Knittinggarden

Before we get to some autumn photos, I just have to ask, "What happened to my attention span?" In the last couple of days, I've worked on my MS4, my Kauni cardigan, a gift scarf I'm making, and some plain socks I've been carrying around. Okay, that's not too bad. But, becoming aware that it's not too late to send in a Red Scarf , I not only packed up my finished scarf, but I started another one. I received beads in the mail that I'm planning to use for a Swallowtail shawl and by some stroke of sanity, I have resisted casting on for that yet. BUT, I've been fascinated by Shelly Kang's sock yarn blankie for the past year, and I idly checked Ravelry to see if there was a group for it. There was, and guess what? They have organized swaps all the time so you can get little balls of sock yarn scraps to use for your blankie. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough variation in yarns if I just used the leftovers from socks I've mad...

for the Red Scarf Project , that is. Cathy-Cate was kind enough to alert me to the fact that just yesterday the deadline for receiving scarves was extended to December 15th. My red scarf will be blocking today and sent out in the mail posthaste. Thanks for the heads up! (That means that there's still plenty of time for those so inclined to knit a scarf for this year, too.)

Yesterday I actually got out into the garden to do some work; today I went out to pick some last tomatoes, rasperries, fill the bird feeders, and take some photos. In the spring I documented the blooming of the famous driveway pink dogwood trees, now it seems only appropriate that I follow the progress from green to red. While I was out, I decided to photograph some of the other pretty colors in the yard. I like the contrast between the evergreens and the deciduous trees here - it seems to make the colors stand out even more. Here's one of our japanese maples in front of the laurel hedge: And a big-leaf maple in front of another one that hasn't started to turn yet. There are also some big fir trees back there. This is my little red smoke tree that's been transplanted a couple of times in front of one of the nandinas. Nice contrast. Back to knitting, I find that I still have projects that I haven't documented here, so here goes. I showed the beginnings of the child...

Okay, so I pat myself on the back sometimes for my charity knitting. I do it because I like to try new patterns, designs, and techniques while helping others. One of my first charities was afghans for Afghans , to which I still contribute as much as possible, and another was the Red Scarf Project . I've donated to this worthy cause twice and sent scarves the last two years. This year I dutifully chose some beautiful, bulky, warm, red yarn and started making a scarf. I knew that the scarves had to be mailed during September and October, and I was way ahead. Since scarves are easy I decided to design my own, making a combination of cables and ribbing. I can't remember the exact progression, but I started this scarf about four times, ripping it out for one reason or another: The cable was too big, the stockinette wasn't even, the edges rolled up too much, the yarn was too thick for the pattern, etc., etc. You get the idea. I finally hit upon a pattern that worked well...

I've been bad about posting knitting content lately. I looked back and it seems to have been August when I last mentioned that all-consuming obsession of mine. I guess I've been too busy knitting to talk or write about it. So let's see how the summer wrapped up. Summer of Socks: I ended up with five pairs, which is very good for me. I think I already mentioned all but the last pair: My Lacy Rib socks. I started these socks at The Loopy Ewe's Spring Fling last April. There was a sock design class given by the inimitable Cookie A. Cookie was fun to meet and full of energy and good ideas. We all picked out a pattern or two from a stitch dictionary and began. It took me awhile, but I finally got the pattern organized over the right number of stitches, using the right size needles, and finished my socks. They're quite simple but I like them. I used Zen String Bambewe in the Blue Norther colorway. I love this yarn. I'm not sure if I got it from The Loopy...