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