Bittersweet
Birch
Basswood
Holly
Gingko
Chestnut
Cherry
Burning Bush
Mountain Ash
Maple
Maple
Maple
Japanese Maple
Oak
Oak
Rhododendron
Rose
Silver Maple
A variety of foliage and fruits from around the neighborhood.
Pattern: Black Rose Wristlets by Suzi Anvin from Knitty Winter 2008
Yarn: Pagewood Farms Alyeska in the Santa Fe Colorway
Needles: 1.5 DPNs
E’s mitts are done. The pattern is super easy, and this yarn is wonderful to work with. It looks like I have enough left over to make another pair of mitts, so I’ll probably be doing some for my mother.
Pattern: Echo Flowers Shawl by Jenny Johnson
Yarn: Tess’ Designer Yarns Superwash Lace
Needles: Size 4 circs (actually used my interchangeables)
I finally got around to blocking my Echo Flowers Shawl. Yes, that’s the shawl I finished back at the beginning of September. I really enjoyed making the shawl for the most part. Up until the border, once I’d gotten the hang of the make 9 out of three stitch, I was screaming along. And then came the nupps.
I can officially say that I hate nupps. I could not make them work. I think I just knit too tightly. I ended up subbing in the following (cribbed from a blog): k, ktbl, k, ktbl in the same stitch, slipped those back to the right needle, and k2tog. You then just need to purl all the way across when you come back around. It’s not quite as noticeable as a real nupp, but worked out much better for my sanity.
The other change I made was to not bind off using two strands of yarn. I didn’t have the patience to even attempt that, so just used one, and I think it looks fine.
So, here’s the shawl unblocked:
Here’s my extremely high tech blocking rig:
And here’s the shawl blocked:
I hate to say it, but I don’t think it made that much of a difference, mostly because of my high tech rig. I don’t currently have enough pins to pin each scallop on the border, and I was pinning into a towel, so I didn’t get the kind of tension I think I needed. I think I need to invest in something that will block better, especially if I keep up with the lace knitting kick I’ve been on. So that’s probably my next project.
But at least I can now report that this project is done, only about two months after I actually completed it.
With only one more full day to go in the month, I think I can safely say I’ve finished my RIP V reading. Once again, I really liked not having a preset reading list – I think this is the most I’ve ever managed to read for the challenge. My books were:
The last two books were probably my favorites – two really evocative, moody stories which really made you think as you read through them. I’ll definitely need to start stock-piling more interesting books for next year.
Wednesday’s haul was: cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, baby bok choy, green peppers, hot peppers, carrots, garlic, and celery.
The two noteworthy receipes I prepared last week were Chickpea, Spinach and Squash Gnocchi from last month’s Eating Well, a really good dish cooked out of my store of CSA delicata squash, and Farfalle with Golden Beets, Beet Greens, and Pine Nuts. This second recipe was the revelation of the week. I made it with CSA beets and farmer’s market beets, and since none of those had come with greens, I used CSA Swiss chard. It was fabulous. Wonderful. We loved it so much, I’m making it again this weekend (had to buy the beets at Whole Foods this time, and they can with greens, so we’ll get a slightly more authentic version to the recipe this time). Even BF, the avowed beet-hater, was sold. Definitely my recipe find of the month.
So the CSA is over. I really enjoyed it. We tried a few things we had no idea we liked, and got some really fresh, so much better than store-bought supplies of things we knew we liked. I’m not doing their winter share because we don’t have the room for that many storage vegetables (I still have carrots coming out my ears), but I’ll definitely be back next spring.
My coworker C got her care package, and mentioned that her daughter is coveting her fingerless gloves, because they’re apparently all the rage with the kids these days. (It amuses me greatly that I’m in absolutely no position to be able to figure out what’s all the rage with the kids anymore…) So, I volunteered to make E a pair as well.
I’ve cast on some Blackrose Mitts, using my Pagewood Farms Alyeska yarn, in the Santa Fe colorway. The yarn has cashmere in it, and it’s so incredibly soft. I would totally buy it again.
I’m actually quite a bit further along than the photo above (I’m done with one, about about two thirds done with the other), but we’ve had shite lighting all week, so I haven’t redone any pictures.
Last weekend, we headed down to Portsmouth for some shopping, and stopped off at Nubble Light along the way.
I’ve also included what’s probably the last gasp of flower shots for the year here at home.
A variety of wild flowers, mostly from L’s study sites.
The North Wind and the Sea 