Autumn Leaf

I searched hard to find a colored leaf....

this one matches my Fall socks, though.

My Dad says it is too early because they haven't had a frost yet.

He's probably right about these things.

But it is the last day of September!

Cemetery, Socks and Spider

 This is one magnificent Maple tree in the midst of the cemetery.

The trunk of the tree is 7' in diameter which means it is at least 21' around!  

I'm sure it has been witness to many mourners throughout the centuries!

 While listening to an audio book, I added a few inches to the Comfort Sock.

 And I cast off for one completed sock.

An active spider for WanderingCat--isn't she a fat one?!

Flower Wind Down

 An early morning walk about the yard brought me to the last rose-

and old-fashioned one that has a scent of utter rosefulness!

 The fog was just lifting-everything was dewy and crisp....

 The dahlia is tall and showy;  such a beauty.

 I love the way geraniums smell!  It is an acquired smell!

 The begonias are still going strong-I think most of these flowers will do so until the first frost.

Dad cuts this one back and it winters in the cellar and he brings it back out in the Spring!

I love the hens and chicks--it will go well with my rock garden in Florida! 

The funeral is today.

Enough said.

Almost Sunrise

This is a pic from the airplane yesterday as we caught a glimpse of the sun rising over the ocean during our predawn flight.

 I didn't do very much

 once we arrived in NY except sit and laugh with family;

recuperate from travel 

and end the day with a big home-cooked dinner

 and then a game of cards!

A Pause

I am winging away up north again,

this time for a funeral.

My Mom's only remaining sister has died

and I need to go and hug my Mom.

I will post from there when I get settled.

What's on the Needles Wednesday?!

 Yes, this mitten is the perfect match to the snack, Cheetos!

This is a child's mitten, knit in the round on the machine.

(the green is waste yarn to start the mitten on the machine and will be removed)

See, when I remove the green, I can pick up the live stitches and knit the cuff and thumb;

I chose to knit them by hand;  way more relaxing for those little areas!

 The second mitten is off the machine and needs to be seamed up!

They even match! 

And the Comfort sock is progressing up the leg in the 3/1 rib.  

I was able to knit several inches while waiting at the doctor's yesterday!

(not sick, just check-up)

So , what's on your needles?

Quilt s Coming and Going!

I joined the ladies quilting group in our community center yesterday!

How nice it was to be with other women, 

working away at piecing quilt tops 

and sharing what we were working on.

How wonderful.

In fact, this one was finished in such good time,

I came right home and worked on another charm pack at the design wall.

I will have to cut some solids to go with this one but the bones are good so far!

This one was finished the other day;

here is proof that free motion quilting improves

after washing! lol
All of my wavy lines and mismatched border work just serves its
real purpose after all-to hold the layers together!

Comfort Socks

How wonderful the plain sock knitting feels!

I was mistaken on the content of this yarn-

it is 50/50 nylon and acrylic.

It has the light feel of cotton, hence my mistaken opinion.

I think I will be doing the leg in  k3,p1 rib

which looks like a stockinette leg but stays up better with the rib.

Gansey Socks

The Gladys Socks are finished;

I didn't enjoy them as much as I had the first time I made them

I think it has to do with the smaller needles and the tougher yarn;

Paton's Kroy is not as soft as KnitPicks Stroll.

They will make a very comfortable and warm pair of socks this winter, nonetheless.

 I continued the center seed stitch area all the way to the tip of the toe!

These are top down socks over 64 stitches with a number 2.0 mm needles.

I used all but a few yards of each skein for the pair.

I cast on a pair of toe-up socks in the new Fall yarn,

 Berrocco Comfort Sock which is a cotton/acrylic blend. 

 And right away, it was obvious the pattern I chose was a lot of work for little visual results.

I ripped back and am making it plain stockinette which will be a relief from all of the texture!

Bees and Charms

 I thought the honey comb quilt needed framing and found just enough gold to do so.

Much better.

I still need to go to the fabric store for the perfect backing before I can quilt it.

I also played with some charm packs and laid out this arrangement in neutrals.

I hope to piece it soon.

And the garter and lace dishcloth is finished.

The second one is cast on already!

Garter, Gardens and Gato

I am doing a little bit of dishcloth with garter and lace.

And as long as the temperatures dropped from the 90's to the 80's, 

I am going to spend some time planting a new bit of flower garden under a tree.

I hope I can hold up under the humidity! 

If so, I will have pictures to share later!

(We have three planting seasons here in NE Florida-

September, January and March/April)

"What?!  I fit just fine in your fabric bowl!",

says Nyki sublimely.

One Down and One to Go!

Seaming up the mitten wasn't as easy

as I thought but slow and steady and all that...

I think on the next mitten I will be trying a different tip

than this one which is done like the toe of a sock.

I should've tried another method so that there

wasn't a line of solid color across the palm side 

where I did the Kitchener stitch--I can't imagine doing

that stitch in colorwork!!!

As with hand knitting, 

the mitten needed blocking to meld all of those stitches together.

Mine is blocking now and is nice and relaxed and pleasing!

I will make the second mitten like this but then try another style top for

my next pair because there will be more!

Thumbs Up!

 I had a slight internet problem so this didn't load this morning!  Any way-

Here is a tale of two mittens!

When you experiment in colors sometimes you have a fail--t

he mitten on the right just looks washed out 

because all of the colors are the same medium tone! 

The mitten on the left has the same design 

but the background is white and makes the design pop!

It is easier to experiment on the knitting machine because a mitten is done in an hour.

 The grey yarn didn't work with the knitting machine--see all of the dropped stitches?!

The wool was Palette from KnitPicks which I normally love for Fair Isle work

 but it didn't stay in the needle hooks on the machine.  

So now I know!

 The design here uses KnitPicks Stroll for the white

 and Patons Kroy Sock in Blue Stripes for the  stars.

 

 The green yarn is just waste yarn to hold the live stitches

 so I can pick up stitches for the thumb-

also done on the machine. 

 The top I will use Kitchener stitch to close it up.

Here is the completed thumb, now to seam up the top and down the side.

The mitten class is a good canvas for experimenting and learning new techniques!

Now to make the second mitten and have it match! lol

TNT

I've drawn some personal ornament designs to add to the winter collection by Days Filled with Joy!

I wanted things that were pertinent to my Florida home.

Nice quick designs and a quick stitch right now which is a great way to achieve almost-instant gratification!  

Next drawing will be one with a flamingo!

Ready!

I'm ready to turn the heel-with a short row heel from the start this time!
it is slow going on the small needles and all of the texture .
I am enjoying it if I stop thinking about what I am going to knit next....

First, I have to take my big boy to the vet to get those two infected teeth pulled!
He is doing much better on the antibiotic and will keep doing better when the teeth are out-
he just doesn't know it yet!  (keeping one of six cats away from dry foot, water after midnight is an adventure in itself!)

Oblivion

I'm here-I had a visit from my son and the boys Friday night to stay overnight;

we had a wonderful time--Fridays were always pizza and movie night 

so we relived the tradition!

But Saturday morning, both boys woke up with fever and sore throats and littlest guy was vomiting!

Dad weathered the Saturday backlog at the Urgent care and got them in for exam and meds.

The rest of the day was spent snuggling sick boys and cleaning up vomit!

I wouldn't have traded the time for anything!

 When they went to the doctors, 

I continued my uphill climb on learning to do Fair Isle on the knitting machine.  

This is a mitten fail-but, I am learning a lot!

  And not making the same mistake more than three times! 

 I have already ripped this one out and tried again,

Then one of the yarn strands broke and I lost half of the stitches, 

picked them up onto a knitting needle

 and loaded them back on the machine 

when the boys arrived back here--I will try again on Monday!

So that's what I have been  doing-precious little of anything else.

I am going to do some hand knitting in the recliner right now-that sock is still staring at me!
(I'm also going to catch-up on my blog list, too!)

And So it Unfurls

 I am enjoying the quilting work at the frame.  

It is good to make myself just roll with the moment and not expect perfection.

 I knit another mitten/hat set in my mitten course;

this is a peasant type thumb instead of a gusset type.

I liked these a lot.

This thumb would be used in Fair Isle work which I have yet to tackle on the knitting machine

but I will attempt it sooner or later!

 And for your Friday Feline pic-

Oj in full-out recliner mode!

 Look at that fluffy paw!

And this is a less joyful pic--PuffDaddy has two infected molars and has been miserable.

He is on antibiotic for a few days until he gets them pulled next week!