Hello Gentle Readers. September flies by in warm days and dusty afternoons. As has been the case most of the year, our area needs rain. I know parts of the East Coast have had substantial amounts of rain and hurricane season isn't over yet. Flood or drought seems to be the order of the day.
Over the past two weeks, I weeded all the backyard beds. Everything looks better but the beds do have that worn out, end of summer look. I plan to make one more pass before the first frost. Thorough fall weeding makes Spring cleanup easier. Different years produce different kinds and amounts of weeds so who knows what will pop up next year.
Plants in the pollinator garden grew well. Because the cosmos were so abundant, they took over. In late August I cut them down to give other plants sunshine and room to breathe. I also planted cosmos in adjacent beds. The bees and butterflies preferred the cosmos, zinnias and butterfly bush. The oregano in the herb garden is leggy and going to seed. I was going to give it a trim but the plant is often full of honeybees so I will deal with it next Spring. And so the gardening goes.
After much consternation and four tries, I completed the left-side button band on Norah's cardigan. I'm waiting for some free afternoon hours to knit the buttonhole side. There are many methods and opinions about knitted buttonbands and buttonholes. I looked at several. I might be making this harder than it needs to be. I finished this hat from a Noro yarn called Okunoshima. The fiber content of wool, silk, angora, and mohair makes a soft Aran weight yarn. I don't often knit with heavier weights but I enjoyed this knit.
I'm knitting along on the yarn shop project. The current section is a sweet little lace pattern that I'm enjoying. I think it would make a nice pattern in a lightweight scarf.
I read Foster by Claire Keegan. Foster is a beautiful short story in Keegan's sparse but eloquent style. Generally I prefer novels to short stories but for me Keegan's work is the exception. I may explore some of her earlier work. Last winter, I read Small Things Like These and found it excellent. I read the first chapter of our local book group selection, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and couldn't get much further. I don't know if it is well written or not because I don't have enough knowledge of physical sciences, nor do I want to research terms in order to understand the nonfiction. Before I go, I'm going to read the last chapter. Usually I make more of an attempt at our discussion books but this one isn't for me.
Although autumn is my favorite season, I am savoring these last days of summer. Here's to the last days of sandals, tee shirts, watermelon, and ripe garden tomatoes, even if they are only the small grape variety. What are you enjoying this week?
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I love all the soft colors in your photos this week! I think the small skeins you are spinning would be perfect for one of the hat designs for Shetland Wool Week.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear about your gardening as it winds down. Our garden is "almost done" but I may be hearing that from John for another month. I made some end-of-garden pickles with green tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and onions. They smell good and will remind me of the tastes of summer when cold winds blow. Your handspun is a lovely assortment of colors, and I hope you find time for and success with Norah's buttonholes.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors in your yarn shop project. And the pollinator garden - I look forward to getting back to my gardening next spring. For now, I am happy to read about gardens.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, Your knitting is beautiful. I love the way the colors in the hat turned out. Your KAL project is going to be spectacular! I need to get out and clean our flower beds too...what I really need to to is retire so I can do all the things! Have a good week...can't wait to see the update next week.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how things like cosmos . . . take over! But maybe that's a good thing, since they're so popular with the pollinators (and so happy to look at, too). I don't do much fall clean-up in my garden - although I do keep at the weeds for as long as I can. I prefer to leave most things for spring . . . As always, lovely knitting, Jane. And I am especially fond of your handspun yarn. That color combination is beautiful -- and reminds me of your garden.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful spinning, Jane! I, too, have been in my garden. I needed to move some iris that were a bit out of control. I have dug them up and divided them and will have two spots of those beauties next spring!
ReplyDeleteYour spinning! those colors! and I am feeling the same end of summer garden vibes. grape tomatoes for days!! glad we have basil and more fresh mozzarella to make caprese skewers for our Saturday snack plate.
ReplyDeletelove all the hues in this post, so soothing and calm! sounds like you will be done with her sweater in no time at all, I am almost done with mine and I am excited about that.
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