Would you sit and have a cup o' Joe with me? As people read my blog and some leave comments for me, I have begun to feel as if there is this cirlce of friends ... new friends ... who are gathering 'round. I began feeling this weekend that I would love it if we could all get together now and then with a cup of coffee and maybe our knitting projects and just have a knit and a chat together. Well, maybe we can do that virtually ... so how about it, you in?
I finished my fingerless gloves ("Fetching" pattern from Knitty.com). My modifications to the pattern are:
1) Knit using Berroco's Ultra Alpaca in Lavender Mix.
2) Size U.S. 5 needles: pattern calls for size 6. I have small bones and wanted to make sure the gloves would not be loose.
3) I did one round in straight knitting before starting the pattern stitches and I did a final round in straight knit just before the bind off which gave my gloves a little roll at each edge to match the rolled edge on my Lavendar Scarf.
4) I added five rounds in the body of the gloves because they looked to me like they were going to be shorter than I would like and I wanted to be sure they would come down low enough to keep my wrists warm. I have small hands, so if I needed extra length I would imagine other people might as well. I am just under 5'3" tall, and wear a size 5.5 wedding ring if that helps at all with guaging adjustments for larger or smaller hands.
5) I added three rounds to the thumbs because I also thought they should be a tad bit longer for a bit of added warmth.
I found the project to be very quick and easy to follow and quite a fun little project for a weekend knit. They are so cute I am going to make them for ... well, I can't say right now in case certain people are reading my blog (I don't want to give away what I'm giving for Christmas presents and to whom). My daughter loves them, so I'm going to knit a pair for her right away because she is here on the farm with us and will likely need them soon just as I do.
It rained much of the weekend, which of course put me in a cozy mood for coffee and knitting while curled up on the sofa. Mixed with the rain we had patches of sunshine with the beautiful puffy white clouds gliding along throughout the sky. The environment is rapidly changing clothes from the brilliant greens of summer to a sumptuous palette of autumn colors along the roadsides and fields everywhere we go. "Fallow" fields; my husband tells me they are fallow fields or fields left for a season or two without being planted. And yet, they are planted by nature and the environment. Those fallow fields are alive with abundant growths of thistles, milkweed, teasel, straw flowers, and other vegetation I could not begin to name (yet). Gold, rust, deep purple, bright yellow, crimson red, browns ... such terribly beautiful colors creating a life in the fields that makes me ache with appreciation.
I am gathering various items from the outdoors to use for making Christmas tree ornaments. All of my Christmas things are still in California in my storage unit and my husband has been here alone for a very long time so does not have Christmas ornaments (he has not been in the habit of putting up a tree). We both agree we don't want shiny balls and so forth from the store so I am going to make all kinds of natural ornaments as well as some itty knitted items for the tree. He has been wonderful about helping me find and gather things. It is fun to watch the collection growing and soon I'll post a photo of the pretty little goodies we've been finding.
As we were out and about searching for "ingredients" this weekend, we drove through some local apple orchards, of which there are many. The apple trees are loaded down with apples because this year has been very good for apple growers (up here anyway). The air was thick (in a good way) with the beautiful fragrance of ripe apples ... yum yum yum. Soon we will visit a local farmer to buy a bushel of our very own apples to keep here in cold storage and draw from each week. How cool is that?
Another treasure we found but didn't gather was a duo of little brightly colored mushrooms growing under an evergreen across the road above the bank of the river.
It was a busy weekend, but also cozy and relaxing. Saturday morning we helped paint a room at our church and afterwards enjoyed chocolate zuccinni cake and a cup of coffee with the handful of people who were also there painting. That afternoon we spent cuddled up inside when it rained and outside gathering and exploring or doing chores whenever the sun came out. Another delightful weekend in my new life on this old farm.
Hope yours was a good one as well. My cup o' joe is finished up now, and I think I best be getting on to my work now. Thanks for stopping by!
~firefly
(P.S. I put up a page today for Christmas stockings, where I will show photos of hand knit stockings for those interested.)
Would you sit and have a cup o' Joe with me? As people read my blog and some leave comments for me, I have begun to feel as if there is this cirlce of friends ... new friends ... who are gathering 'round. I began feeling this weekend that I would love it if we could all get together now and then with a cup of coffee and maybe our knitting projects and just have a knit and a chat together. Well, maybe we can do that virtually ... so how about it, you in?
I finished my fingerless gloves ("Fetching" pattern from Knitty.com). My modifications to the pattern are:
1) Knit using Berroco's Ultra Alpaca in Lavender Mix.
2) Size U.S. 5 needles: pattern calls for size 6. I have small bones and wanted to make sure the gloves would not be loose.
3) I did one round in straight knitting before starting the pattern stitches and I did a final round in straight knit just before the bind off which gave my gloves a little roll at each edge to match the rolled edge on my Lavendar Scarf.
4) I added five rounds in the body of the gloves because they looked to me like they were going to be shorter than I would like and I wanted to be sure they would come down low enough to keep my wrists warm. I have small hands, so if I needed extra length I would imagine other people might as well. I am just under 5'3" tall, and wear a size 5.5 wedding ring if that helps at all with guaging adjustments for larger or smaller hands.
5) I added three rounds to the thumbs because I also thought they should be a tad bit longer for a bit of added warmth.
I found the project to be very quick and easy to follow and quite a fun little project for a weekend knit. They are so cute I am going to make them for ... well, I can't say right now in case certain people are reading my blog (I don't want to give away what I'm giving for Christmas presents and to whom). My daughter loves them, so I'm going to knit a pair for her right away because she is here on the farm with us and will likely need them soon just as I do.
It rained much of the weekend, which of course put me in a cozy mood for coffee and knitting while curled up on the sofa. Mixed with the rain we had patches of sunshine with the beautiful puffy white clouds gliding along throughout the sky. The environment is rapidly changing clothes from the brilliant greens of summer to a sumptuous palette of autumn colors along the roadsides and fields everywhere we go. "Fallow" fields; my husband tells me they are fallow fields or fields left for a season or two without being planted. And yet, they are planted by nature and the environment. Those fallow fields are alive with abundant growths of thistles, milkweed, teasel, straw flowers, and other vegetation I could not begin to name (yet). Gold, rust, deep purple, bright yellow, crimson red, browns ... such terribly beautiful colors creating a life in the fields that makes me ache with appreciation.
I am gathering various items from the outdoors to use for making Christmas tree ornaments. All of my Christmas things are still in California in my storage unit and my husband has been here alone for a very long time so does not have Christmas ornaments (he has not been in the habit of putting up a tree). We both agree we don't want shiny balls and so forth from the store so I am going to make all kinds of natural ornaments as well as some itty knitted items for the tree. He has been wonderful about helping me find and gather things. It is fun to watch the collection growing and soon I'll post a photo of the pretty little goodies we've been finding.
As we were out and about searching for "ingredients" this weekend, we drove through some local apple orchards, of which there are many. The apple trees are loaded down with apples because this year has been very good for apple growers (up here anyway). The air was thick (in a good way) with the beautiful fragrance of ripe apples ... yum yum yum. Soon we will visit a local farmer to buy a bushel of our very own apples to keep here in cold storage and draw from each week. How cool is that?
Another treasure we found but didn't gather was a duo of little brightly colored mushrooms growing under an evergreen across the road above the bank of the river.
It was a busy weekend, but also cozy and relaxing. Saturday morning we helped paint a room at our church and afterwards enjoyed chocolate zuccinni cake and a cup of coffee with the handful of people who were also there painting. That afternoon we spent cuddled up inside when it rained and outside gathering and exploring or doing chores whenever the sun came out. Another delightful weekend in my new life on this old farm.
Hope yours was a good one as well. My cup o' joe is finished up now, and I think I best be getting on to my work now. Thanks for stopping by!
~firefly
(P.S. I put up a page today for Christmas stockings, where I will show photos of hand knit stockings for those interested.)