Oh,The Things I Find In My Garden...

An Amazing Work of Art and Architecture -

A Recently Vacated Robin's Nest

The Amazing Intricacy Of A Dragonfly's Wings -

Surely the inspiration for the first cobweb lace designs

An Amazing Man

Fall Garden Roses

Rosa Iceberg

Rosa Cherry Parfait

George Clooney's Birthday

Happy Birthday, George.

It was a warm, sunny, perfect September day. And we celebrated not only a birthday, but Kim and Craig's anniversary as well. The weather was fabulous, Lucy Dog was with us, the company was great and Movita's banana cake with chocolate ganache was utterly divine - and with a golf bag and clubs on top, no less!

Back In Prospect

Today, we returned to Prospect and hiked for almost two hours along the coastal pathway. Just before getting in the car and driving away, we had a great conversation with the elderly woman who is responsible for the Piggy's Cove and Frogs Only parking signs we noticed on our last trip there. Patty is the former postmistress of the community. She lives alone now, in her eighties, at the bottom of the lane where the coastal walk begins and, to me, she represents the flavour of this beautiful, friendly, seaside village. A delightful lady.

And yet another example of Patty's humour:

On The Floor Of The Woodland Garden

Finished And They Fit!

Fair Isle Socks

I have always loved Fair Isle knitting.

Remember Tristan Farnon on All Creatures Great and Small, who wore the most marvelous Fair Isle vests as he went about his business in the Yorkshire dales?! I was smitten with those vests and sweaters and I did manage to fumble my way through a few simple versions of them for the children when they were small. I hope, one day, to get to the Shetland Islands, including Fair Isle, and see some of the original work first hand.

Though I have done stranded mittens, I have never attempted to knit a pair of Fair Isle socks. I've often read that many sock knitters have problems with the fit because the stranding of two wool colors across the inside of the sock makes the fabric less flexible and the socks can be difficult to get on and off the foot with ease. There are suggestions as to how to counteract this - knit the sock inside out, use larger needles, strand very loosely, etc.

I've found a pattern that has only one section of Fair Isle on the leg of the sock and I decided it was time to master the technique. The first pair may be a poor fit. If so, I'm willing to struggle with pulling them on and off all this coming winter! The second pair will surely be better and it is all part of the process of mastering a technique.

Pattern: Fair Isle Flower Sock

Designer: Candice from Home Sweet Home
Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Extra (1314 Grey) and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (Cranberry)
Needles: Dpn's and circulars - 2.25 mm

A Daughter's Birthday

Happy Birthday to a daughter who has always been the colour of gold.

Demne in Pink

Pattern: Demne

Designer: Annie Cholewa

Yarn: Smart by SandnesGarn

Color: 4520 Pink

Needles: 4.0 mm and 3.5 mm

This sweet little pattern was just posted last week on Ravelry as a free download. The generosity of knitters always warms my heart. It has an unusual construction in that the various parts are started with provisional cast ons and, by the end of the garment, because of three needle bind offs,  the only seams to sew are those of the sleeves. Very clever.

I am quite pleased with the project but while Smart is a very nice superwash wool, which makes it very practical for little tykes, it is on the heavy side of double knitting yarn and I think it is better suited to hats and mittens, etc. I would like to knit the sweater again with a yarn that has just a little more drape.

"And For Someone Who Likes To Rock, A Rocking Chair..."

I stopped in at Blue Shutters Antiques in East Chester on Labour Day in the hopes of finding bundles of antique buttons. They had none (nor did any other antique shop that day - interesting buttons are as scarce as hen's teeth in this province!) but I did find a sweet, white, inexpensive wicker rocker. I think for most of the year, it will go in the pink room for little girls to curl up in and, on balmy summer days, it will sit on the deck with a stack of books beside it.

Garden Companion