A Beautiful Poem

Praise the weaver and the sewer and the needle and thread the shuttle and the loom. Praise the cloth in which we are wrapped alive and dead in all our comings and goings in our beginnings and endings.  We are held by tenuous threads spun into one whole cloth that is never torn.
                                                                                                                  Stuart Kestenbaum

What a beautiful way to end this September.  I will be back in October with photos of finished projects and reports of new ones.  It has been cloudy and not much rain.  But much cooler.  How weird that it is almost October!

Happy Weekend!

Sheeps Heid

Sheeps Heid hat is finished! It has lovely ewes out in the field, a very lovely flower on top, and some pretty ugly rams heads that resemble a uterus and fallopian tubes.  It is a very ancient symbol for matriarchal people, so I won't quibble.

It is drying now on this muggy, overcast day.  I put a balloon in the hat to block it.  I tried it on prior to washing, and it fits wonderfully.  It comes down over the ears and is just the right length for me.

I used leftover Jamison Shetland yarn I had in my stash from the sweater I knit.  I think if I do it again, I will certainly pick some different colors.

The charts are easy to follow.  The directions very easy.  I loved it!  It gets two thumbs up from me!

Last Sunday of the Summer!

Next week is Autumn Equinox!  Yeah!  A new season, a change, the hot, hot, hot is over.  Just a little hot every now and then is good.

We have had strange weather of Fallish caliber.  Temps in the high 60's and drizzle.  Today seems lighter, but still overcast.  Everything is drenched in wetness.

Yesterday I drove down to Winslow and went up on Boston Mountain for the Spinning Guild meeting.  It was so lovely with the overcast skies.  It made the trees and clouds seem a more intense color range of creams and greens and browns and grays.  My grandmother used to tell me that the clouds were "resting" on the mountains when they are really, really low.  Well, all the clouds were resting. 

Once I drove the valley through Winslow and headed up the mountain, the fog was so thick you could not see anything.  Folks were impatient with me as I slowed down.  I was looking for landmarks.  Oh, well, it was fun to drive in the fog for a change of pace.

As I was driving home, it was apparent I was not going to go into Fayetteville to do my errands.  I had forgotten there was a football game in town this weekend.  Razorback fans are fanatic and are not too bright and logical as they are rushing around with flags and decals all over their vehicles.  I headed home as safely as I could.

So Happy Last Sunday in the summer.  The sun is trying to come out.   

What To Do On A Cool, Rainy Day!

Unlike the bored dog, this is the best solution to what is happening outside the house!  It is around 65 degrees, raining, and not very pleasant if you have to go outside.  So why not just cover up the nose and bury your face, and sleep through all the mess?

Otherwise, the bored dog is bouncing around and cannot settle!  What a nutcase!

I am almost finished with the Sheep Heid hat.  I am down to the final row on the rams horns, and then on to the final bit of decreasing.  Yeah!  I did cast on the brown Targhee wool I got from Ozark Carding Mill.  Gail told me it is from their own sheep that they sold when they moved to Oklahoma.  And that is all on the knitting front.  Two projects.  I am going to cast on a shawl as soon as I finish the hat.  I am seriously eyeing the bowl of sock yarn.  Hmm!  More socks?  Fingerless mitts?  Hmm!

Well, I went to Knitting Group last night.  I was a bad girl and went down to Hugo's and ordered a blue cheese burger.  OMG!  It was so good!  C shared the burger with me.  Thank goodness!  Then I topped it off with a piece of the coffee cake that D brought.  So much for the 5 pounds I lost!  I only knit two rows on the winter sweater beginnings.  Oh, well, I socialized some.  That's important.

CJE and AE returned from their trip to Indonesia.  She sounded excited and still on adrenaline when I talked to her on Wednesday.  It appears the moms did okay while they were gone.  Neither had a crisis, and neither one had to go to the hospital. 

So now I am going to eat some lentil soup and see about the decreases on the hat.  I want to get that done.  I think I am going to use a balloon to block it.  I'm not sure.  The color I chose for the ewes is not very dark, so I may go back and embroidery around them after I block it. 

Tomorrow is Spinning Guild.  I have to go because I am supposed to bring the door prize for the day.  I want to take my sweater to the craft store for the fiber art show in a few weeks.  I am going to combine everything I can in the one trip to conserve on gas.

My friend OSM is coming from California soon, and I am waiting on her call.  I think she is going to her cabin in south Oklahoma first.  If so, Patty and I will drive down for a coupla days.  There is a historic marker we are looking for down there.  We will see.

Have a safe and warm weekend.  After all this rain, I will certainly have to mow again.  But the temps are supposed to be much milder.  Fall is coming too fast around here.  We are still having the hot days, but then we are increasing in the cool days.  I noticed that the light is changing pretty quickly also.  Sigh!  I hate the darkness of the coming months.  Oh, well, nothing I can do about it but be grateful for a warm house and warm food. 

So off to lentil soup and cornbread.  Then onward to the hat.

WaHoo! Someone Left the Refrigerator Door Open!

I left the window open last night, and I had to get up and find a lightweight blanket sometime in the night!  After a lot of thunder, wind and lightening, a cold front blew through.  It is very Fall-like today with bright sun and wind.  Patty sits in the sun for a while, totters inside, and then goes back out.  I have on shorts, but I did put on a light shirt this morning for my arms.

I love it when it is cool and dry.  Very low humidity is a good thing around here.  I am thinking about dyepots, and actually cooking something in the oven.  What glorious thoughts to have! 

I know, I know, it is only early September.  Don't burst my bubble right now.

I actually started casting on my winter sweater project the other night.  I am doing a channel island cast on, so I am doing it very slowly and trying to keep the tension even.  I am on the crown of the sheepy hat, so perfect timing.  When it is finished, I have a project to start. 

I am also pushing myself to finish plying that striped yarn I started some time ago.  With dreams of dyepots in my head, I am thinking of what colors will work this winter.  I have some BFL roving and I have some Polworth roving that are screaming "Color Me!"  It's a toss-up!

I have been working in the yard all week in late evening.  It is time to take back the yard!  I am still digging up Johnson grass!  AARRGHH!  In places where I dug earlier, there are shoots coming up!  I swear I dug up all the damn rhizomes!  Obviously not!

I just read a book that was good enough to stay up a coupla nights.  Now I am reading a not-so-great book, and that slows down my reading.  I haven't listened to any audio books for a while.  Maybe that's on the agenda tomorrow.  I have to get that plying done!

My brother's boat weathered Isaac without any problems.  He got a message from the marina people the day after the hurricane.  They did not take his mast down and remove it from the water.  They felt it was probably safer to leave it in the water.  And it did fine.  He was sweating bullets about insurance, etc.  But no problems.

Other people had so many more problems.  I often think about the years I lived on the coastlines.  I weathered many storms, but nothing like the last few that have created such havoc in peoples' lives.

Nothing else new.  Have a good and cool weekend!  Time to put the roast in the oven.

Knitters Like to Party!

 This is our newest member of our knitting group!  She was born July 31, and she is such a beautiful baby!  She and her mommy and daddy got lots of nice things.  Our group always makes a blankie for new ones in the group and that was given to her very early on. 

We had so much food it was sickening.  I thought it was nice to bring gooey brownies made with Ghiradelli chocolate, but Tina brought coconut macaroons, and tarts!  Then there was cheese, chips, crackers, cupcakes, fruit, and Molly's surprise.  Something like Maui Wowie-homemade ice cream with Kahlua, macadamia nuts, chocolate drizzled on top with sprinkled nuts, and then she put whipped cream on top of all that.  I did not eat that.  I did not want the sugar overload.  My gosh! 

It was loud, it was fun, and it was more than any baby should sleep through.  But she did!

I took Patty with me, and she was very good.  She nosed around until more and more folks arrived.  She settled under the table and watched me.  At one time she heard the baby making noises, and she looked for that.  But otherwise, quiet and well-behaved.  And she ignored the shop cat, Sasha. 

I did go to the County Fair, and the man actually asked me if I was a senior when I got to the gate. That was nice.  It was senior citizen day and admission was free. I saw a bunch of animals, and I looked over my friends' lovely things in the exhibit hall.  I met lovely Olivia in the sheep barn.  She had her first sheep, and it was a Jacob.  She told me she drove 6 hours to Missouri to find a "show-quality" sheep.  Since she was still a baby sheep, she did not shear her for the show.  I gave her my card.  I found one French angora rabbit and it was for sale.  I emailed a friend who is looking for another rabbit.  It was very lovely and well-groomed, of course.

So Isaac arrived some time last night.  The wind was interesting up to bed time.  I did not think we got any rain, but when I woke up there is a light rain falling steadily.  Hopefully it will be light enough to just soak in.  The frogs have been chirping on the back deck area.  I fed the birds and they are squabbling for food.  So, not a bad day for fiber art indoors.


Noodles pulled the quilt that I am sewing on down and made his own nest.  I need all the help I can get to finish the hand sewing.

So have a good Labor Day weekend.  I am staying home rather than go camping with friends at Mirkwood.  The latest report is that no one knows for sure if the creek has flooded.  I don't really want to drive for miles and find out we have to go somewhere else.



 

Sure Signs That Summer Is Winding Down!

I saw my first Monarch butterflies trying to find anything to eat.  I don't have butterfly feeders, so the few flowers I have is it. 

I saw Hatch peppers from New Mexico in the grocery store the other day.  They never last long, but I sure like that.  I wish someone locally would buy a roaster and do fresh roasted peppers to go.

I saw a Walking Stick on the screen the other evening.  It was fairly large and had turned itself a beautiful heathery brown color. 

It is really cool in the mornings, but still gets hot during the day.  No more 24 hour a/c needed. 

The college students are back.  They drive like maniacs in Fayetteville. The one day I do go in, I am nervous all the time.

The county fair is happening right now.  I am going today because it is Senior Citizen day and free admission. 

Some of the songbirds are finished with molting and are now growing back feathers that have not filled in everywhere.

There is increased hummingbird feeding and fighting.

The Fall yarns are arriving at LYC.

I hear owls more at night now that I sleep with window open.

And today is my niece and her son's birthdays!    Happy birthday-Happy Birthday!

And an update from previous notes.  My SIL loves her socks and they fit!  Yeah!

Happy end to the misery of a very long, hot summer.  The tropical storm is moving this way.