Interloper

Bob checks out the progress of the September scarf.






When I'm sitting in my chair knitting, Bob likes to sit on the top of the chair, behind my head. But if I get up to do something, like get the camera . . .






I come back to an interloper! He acts like he's interested in the knitting but he's really just waiting for the warm spot to become vacant.

The Hedgerow

Now this is a pattern that moves along at a nice pace. Despite being just one size up from 0 which is of course, 1 and still pretty small needles, look how much faster its going. This is two days worth of knitting, enjoyable knitting might I add, and I'm getting somewhere. These may be finished by month's end.

I have a pair of these that I made a few years ago and they remain the most comfortable sock I've made. Thank you Jane Cochran.

Didn't make the cut

Okay, I gave it a fair shot but it just didn't make the cut. The Honeycomb pattern, that is. Yes, I liked learning the new cast on technique and working from the toe up but there were a few things that let me know this sock would not get finished by month end, maybe not even by year end if I kept it up. It was in the best interest of the yarn and my goal of a pair of socks a month to make a tough decision.

Working on size 0 needles and the fiddly cabling every three stitches just did not work for me. I wasn't enjoying myself and it was taking me forever. It took me a week to get as far as is illustrated in the photo above.

Now, you may know what the inimitable Elizabeth Zimmerman means when she says in Knitting Without Tears that knitting properly practiced means "executed in a relaxed manner, without anxiety, strain, or tension" to me she means 'if its not fun, don't do it'. I was not having fun with this pattern. It was time to make a change. The Honeycomb sock you see here was ripped out this week, I wish I could say it will be missed.

Next up for August's colorway is my most favorite and successful sock pattern yet: the Hedgerows.

Blogiversary

I missed my one-year blogiversary on September 7th. My goodness how time has flown this last year. In many ways, related to my blog and crafting, it doesn't feel as though its been a year but in other ways related to my daily responsibilities, it feels like a long year.

It took me some time to settle into this blogging thing but now I feel like I've found my stride and I know why I'm doing it. And doing it day after day (most days) has helped me discover myself a little bit.

I've thought a little about blogging lately after reading this post and what she says about blogging. I think she hits the nail on the head when she talks about doing something to occupy yourself and discovering something more once you are there. Some days I've found I have lots of things I want to share and on other days when I can't think of anything worth sharing, my commitment to post helps me to discover what kind of creative ideas are going on in my otherwise task-occupied mind.

Its a creative outlet thats a little bit different than the actual knitting that first helped me begin but its one that I find really adds to my sense of self. Its a little bit different than journaling which I wrote about here because there certainly is a sense of writing for the public on the blog that you don't have when you write in your journal. In the end, all these creative pursuits help us a little further along the path to fulfillment and happiness daily.

September Scarf

Progress on September's scarf is slow.

The pattern repeat is only two rows and they are not easy rows. This eyelet lace pattern is not easy to remember so I refer to the pattern constantly and that makes it slow as well. Also, I focus carefully on what stitch is next because the stitches and the yarn both make it difficult to tink back if I mess up.

But its a pretty scarf and I think it will make a nice cold weather scarf for a man.

The first week of school is coming to an end and fall is in the air. It must be time for football.

Cast on Lagoon

The colorways to choose from for the Three Irish Girls August sock club were Arboretum or Lagoon. Meet Lagoon: my choice for August's yarn for September knitting. Along with the yarn we get a free pattern with the club shipment and this month I decided to knit up August's yarn into August's pattern, Honeycomb.

Once I made this decision, I had a few reservations. The pattern uses size 0 needles! Those are small needles so these socks are going to require A LOT of stitches. Also, its a toe-up pattern and I haven't done a toe-up sock before. Casting on for a toe-up sock uses an interesting technique called the Turkish cast on. Wow, this is magic! I followed the instructions and voila:



A few wraps around the needles turn into a few stitches,







and those stitches turn into a few more until,







you are knitting fabric between the needles and there is no cast-on edge - magic!

This may be a slow sock due to the extremely small needles but I am happy to have learned and accomplished a new technique. Now down to some serious knitting.

Rhubarb socks

July's sock club yarn has been knit up successfully into the beautiful Rhubarb sock.


This yarn was fantastic (10% cashmere) and the socks are so squishy and comfortable, I can't wait to wear them!



The searching I did for the perfect pattern paid off, I really like this pattern and it looks so good on the socks. There was a bit of an error but I was able to overcome and only re-knit the first sock once. I'm very happy with my first Three Irish Girls sock-club yarn and ready for the next challenge.

Labor Day Knitting

I'm in the home stretch with July's sock-club sock. I'm working the toe decreases with the beautiful stitch-markers that were a gift from Sarah.

These will be done before you know it and on to the next sock!

The next scarf

Here is August's club offering for September knitting. I think from now on I'm going to call it the September scarf. Even though I started out in June receiving the club shipment mid-month and knitting it the same month it arrived, it seems that Patternworks has decided to ship at the end of the month so that the shipment arrives on the last day of the month and knitting does not happen until the next month anyway. So, readers, we'll transition this August club offering into a 'September scarf', you with me?

This is Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted. Its 75% wool and 25% Alpaca, 100g, 220 yards. The colorway is called Blue Smoke. It has a very low twist and is a smooth yarn, it should make a luscious scarf.

The pattern is an eyelet pattern with just two rows in the repeat that you alternate throughout the entire scarf.

Knitting group met last night and work on July's sock continued. Our group is being offered an opportunity to showcase our handknits at the used bookstore where we meet. The proprietor is going to display any handknits we provide (with some sort of selection process) during the Christmas season and offer them for sale in exchange for any knitting books or periodicals we want to donate to her store. Scarves, of which I will have several by then, and hats would be good offerings. Pricing will be interesting but I would love to see my handknits displayed. I may think about selecting a few to see if they will make the cut.

Not knitting . . .

. . . but so appealing to me right now! Susan Branch's seasonal cookbooks are so fun and inspiring. I was give the Summer book for my birthday more than a decade ago and loved it. A few years ago I found the Autumn book and now whenever the seasons begin to change I am drawn to the book and draw inspiration for cooking and decorating for the harvest season and back to school from it.



Not only does she have wonderful recipes of the season for snacks, side dishes, main dishes, full Thanksgiving menu with recipes, desserts, and drinks but she includes sidebars on crafts, gift baskets, decorating, entertaining, family memories, gardening and more. All written in her hallmark watercolor script and each page is painted with her beautiful and colorful watercolor paintings.



These books are fun just to look through even if you don't try her wonderful recipes. They will fill you with the feeling of the season and make you want to embrace every nuance.