A harvest of reds
Abundance now -- yesterday's harvest of tomatoes. Three varieties of cherry tomatoes, some purple Cherokees, a Brandywine, some Black Krims.
Knitting Archive August 2008
Sparkly bits
As I have moved more to cobweb weight yarn, I have become more and more enamored of 11/0 seed beads. They are tiny, no doubt about that. But when knit into lace, they become little sparkly bits rather than bold elements. And that subtlety appeals to me. Now they are not easy to photograph and I can tell you it took a lot of tries to get what I did. So here is a look at them in Slow Bee II --
I wish you could see how they sparkle there, like tiny dew drops.
I don't know what it is but there is in the air a sense that soon it will be quiet here again. Many if not most of our tourists will be leaving this weekend and by mid-week, things will have slowed down and the traffic will be noticeable lighter. Now I must be honest and say that a traffic jam in Belfast is 3 cars ahead of you at the light -- and we have only 3 lights in town -- so I know that for those of you who live in much more congested areas live with more traffic year round than we have in summer. But there is a sense when summer ends, we have the place to ourselves again and then come what is usually the best months before winter. September here is warm without being hot, clear sunny days and beautiful light. Then comes October with the color of the trees. Summer is lovely but it is hard to beat fall here.
The garden has begin to yield big tomatoes --
I LOVE TOMATOES! So there will be much eating of tomatoes in the days ahead.
We're having a quiet weekend. A little of the fall cleaning and Monday a small excursion so I can show my husband more of Maine that he hasn't seen.
Knitting on
The thing is when you have several projects in progress ad all of them are lace stoles or shawls, day to day often there is not a lot to show. So I'll tell you that I am knitting away on Eve, SlowBee 1, Pearled Romance, and Dayflower. But a picture of any of them wouldn't show you a lot.
Yesterday the sunset was stunning.
And the glow on the harbor --
Sometimes it is so beautiful, I just ache.
We've been picking tomatoes, mostly little ones, though we harvested the first big fat purple cherokee today. The little vines are starting to die back -- next year we need slightly bigger containers for them I think But we have had many bowlfuls like this one in the kitchen now --
True to my word, I have been watching the convention. Sometimes moved to tears, sometimes annoyed. Ted Kennedy made me weep with his courage and the fact that he still has fire for the things he believes in. I wish I had faith that he will be back in the Senate come January, but I fear if he is, it won't be or long. We need more lions like him.
And I loved Hillary's speech. I was proud to see her there, proud to have supported her, and proud that her name was placed in nomination and that she came so very close to winning it. I doubt that there will be a woman president in my lifetime and that makes me really sad. Not so sad that I won't vote or that I won't vote for Obama -- I have never missed voting in any election in 40 years. But sad nonetheless.
Spike and Moe think we should all just find a comfy place and relax --
I plan to take their advice.
Mana for a political junkie
It's convention time -- even better than the Olympics for political junkies! Now truth be told, I will not watch much if at all of the GOP fest next week,as my heart is with the Democrats this week. But I love the hoopla of it all just the same. And I confess I wish there was real suspense to be had because I remember the excitement of the roll calls when I was a kid and w didn't know the outcome ahead of time. I remember seeing the push for JFK to be the VP candidate in 1956 -- I was just 10 but something about it caught my attention and hooked me in. Lots of knitting time this week!
So on the knitting front I am rotating my time among the following 4 projects -- the DayFlower scarf, Eve's Temptation, SlowBeeI and now SlowBeeII, which I started yesterday because I got the most beautiful beads in soft pink and white for this yarn --
It 2/33 59% cashmere/41% cotton from Colourmart. Really nice very fine lace weight that I am knitting on 2.5mm needles using 11/0 beads. -- lotta numbers in that!
As you can see from my list, I'm all set for politics and knitting!
Where did it go?
It always happens this time of year, a day in late August when it is clear and sunny and warm but there is the unmistakeable awareness of fall beginning to creep in. It's the sharp clearness of the air when the wind turns and comes from the NNW. And the golden tint the light takes on. That faded and almost tired look of the leaves on the lilac just outside my window. The sound of the crickets. And here and there a branch on a maple already blazing red. Summer is winding down.
The silk I have been waiting for arrived Tuesday. It is a pale olive, more like sage. A lovely color. I wanted to see how Eve looked in it so I cast on and knitted one repeat on the bottom motif.
I did it on 2.5mm and even that might be too lose, though it is hard to tell without more length. It is a slinkier fabric of course but this color is too subtle for what I wanted. I think I will use the yarn for something a bit ethereal.
A couple of days away from Eve in the DIC Baby, and I like her more. Familiarity may have been breeding contempt. I like the beading I am doing and they will give a nice drape to it.
Love those little trees!
And, I have been working on finishing the Dayflower scarf as I have been invited to submit it to the Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar for 2010.
I think I will try to create a number of scarf patterns like this one -- a single motif, beaded -- nothing as complicated as Susan Pandorf's, but patterns that someone who wants a reasonably quick and not very difficult beaded lace project can do.
Sunday in the park...
One of the nice things about living in a small town in a small state is that political leaders have to spend time getting to know people personally, you know, retail politics. And it's pretty easy to get the opportunity to meet and talk with officer holders and candidates. Yesterday, Tom Allen, who is currently in the US House and is now running to take the Senate seat of Susan Collins, had a picnic in Belfast City Park. Caribbean Night on the Common the night before was hit by a thunderstorm, but yesterday was a perfect Maine summer day.
About 100 people came out to eat yummy sandwiches and other goodies and meet, listen to and talk with Tom Allen.
It was a really nice way to pass a sunny Sunday afternoon -- with satisfying talk about health care and energy policy and the war and how to make change happen. I'm ready to help Susan Collins move out of the Senate on to other things.
I continue to work on Eve. The lime silk has not yet arrived so I can see how she would be in a slinkier yarn. I remain very happy with the pattern so far. One more progress picture --
We're eating a locally grown meal tonight -- haddock from our fish co-op share, potatoes from a local farm, salad with locally grown greens and our own cherry tomatoes, and blueberry crisp. Mmmmmm!
I'm baaack!
What a summer! We have had so much rain since mid_july that there is concern among the farmers about losing crops. And fog -- if you have been following my picture each day from my window, you know how many foggy mornings we have had. And today was no exception --
THAT'S fog!
To catch up a bit, Sunday we got our first fish from the community fishery support we bought a half share in -- a beautiful haddock --
We filleted it last night for dinner and oh my -- it was absolutely the best haddock I have ever had! This is going to be a wonderful thing! Today we made fish stock with the bones and we have the beginnings of a bag of small pieces for chowder in the freezer.
We've begun harvest from the garden, though everything needs a few days of sun to really get going. Here's the take on Sunday -- baby beets, a few tomatoes, and Boothby Blonde cukes
As to knitting -- well, Eve's Temptation is now in version 4. I realized I was being too literal with the patterns I chose so I went back and made changes to make it more allegorical. So far, I am happier with it.
The beaded picot cast-on I fell in love with when I saw it on Romi's blog. The final design issue is the center. I know what I want and I have seen it in bobbin lace so the problem for me is to translate it into knitting. This could be interesting!
The wheel turns
My husband's mother died on Thursday. We knew it was coming as she had a stroke and was in a coma for her last week. She descended rapidly into dementia 3 years ago and stopped recognizing her children or remembering much of anything more than a year and a half ago. So in the way that these things are sometimes, it was blessing when the end came.
Flying out to Detroit is not my husband's idea of fun, especially in these days. So, we picked up the car on Friday and this morning *very* early he set off to drive there. He much prefers driving to flying and it gives him time with himself and his memories. He'll be back on Wednesday. So it turns out that the death of the old car was well timed after all.
The sun has returned the last 2 days. Though it was foggy when I got up this morning --
So foggy it condensed on the screen --
It has already cleared up and is bright and sunny.
I am working away on Eve's Temptation. My first two versions, or the beginnings of them, didn't please me so here we are on version 3 :
We'll see if this one works out.
What knitting?
Looking for signs of new knitting? Don't look here -- at least not today!
Monday, our 13 year old Saturn, which I bought used almost 9 years ago and which has served us very well, decided that it has had enough and the transmission began to fail. I say began to because it's more or less okay on flat roads, but just try to find any in Belfast. So this meant our plans to replace the car had to move into high gear. Which meant we had to A) find a good used car that is not an SUV or truck, and believe me that is NOT easy these days and B) secure a car loan to purchase said car. The stars all aligned perfectly for us. We found a terrific 2001 Subaru Outback with only 86,000 miles and our credit union said they would be happy to loan us the money. So yesterday was spent on the telephone -- working out the details of the loan, putting a deposit on the car, getting an insurance binder on it, getting the VIN number to the credit union. And then, well, we have to sign the papers. Now my wonderful credit union is in Portland. We have been together through thick and thin since my divorce 15 years ago. So they wanted us to come there to sign the papers. But, well, formerly trusty Saturn won't drive there. So they overnighted the papers to us -- we're waiting on them now -- and then we overnight them back. And THEN we get the car. Tomorrow we hope.
And that is why there is no sign of new knitting today.
Oh, and after beautiful sun yesterday, it's back to cool and cloudy and looking like rain so there will be knitting today.
Quick look
This morning is for quick looks --
First at the garden. We have been getting some rain almost every day for the last week or so. And in between showers, sun and warm temperatures. So the garden is going crazy!
Here is the tomato jungle in the lower garden --
And the winter squash --
Th Jaune Flamme tomato, which is in a container up close to the house, is covered with clusters of fruit --
And a quick look at how I begin to work on a design. Eve's Temptation is undergoing a change. I am not an artist so I make scratchy drawings like this -- note the exquisite detail
and then I start playing with stitches and combinations of stitches. And then a swatch. Then the gazillion hours of attempting to chart it. THEN knitting.
Spike surveys this and suggests I get to work -- lots to do today.
Who's next?
You'd think my muse would take a break now that I have finished Medea, but noooo. No sooner had I finished grafting, then she cranked up the ideas again. I thought I would turn next to Demeter and Persephone -- in fact I have ordered some yarn to be custom dyed for me from Kim of Woolen Rabbit. And that one will happen. But...
Wednesday as I was reading Answer to Job for my Jung Study Group, Eve lingered in my thoughts. And Thursday evening, as I was teaching my beaded lace class, I saw the yarn -- Dream in Color Baby in the perfect green
and thus was Eve's Temptation born.
I spent most of yesterday and today playing with possibilities. I want a stole, pointed on each end with a snake running the length in the center third of the stole. And somewhere in the middle, on either side of the snake, will be paired tree of life motifs. On each end will be a nice 8mm red bead, representing the apple. So I need to figure out the outer thirds and decide what motifs I want there. The snake was quite a challenge and I am knitting a big swatch now to see if I like it -- imagine a 48 stitch, 104 row repeat!
You'll notice I redid the purchase button for Medea -- it took me a little while to figure out how to make it he way I wanted. Because, you know, my muse wanted me to knit not fiddle with html.
Medea Stole
Medea
An original design by Cheryl Fuller
Size: 31 inches wide by 90 inches long
Materials: 1900-2200 yards 2 ply lace weight yarn
Beads : 2500 main color (I used silver-lined red); 350 gold (I used silver lined light gold)
Size 3 mm-3.50 mm (2.5 -4 US) needles
Size 14 or 16 crochet hook (for beading)
Tapestry needle
Stitch holder
Prototype was knit with:
Two strands cashmere/merino/viscose from Colourmart.com
Gauge:
6 stitches = 1 inch
Skills needed include:
Intermediate lace experience and chart reading