The sky is overcast and the air smells dusty. I don't know if our county is listed with drought status but if not we must be close. Rain has not fallen in our part of town since sometime before we left for Connecticut on September 14. I watered before we left because the garden was dry. The nights are cooler with temps dipping into the 50's now and again. I am ready to leave the 80-plus degree days until next Spring.
Thank you all for your kind words of sympathy. The love from family and friend, including blog pals, carries us through life's losses and griefs. Some nights I have just held onto my knitting and other times I've added some stitches. One night I knit on the garter stitch Fractal Danger scarf/shawl but not enough to show much difference in a photo.
The knitting on Norah's sweater is almost finished. After knitting the neck edge and one button band I blocked it again to make sure the button band was flat. Success. The button band with the buttonholes remains as well as tacking down the pockets. I enjoy weaving in ends and don't mind seaming but oh the buttonholes. They never look as crisp and even as I'd like. Do you have a favorite buttonhole technique? I wanted the buttons to match the lavender pocket lining but my local fabric shop didn't have a great match. Shades of purple are tricky. The buttons laying on the sweater came from my grandmother's button collection. They are somewhere between pink and lavender. I'm not sure I like them. I plan to try JoAnn's and see what I can find. Something whimsical would be fun and Norah is old enough not to think that a heart or star or bow is candy and goes in the mouth.
I finished the latest pair of travel knitting socks. The texture os the SKYP stripe in a stockinette sock was the right mix for planes and airports. In my opinion (and I always have one), the sock yarn base hit the sweet spot of not too light and not too heavy. One of my local yarn shops sells it and it is also available online.
I finished reading Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Bronte's writing stands the test of time. I'd have been lost without the annotated version that translated the many French phrases and sentences. The narrator/heroine of the story leads the reader on a winding path. Several times I thought I could predict the plot only to find I was wrong. This plucky heroine establishes herself as a teacher and in several instances holds her own in difficult situations and against societies norms. The sleight of hand in the plot and the independent young heroine make it an engaging novel. This book reflects the time in which it was written but as I read I thought of Toni Morrison's words from a piece in The Source of Self-Regard, "Who is absent in this story?"
Kat is enjoying her family this week so there is no link to the other Unravelers. I suspect they are still posting. We knitters and readers are an intrepid bunch.
Here's to Autumn.
Ravelery Links
We've been lucky enough to have lots of rain the year (sometimes too much) and I wish I could send some westward. Norah's sweater and your socks look wonderful. I'm going to check out that yarn (even though i just bought some sock yarn 10 minutes ago)!
ReplyDeleteLove your knitting. Like Bonny (because we are pretty close geographically) we have had rain and could afford to send some your way if we could. Fletch was just saying how tired he is of grey day after grey day followed by gray day (a change in the spelling indicates a change in the clouds, etc.). The grey(or gray)-ness doesn't bother me as much. I just love Fall so much, I will take any skies.
ReplyDeleteI love your socks and that cute little sweater. I am so glad that you have felt the peace and comfort that love brings in the time of grief.
ReplyDeleteNora's sweater is so adorable -- you've done such a lovely job and added so many nice touches! I have the same issue with buttonholes. Have you ever tried a one-row buttonhole? It's a bit fiddly but looks a little more polished than a yarnover buttonhole. Here's one tutorial from Ysolda Teague: https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/one-row-buttonholes
ReplyDeleteI love little Norah's sweater -- especially the "surprise inside" pocket lining (always a favorite feature for me). I was going to share the same tutorial that Sarah did for one-row buttonholes. (I agree with you -- my buttonholes seem never to look as "finished" as I wish they did.) We've had quite a lot of rain this summer here in Michigan. We started the summer in "drought status" -- but frequent summer rains changed that quickly. My sister in Cheyenne and daughter in California are also wishing for rain. . .
ReplyDeleteyou are in my prayers. I love Norah's sweater, what a beautiful project and I know what you mean by having knitting in the lap and not knitting, I do that still from adjusting to the move.
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