Mid October

Hello Gentle Readers. This October week in southeast Nebraska brings warm days and cool nights. Either the autumn color will be subdued due to extreme heat or the peak colors are late in arriving. Somehow I sense the temperatures will drop and most of the still green leaves will wither and fall all at one time. Late last week, we had a light frost that barely nipped the zinnias so they begin to fade and dry. I also haven't watered them for several weeks so they could just be dry. 

At any rate, here I am on Wednesday, linking with Kat and the Unravelers. My knitting this week is brought to you by the color gray. The socks are a Christmas gift knit. I wasn't sure if I'd like the KnitPicks Stroll yarn but it seems fine. I had the dark green heather in the same base and wanted to knit this pattern so I ordered the soft gray. I jiggled around the stitch count for the circumference, knowing the sock would fit better with a few more stitches in the color-work area. After finishing the color-work, I decreased a couple of times on the leg. Notes are on my Ravelry project page. In between the socks or when my hands needed a break, I knit this cardigan down to the sleeve separation. I'll knit another inch or so of the body, then block and try on the piece. It should fit as I have knit this sweater previously in this yarn base but better to check and make sure. 

This week I read The Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins. This debut novel is a heartwarming story of three generations of women of Italian heritage living near New York City. Although the story isn't written in the lyrical language of a seasoned author, it is an outstanding first novel. Character rather than plot drives the narrative. The three Graces, in their individual seasons of life, grow and change. None are without flaws and make mistakes but all learn to extend grace and kindness to others and each other. Although all three characters are well developed, the oldest "Graziella," who takes on the establishment as she offers food, monetary assistance, and a helping hand to her neighbors is my favorite. The descriptions of food are an integral, mouth-watering part of the story. Once again, I find myself wishing the wisdom and strength of women was more widely recognized. I very much enjoyed this novel and look forward to more work by Rollins. 

I wish you a good week filled with the grace and stories of wise women. 

Ravelry Links

Forest Path Socks

Don't Ask Cardigan

Now it is October

Hello Gentle Readers. This week leaves turn and begin to fall. The colors, while not as vibrant as some years, are familiar. I don't know about you but these days, seasonal change comforts me. Even though this past week brought 90 degree afternoons, the mornings were pleasant. As I walk, I listen to the sounds made by the wind and visit the white rose bush that blooms along a neighbor's fence. Yesterday clouds blew in as temperatures dropped. Rain is in the forecast. 

Although Kat is not posting a link-up today, it's Wednesday and I'm here. I completed the pouch embellished with small scraps and embroidery. This was a project with low stakes made to try something new. Choosing tiny scraps, some with strong memories, others with none, and plunking them down in a square was fun and absorbing. Somewhere I heard a tip to use a tapestry needle to bring the yarn for the grid up from the wrong side, lay it on the line, and push the tapestry needle back down to the wrong side. Then I couched it (attached by stitching) onto the fabric. Threading the ends back to the wrong side allowed me to adjust the tension as I couched it down and also to tie a knot on the wrong side that kept the ends from popping loose. 

I machine sewed the sides of the lining but otherwise constructed the project by hand. I find hand-stitching much more peaceful and less anxiety producing than machine stitching. 

Because one project is never enough, I'm working on a cover for another stitch journal. Perhaps "circles" will be the theme for most of the stitch pages although that could change.   

My reading has been lack luster. I returned two books to the library that weren't for me. Currently, I'm listening to This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. It might be another novel I return without finishing which is ironic considering how long I waited for the book. Before the husband of the main character died, he arranged for her to receive one book per month for a year after his death. I thought the nod to books and the way they affect our lives might be enough for me. However, I'm finding it a little predictable and syrupy sweet. At another time or for another reader, it might be just the story.  

I hope you are enjoying some fall or spring color and these October Days. 

Zinnias and lavender continue to bloom.

Early Autumn

Hello Gentle Readers. Early Autumn sun streams in the south windows. After two and a half weeks of on again, off again rain and cloudy skies, the sunshine is welcome. Here the mornings are cool while the afternoons warm up into the seventies and later this week, the eighties. As I walk, I watch for signs of autumn. Leaves on the ash trees begin to turn to copper and dark purple. Tuesday morning I spied a flicker, a red-bellied woodpecker, and two little nuthatches. I love the way nuthatches chirp softly to each other as if to day, "here I am, where are you?" A few monarchs visit the zinnias and many weeds grow. I hope to pull a bunch of them this week. If only I didn't have to cook dinner, right? 

On Wednesday, I link with Kat and the Unravelers. I had one brief stint of unraveling after casting on a gift knit and then snipping the working yarn instead of the excess length of tail yarn. At least that was a simple fix for a silly mistake. Still, these fingerless mitts knit up quickly. They are a Christmas gift for my daughter-in-law. The yarn, Cashmerino Bloom from Purl Soho, is so nice to work with and made pretty mitts. I think I can get another pair from the same skein. The free pattern was fun and easy. I knit the cuff in 3 x 1 ribbing switching to broken rib at the top of the wrist. My notes on the modifications I used are on Ravelry. 

Since last writing about this project, I stitched the squares on the front of the pouch. They will be partially covered by the flap when the pouch is in use but closed. Then the front will look like this. 

Originally I planned to machine stitch the side seams but now I'm considering seaming by hand from the right side. I want the grids to line up on the front and the front flap. Or I could baste them together by hand, turn them right side out, to check for accuracy and then machine stitch. Time will tell. I need a quiet afternoon to work on it but on these nice days I should work on the weeds. 

I am rereading These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. After returning a couple of library books that weren't for me, I needed something well written and thoughtful. I first read this book when it was published in 2021. I recalled the subjects of some essays but not all. It was fun to rediscover Patchett's essay on Eudora Welty as well as the one on book covers. They are all worth a reread. 

The light on these late afternoons is so lovely. I happened to look out the window last week and saw this sight. The Linden leaves begin to turn bright autumn yellow. Whether the yellowy gold is from the light or the leaves, it's a beautiful reminder of the beauty of early autumn. Wishing you warm autumn days to savor and enjoy. 

Ravelry Link

Jacque's Mitts