Blog

For a quick try-on, now that the yoke is complete!

And we appear to be on-track! woot!

While I was at it I thought I should probably do a quick blocking of the yoke to yet a true sense of the gauge in the colorwork. That way I can see if I need to change needles to keep things consistent in the rest of the body and arms, as those will be plain stockinette stitch in Dottie’s silvery gray.

After a nice relaxing soak, sweater is basking in the late summer (officially Fall now, I know, but it’s in the low 80’s here today) sun.

Hopefully it will dry quickly and I can get it right back on the needles without losing my momentum!

And in garden news- the pears are in! Our funny ancient little pear tree really outdid itself this year, and we’ve been working hard to get as much processed as possible before they start going to mush. Such a short window with pears!

The Man just made that pear cake this afternoon, and the whole house smells amazing. 🙂

And I’m pleased to report that Survivor Chig is out of her bandages, and on the verge of going back to the pasture.

Here she is hiding in the rhody forest, trying to avoid being fussed with

She’s not thrilled about the chicken saddle (the model with shoulder protectors) I’ve got on her right now, as it’s got an elastic strap that goes around her neck. I might have to change it out for a less restrictive model before she goes back to the pasture gang. But I’m really relieved that she’s healed so well. Here’s hoping she transitions back without incident.

Did my last Alger Sunday market of the regular season today, and managed to get a fair bit of knitting done as well while minding the booth. This photo was taken yesterday, while I had it off the needles for a quick try-on and tension check on the stranded colorwork. I’m about 8 or 10 rows further along now.

I think there are only about 14 rows of the chart left, then this should really start going quickly. It’s exciting to see it come together- and use up some yarn from my substantial stash. This Dottie yarn has been hanging out for a couple/few years, waiting to become a sweater.

Otherwise, not a lot of news this week. Garden is starting to slow down, but still providing a fair bit of tomatoes, peppers and squash. Dug some of the first potatoes this week- and keeping an eye on the pumpkins and winter squashes

Rouge  D’Etampes

Jarrahdale

Delicata

Also, The Man made great use of our garden produce the other night and made this Eggplant Masala

I didn’t think to take a picture of the finished dish, but it was super tasty. Highly recommend.

That’s all I got for now. Have a good week folks-

We’ve been getting quite a bit of smoke for fires in Canada and also south and east of here in WA. It’s somewhat better today, but yesterday looked about like this

The smoke is keeping it cooler than forecasted, but it is kind of tough on the eyes, nose & throat.

Hoping we’ll get some rain soon to clear the air and bring the fire danger down.

I’ve been making good progress so far on Marjolaine- been nice to have a sweater project going

Also spun and plied another skein of yarn from the reclaimed fleece–

I learned last week that this sheep’s name is Alice. Always nice to have a name to go with a fleece 🙂

And in the garden, we’re starting to get more peps

and melons!

Not so many melons this year as last, but they are mighty sweet and tasty.

This morning I spent a little time just hanging in the hoophouse- drinking my coffee, finishing up a hat, and picking veggies.

Also, noticed that the first of my sheepnose peps is turning red! Can’t wait to taste test those guys.

And The Man is busy canning the roma tomatoes that are coming on fast.

Today, over on the pasture side, we’ve been busy planning ahead for winter weather.

This year we’re trying a new scheme for keeping rain and snow out of the sheep and chicken shed- utilizing materials leftover from the hoophouse build in 2020

Should be a significant improvement over the tarps we’ve used in the past, and make keeping the place dry and comfy easier over the winter months.

Hopefully we’ll get a few more warms days yet to get my melons across the finish line, but cool and foggy mornings are a clear sign that wool weather is coming.

Here is that new hat just washed up and sun-dried. This hat is actually an audition for these two yarns- the silver gray is Dottie- and the black might be Chone, but I’m not quite sure.

I’m really happy with the feel of the fabric, and i think that the gauge is pretty close, so looks like I’ll be moving forward with these two in a new sweater project! Marjolaine, by Elenor Mortsensen

Super excited to get a sweater project on the needles!