Eagles and Turkeys

What do eagles and turkeys have to do with knitting, you ask?  Nothing.  I am in between finished projects, so have nothing in a knitterly way to show.  But... Whenever we start complaining about how far we live from no-where, this shows up in the front yard. 

A pair of American Bald Eagles twittering on top of the highest pine tree on the property.  I was unable to get close enough to get a good photo, but I think you'll get the picture.  The female had already flown away.

This is not a black and white print; it was just one of those dreary Michigan days. 

The turkeys were also strutting through the yard, making an otherwise dreary day one to remember.

On the knitting front, I still have to finish my sideways cardigan knit with 6 ply sock yarn.  Click here for a photo on Ravelry.  I also have to block the From Dawn to Dusk shawlette.  Also on the needles are another shawlette, Water lilies and a cardigan knit with fingering weight Alpaca on 2.5 mm needles.  It'll be a long time before that cardigan is done.  At least I hope to live long enough.

Knit on Merrily!

First snow - November 11, 2011

The Snow Fairy by Claude McKay

I
Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy.
And they flew down a mightier force at night,
As though in heaven there was revolt and riot,
And they, frail things had taken panic flight
Down to the calm earth seeking peace and quiet.
I went to bed and rose at early dawn
To see them huddled together in a heap,
Each merged into the other upon the lawn,
Worn out by the sharp struggle, fast asleep.
The sun shone brightly on them half the day,
By night they stealthily had stol'n away.

II
And suddenly my thoughts then turned to you
Who came to me upon a winter's night,
When snow-sprites round my attic window flew,
Your hair disheveled, eyes aglow with light.
My heart was like the weather when you came,
The wanton winds were blowing loud and long;
But you, with joy and passion all aflame,
You danced and sang a lilting summer song.
I made room for you in my little bed,
Took covers from the closet fresh and warm,
A downful pillow for your scented head,
And lay down with you resting in my arm.
You went with Dawn. You left me ere the day,
The lonely actor of a dreamy play.

Warm Toes

This makes socks #34 for the year.  The pattern is Dreamin' of Tulips from Thinking Outside the Sox. The original socks were designed to be knit with left over baby yarn.  Since I still am on the "house cleaning" kick, i.e. make odds and ends of yarn disappear, I used small samples of hand-spun, hand-dyed yarns with which my daughter experimented over the past few years.  This made for a pair of warm and rugged socks which will keep my feet warm and dry during this coming winter.

Knit on Merrily! 

Apple of the Eyelet

What do you get when you mix a skein of bright green hand-dyed and hand-spun yarn with a new book of sock patterns?  (You really didn't need the book since you have hundreds of patterns already, but gee golly you just couldn't resist because the colors in the photos were so gorgeous.)  You get a new pair of socks named "Apple of My Eyelet" from the book Think Outside the Socks.

I have lusted after this book for some time and finally gave in to those urges.  And here are the results:

Aren't they pretty? 

Knit on Merrily!

Socks #31 and #32

I knit two more pairs of socks during the month of September, but failed to show them.  As a first step to a thorough "house" cleaning, I decided to do "wool" cleaning. I've had dozens of partial balls of sock yarn laying about. In some cases they started out as full balls, but were partially eaten by some unidentified critters, be it moths, mice or cats. Others were spirited away by Sammy the cat to his own secret hiding place, only to see the light of day again when he was good and ready to share. The ultimate hope, of course, is that Fall cleaning can be delayed until Spring. So here they are:  The first one for the orphanage in Akkhol and the second pair for moi.

Knit with some ancient Opal yarn.

Knit with Brownsheep Wildfoot yarn left over from a cone with which I knit an EZ Pi Shawl ca. 2003.  Sammy dug it out of his favorite hiding place and regifted me with it.  What a cat!

Knit on Merrily!



Wash Day

 I decided that I also needed to start knitting socks for us; our feet need to stay warm this winter as well.  Particularly, since we are in a La Nina weather cycle which means that in the Great Lakes region we will experience more snow and cold than the average season, at least according to the weather forecasters.  I hope they are wrong.  So here is a photo of all the socks hanging on the line drying and then the pair I knit for my youngest daughter.

 Just the way she likes them.  Loud and mismatched.  This is an old ball of Opal. Neither of us has any idea from where the ball came or when it invaded the household. But they sure will be useful on Halloween.

Knit on!

Same old, same old

I haven't posted much, but have been busy knitting socks for the Kazakhstan orphanage. So here is September's output.

Knit with Opal, Harry Potter

Knit with the dreaded Hobby Lobby yarn with cuffs, heels and toes from Lang Jawoll.

Hobby Lobby sock yarn

Ancient Opal and Knit Picks sock yarn

Blauband sock yarn

Knit on, Merrily!