Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Turning Season


Summer begins to turn to Autumn. The greens are not so vivid. Grass in the neighborhood fades and leaves hang loosely from their stems. The coreopsis is spent. My garden has the end-of-summer look. Tomato vines wither from the bottom. The volunteer cherry tomato plant I stuck in the raised bed is out of control. It leaves many little rotten tomatoes as next year's volunteers. The zinnias continue to bloom but it's time to collect seed for next year. One day wool socks, the next sandals.

As the news goes from bad to worse, needle, thread, yarn, and spindle are a balm. Over the past few days, I knit this cowl mostly from my handspun. The gray stripes are knit from commerical yarn. When you knit a small project on size 7 needles, it doesn't take long. Knitting with this yarn was an adventure in thick, thin, and twist. The ribbing is a little flippy but hopefully a bath and gentle blocking will help. I enjoyed watching the handspun become knitted fabric. My next goal is to spin a more even yarn with a little less twist. It's a learning process. 

I blocked the Touchstone Shawl and wove in the ends. I can use a touchstone these days. The light peachy pink is an interesting color, a bit of a change for me. For some reason I am drawn to that lace pattern. I love to knit it and I like the way it the looks. I have knit other projects with that stitch pattern. 

I cast on the second sock of the Downpour pair. The top ribbing and the pattern set-up is finished. Often a second sock knits up faster than the first. We will see. 

I listened to the audio version of The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery. If it hadn't been a selection by my book group, I wouldn't have listened which is only one of the things I appreciate about that group. I enjoyed the book. I have a cursory knowledge of marine creatures so the book was an opportunity to learn more. I have a new respect for those who work at big Aquariums. The relationships that persons with disabilities developed with the creatures in the New England Aquarium in Boston is a touching reminder that anyone can benefit from interaction with animals and/or the natural world. The author reads this book and at first her enthusiasm and emotion seemed a little profuse. As the story went on, I grew accustomed to her presentation. I also would like to visit a big aquarium some day. 

I link with Kat and the Unravelers today. May you find a touchstone during these days. Maybe we will learn to turn toward better days. 

Ravelry Links to projects

Handspun Cowl

Touchstone Shawl




11 comments:

  1. Touchstone is lovely in every aspect - the name, the lace pattern, the colors you chose, and how happy you look wearing it. The same things can be said for your cowl. It is quite something to spin yarn and then knit it into something warm and wearable. I hope so very much that we are all turning towards better days.

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  2. What a lovely shawl -- perfect for the fickle early-fall weather! And your cowl looks wonderful. How fun to see it come together from every step! The best thing about book groups . . . is discovering those gems you'd never have read on your own!

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  3. (Actually . . . the best thing about book groups is reading with friends. And wine. But discovering those gems is also a benefit!) ;-)

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  4. The Monterey Aquarium in California is the absolute best. Post-covid, of course.

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  5. The shawl is stunning on you! I also applaud you for knitting some of your handspun -- too many people seem to be afraid to use their earlier efforts, but in my opinion, knitting with handspun is one of life's true pleasures.

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  6. our bookclub read that book, too, recently although I had read it several years ago....after rereading that...and now tall trees (preston) and several other nature titles...it makes you really wonder why we think (as humans) that we are so darn smart (as we're burning down our country, ignoring climate change, killing each other with the virus and ignoring basic human rights)
    Love the knits!!!

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  7. What a beautiful shawl Jane and it looks so lovely on you! And your cowl! Wow! I can't believe you've already knit something from yarn you spun - you only just started not that long ago!! Congratulations. Just the other day Fletcher was commenting on the colors around and how the greens are not as vivid as they are in Summer. Fall is almost here!

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  8. I love how you pay attention to the season in your garden; there are so many small, subtle changes that might otherwise go un-noticed. and wow for your (mostly) handspun cowl. I've long suspected that the best way to get to know yarn is to make it and you are certainly proving that out. The Touchstone Shawl is beautiful, too - the lace and the color. You have me thinking about MY touchstones ...

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  9. I love your shawl and your sunny smile! I love this time of year as the greens turn to browns and the leaves fall. Thank goodness for Autumn.

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  10. I am so thankful that the trees and plants are wonderfully consistent. Their subtle changes help with the monotonous days.

    Beautiful knitting, and I love your handspun cowl! Well done!

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  11. If you come to the Boston Aquarium I'll show you around! :-)

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