Pumpkin time

The pumpkin-carvers were hard at work this weekend.

October's walk

This is the scene in October:




the trees are much less lush,




the air is much more chilly,



and the time is a little later in the day than were the peaceful July walks I took.



But its the same place with a little more diversity of color.

Random views of Autumn

Autumn colors - blink and you'll miss them!







A great finish in Cross Country.

When given a chance

September's scarf is turning out better than I expected - as just about everything does if you give it a chance.

Its a narrow scarf with a little twist to it and once you get used to the pattern repeat, its also much easier to remember and knit than last month's lace pattern.

Is it possible that things are beginning to turn around?

New Sock

My next sock - basic sock pattern in stockinette in the beautiful, September colorway of Sandcastle. The picture does not do it justice, this is a rich beige-salmon w/ flecks of purple, its SO pretty!

And I'm flying on this sock, one of the benefits of stockinette in the round.

The yarn is so yummy that I can't put it down.

Finished Socks

September's socks are finally finished. They turned out very nicely and fit just right - another successful Hedgerow sock and why I love this pattern.

I got a little sick of the color after awhile, Lagoon is not exactly one of my favorites. However, it does exactly match a sweater I own that I happened to be wearing while knitting it up. Should be a good wardrobe combination.

Now I've got to get busy with October's projects.

The next scarf

September's scarf for October knitting arrived long before I was ready to tackle its challenge. Which is good because it gave me some time to think about it. The finished product does not look like something I'd choose to make. Its called the Squiggle Scarf and the pattern wants you to cast on and bind off every first and second row of a four row pattern repeat. It makes some squiggly things on each edge. Hmmm

As disinterested as I am about knitting this scarf, being part of this scarf club is not about knitting scarves that I will love to wear, or knitting patterns I would like to knit, its about accepting a new challenge each month and learning new techniques precisely because I am knitting something that I did not choose to knit. Its about growth in the craft. And besides, I'm sure there will be someone who likes this scarf when its finished.

The yarn provided for the scarf is Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Superwash 100& wool in a deep red. 218 yards of your basic, work-horse, sweater yarn.

Now the challenge (self-imposed) is to try to catch back up and get this done in the half month of October that is left so I can start fresh with November's project.

Finished Scarf

Finally, August's scarf for September knitting is completed. Its not a masterpiece by any means. Its not like the last two scarfs that turned out so nicely.

This scarf is a little like the month of September was for me. It goes along smoothly for a little while then there's a mistake. There are several of them along the way. Its not that I didn't try to avoid them, in fact I even ripped back at one point and started over to fix a mistake but sometimes I never even realized I made the mistake until several rows later and by that time I just did not have the energy to change it. Its just going to be the 'September' scarf and remind me that sometimes, things don't always go smoothly.

Secret Surprise Project

Where's Waldo? Oh, I mean, can you tell what this is? Its the Secret Surprise Project and another reason why I'm still working on September's project in October.

This may be coming to a mailbox near you very soon.

Sock of the month

September's shipment of the Three Irish Girl's Yarnista sock club yarn (for October knitting) is Finley Fingering in the Sandcastle colorway. This is a beautiful beige to light brown neutral color where the darker brown-ish color looks almost purple and lighter color looks almost pink. Its an amazing color that I think is going to need a stockinette stitch to show itself off. Finley Fingering is 100% superwash merino, 380 yards.

The special treat with this month's shipment is a little tin of Jelly Belly jellybeans with the Three Irish Girls logo printed on it. Perfect for holding small knitting accessories like stitch markers when the candy is gone.

Since September was such a rough month for me, I'm not quite finished with last month's socks but am working diligently to finish them so that I can cast on this lovely yarn.

Bittersweet September

When September begins it still feels like summer, when it ends it feels and looks like autumn. This is just one of the reasons why I love the month of September so much, it spans the seasons and offers such diversity. When September begins, its still summer vacation by the time September's over, we're back to school. I also love back-to-school time, but it seems like it used to be so much easier.

Now that I'm not the one going back to school, I have to do all the planning and running and purchasing that goes along with getting to school not the actual going back to school. But I didn't used to mind that so much either. Just the last few years it seems like no matter how much I look forward to September, something always seems to go not quite right, the transition from summer to fall is not smooth.

This September was frought with complications and unexpected diagnoses and it took a toll on me and consequently the blog, as in not so many blog posts. I have just lately preferred sleeping to blogging. Hopefully that will change now that October is here and hopefully life will slow down along with the season and while I look forward to the hibernation, I will still get to enjoy a little autumn.

Welcome, October.