Seasonal

October is wonderful. The air is fresh, the light is beautiful in the morning & late afternoon, and the leaves are all my favorite colors. I want to dwell on it for as long as it lasts.

Dash in Doggles

Spring Knitting

It would appear that I had fallen off the face of the earth, if the earth consisted only of the blogosphere. Instead, I've been busy & have not photographed any of this busyness. I must have photos to blog. It's the only way for me. Today I've got a few images, so blog!

The Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty Spring 2008 issue. This is a beautiful scarf when finished & blocked! It took me quite some time to find just the right pattern for this Jade Sapphire Silk & Cashmere loveliness. Unfortunately this is the dullest knit ever. Now the weather is getting warm, further demotivating me on this project.

Ditto the black Garter Yoke Cardigan which combines simple beauty & everyday wearability. It's almost complete with one sleeve & a bit of the second remaining to knit. The body went very quickly, the sleeves on two circular needles are tedious & slow. Here's what that project looks like:

There's not much to see here either, but for a long term carry around project I've been working on an Elizabeth Zimmerman Stonington Shawl. Two greens, doubled lace weight merino. The edging will be a solid green, one or the other of the two. I've completed about 50% of the center square. I need to figure out how to put progress bars on the sidebar of my blog!

One more WIP - I'm making a Forest Canopy Shawl with this new Auraucania Lonco Multy. I had to find out for myself why this pattern is so popular. Now I know; I memorized the pattern within the first set of eight rows. No chart needed until I reach the edging!

Last but most importantly, I'm doing a major destash. A considerable chunk of my stuff (vague quantity). But really.

More tea cozies & other winter warmth -

Free pattern links - - including two versions of the tradional pleated style knit in garter stitch which insulates so well...

Christmas Robin Tea Cosy

Tea Mitten (Ravelry Download)

Grannie's Traditional Tea Cosy

Easy Pleated Tea Cosy

(earlier post)

The look of things

This picture changes dramatically depending on the time of year & weather. The view below is magical, & right out my front door.

From the recent weather at our house.

(Jim Gaffigan: 'Why is she showing photos of snow when half the country is experiencing below zero temperatures this week?')

Snow Day(s)

Yesterday was a snow day (no school). We live below the snow line, so this snowman took all of our snow. This morning it is snowing consistently - cozy!

18 today

Sam having Cream of Wheat, 1991

Birthday socks; two at a time. wünderbar!

Sock bag using this pattern. I like it a lot.

Birthday Sleeve with pocket for comics

Today's News

• October 15th marks 10 years in our home; we're so glad to be here.
• We grew 12 apples this year. The dog ate 4, the people get the rest.

Arkansas Black Apple
The Arkansas Black Apple is recognized as having been first produced in 1870. The fruit, a variety of Winesap, is usually round and of medium size. It ripens in October or November, and the fruit keeps well though the storage season of two to four months. It is a true native apple grown in the Ozarks of both Arkansas and Missouri.

Nevada County Fair

Blue Skies

I went kayaking yesterday - my new favorite sport! I won't tell where I went. It's a secret. But it looked a bit like this:

1. water - perfect
2. weather - perfect
3. ducks & wildflowers, Great Blue Heron too - perfect
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since the smoke has abated my friend was singing this -

Blue skies smilin' at me

Nothin' but blue skies do I see

Bluebirds singin' a song

Nothin' but bluebirds all day long

Never saw the sun shinin' so bright

Never saw things goin' so right

Noticing the days hurrying by

When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue Grey days, all of them gone

Nothin' but blue skies from now on

(Blue skies smilin' at me

Nothin' but blue skies do I see)

Out the window at 5pm today.

In the Garden

I planted eight new dahlias this year. My climate is borderline too hot for them, especially in late summer. I have to try though - - these flowers are my favorite. It's pretty cheap fun too.

Thumb Socks

Here's a random piece of history; I came across it in my sewing box today. It's called a thumb sock, & it's almost guaranteed to help your child quit sucking his or her thumb. Awww, it's so cute. & little. The 'sock' fit over the thumb, & the elastic strap went across the palm. I think they did help...who wants to put a little sock in their mouth?

a maze

This is what we do every Easter. This photo is from last year, but this year looked remarkably similar.

loving some sunshine -

- before it turns cold again.

I took this yesterday. Today it's open. They're so pretty -

Blogging friends...

One of my birdcages was included in a neat article about decorating with birdcages at A Storybook Life. Many interesting & inspiring birdcage images ~


From another section of this home & garden website, I learned about Google Books which allows one to look through large portions of a book before deciding to purchase. Not a couple of pages like Amazon sometimes offers.


I've also copied a delicious-sounding recipe for Apple Pie Rolls, which I will try.


Thanks Pearl!

Snow day -

I had to return home & get the 4 wheel drive because I was sliding around. weeeee....

Snow day thrift - must be vigilant.

I also found a gigantic self-healing cutting mat.

Still had the original $38 tag. hehe.

~ Blogiversary & Rare Bird Finds ~

• I'm honored to have been mentioned on Rare Bird Finds. How cool is that? The result has been more traffic in my etsy store & some new customers!

• Also in the news here is my December 31st blogiversary. My blog turned 1 on the 31st, but I've been too busy to celebrate. To spread the good cheer; I'd like to send a Little People greeting card to the first 8 who request one in the comments...
  
  
• Little People Valentine cards will appear in my shop this week!

Nevada County Fair -