Monthly Archives: August 2006

I love autumn. Love love love it. Spring may mean renewal for some but for me, it is autumn. The smell of the air, the clothes and the colors. One way I know that autumn is on its way is that my birthday rolls around. A couple of days ago I turned 29 again. (38 in the real world) Apparently there was quite a bit of confusion when the boys were putting the candles on my cake. Angus looked at his father and said: “Mommy was Twenty Eight last year? I thought she was Twenty Nine.” The age thing started as a joke and I will have to set the boys straight. I love the age I am.

One of my local yarn shops gives a birthday discount. Shop within a week of your birthday and get half your age as the percentage discounted off your purchase.

The third week in August is a season all on its own in our household. As I said the 22nd was my birthday and next week is our wedding Anniversary. It is a time of assessment, reflection and excitement. There is of course the celebratory excitement and there is also the excitement of the upcoming change in season and the possibility it offers. There is also the excitement of having the kids out of the house and into to the yard more as it is really too hot and humid for them to be outside as much as they like during the summers here. Scavenger hunts, playing tag and general boyishness.

The lure of autumn seems to bring out the nesting instinct in our household, at least with the adults. We are cleaning out, hiring movers to rearrange the furniture in the house (we have some very large, heavy pieces), looking at paint colors and I have completely redecorated the house (at least in my head). Autumn crops are being planned, canning has been done with more to come. Some chutney was put up, which should be ready in the middle of November bringing the lovely tastes of summer to a leafless and chilly landscape. Recipes are being consulted and the pantry is being stocked. French canning jars were ordered. The biggest project currently is turning the sewing and knitting laboratory back into a tidy and usable space. My mind is reeling with projects and possibilities that a tidy well stocked space affords me.

Meet Mr. Figgy. He is only a two year old and I thought I had killed him last winter. Clearly I misjudged the situation. A good number of the figs are headed for this Nigella’s Figs in Rum Syrup. (Found in this book.)

Thank you for all your lovely comments about the log cabin blanket. Truly appreciated. Mwahh!

One of the great things about not knitting a garment is that when you have had enough you can stop. And I am D-O-N-E with Rowan Cork. Had I bought it in a store and not online I wouldn’t have bought it. Wait, what I meant to say was that is had I felt it, I wouldn’t have bought it. But buy it I did. And wanting to make the most of it I churned out this log cabin blanket. I still have Rowan Cork left but I couldn’t go on with it. Squeeky Squeeky yarn. Luckily it is the perfect size for a small child or an adult lap blanket. I might knit a couple of Dulaan hats with the leftovers. But for now I am happy to be done with it. (Oh and I should mention that I knit it on size 9 needles, not the suggested 11s, it is a very nice dense fabric.) And one more note- I thought I was imagining it- it seemed to me that some colors were squeekier than others, sure enough one has 5% nylon and one has 10%. Go figure.

I am so excited, I made a new friend. A knitting friend. Our kids are in camp together this summer and we got to talking. Turns out she is a knitter. And she is kind and lovely and lives in Seoul. Yep, like South Korea Seoul. Unfair! When she came over last week, I showed her Ann & Kay’s book and she was a goner. So I amazoned her a copy and she is in love. So we went to the yarn store this week and I thought she was going to faint. Vita (who works at the LYS) and I pondered what would happen if I took her to Sheep & Wool. We decided that she would need the cardiac team or at least smelling salts. So we are at the store and she whips out the MDK book and says: I want to make this, and this and this. A girl after my own heart. She wants to make the Joseph Blankie of Many Colors, the Baby Kimono and the Mitred Square Blanket.

When I saw her picking colors for the Blanket I caved. I knew it was coming, I could feel the KAL vibe coming on strong. I was so excited that we could have a Pacific Rim KAL. Then I remembered, I don’t live in Seattle anymore. So maybe it will be a Trans Continental KAL instead.

What do you do when it is the hottest day of the year (until tomorrow of course)? You get a swift kick in the arse from Norma, do some stash diving and make a hat for Dulaan. Cracks me up that the HEAT of Virginia has me knitting for Mongolian winter. Four (yes really four) strands of baby Alpaca brush/ Plymouth yarns held together. Man, I think this thing will make a yak sweat. I ended up with about a half of each ball left, so now I am making a scarf. Plus I have eight whole balls left which will hopefully turn into another hat & scarf. Or maybe a gator. Thanks again Norma for your swift kick. Love it. And maybe the best part? It took me all of 2 hours. I am going to put a big cardboard box in my sewing/knitting laboratory marked Dulaan. Let us see what I can do for next year, shall we?