looking dubious or are otherwise unusable, so I ruined a whole lot of good Jared pictures :)

Another nice thing is that Jared's head was made to wear beanies. I've never seen a beanie that didn't love Jared. He was actually known to some of my acquaintances as "your friend who always wears the hat." They're kind of his thing.
A few years ago I was living in St. Petersburg. I was cold and miserable and homesick as hell. I went to check my e-mail and there was a link to a video. On the video was Jared's face. "Hey Allison," he said, smiling his perma-smile, "guess what time it is?" He reached off camera, made an "are you ready??" face, and pulled on one of his ubiquitous beanies. He pointed at his head and did a dance and sang "beanieweathertimebeanieweathertime!" and laughed like he does.
That was how I knew that it was Fall back home, and also how I was reminded, yet again, how much I love my best friends.

Full Disclosure

The heat index was 98 degrees when we took these photos yesterday. And yes, I was miserable.

But I had bought a spot in the Etsy Fall Fashion Showcase so I needed some Fall things up. I was patient with DC weather for two weeks; the mercury was slowly dropping into the pleasant high 60's, and then...well, Summer hadn't finished tormenting us yet apparently.
(You'll notice that if it were actually as cold as that scarf would merit, my legs and feet would be frostbitten, but I refused to walk outside in knee-high boots in the 80% humidity...)

Just looking at these pictures makes me crave Fall. Please please please, have mercy on me, Climate!