DK weight...

...in pretty colours. Just waiting on these to finish drying and then will re-wind into 50g skeins.

The rain has finally stopped here. It's a comfortable 22C and I think I will head out to the stoop to work on my latest project.

Happy Knitting!

Sunday morning...

....pancakes with our maple syrup, fresh melon from our garden and coffee.

Perfect! :)

Getting ready for winter...

...these last couple of days here in Eastern Ontario have felt more like late Sept. rather than mid-August. 

And to be sure that they are ready, a couple of friends have asked for a pair of gloves each from yours truly. :)

They left all choices up to me. So armed with hand sizes, I went looking for patterns on Ravelry.

The first pair are a fair isle pattern by Rob Clucas. Knit in a fingering weight, they are a perfect choice for hand-dyed sock wool! I'm using the remains of the last pair of socks I knit.

So far, they are knitting up fast, but will probably be a different story when I get to the fingers. I've only ever knit gloves in a single colour til now.

Happy knitting!

Happy Socks

My sister requested a pair of socks that would make her happy when she wore them. She chose two colours and I dyed some sock wool for them. A wide stripe pattern is what she wanted. Between each colour change, I worked two rows of alternating colours to soften the transition.
And now the knitting is finished. All that remains to be done, is weaving in the ends. A lot of ends! :)
Happy Knitting!

Gardening....

We're starting to get a garden! It's been a challenge this year. The very late & wet spring. Flooding of the river that runs alongside , and for awhile, over our garden. As well as the reed canary grass that still threatens to take back what it had claimed as it's own these many long years. 

We've tilled and mulched & weeded. And things are finally growing in a nicely laid out garden! Woohoo!

These beautiful plants (one is a zucchini) are volunteers from last year.

Onions and tiny Tim tomato plants.

Potatoes.

Corn.

The melon and cucumber and squash patch.

Last years carrots are blooming while this years are growing.

The next bed waiting under a thick layer of mulch. 

I'm planting every week more beets, carrots & greens for use into the fall. 

Enjoy!

Solar dyeing....

....no time for spinning or knitting today. But I did take time to set up some jars for solar dyeing. 

3 of the half gallon size held a 100g skein of fingering merino/silk yarn.

The gallon jar held 100g of Romney cross roving. 

I let them sit in the hot sun all day and by this evening they have fully exhausted. I'll drain & rinse them and hang them out to dry.

Enjoy!

Sunday, Sunday...

....a beautiful day to be outside doing yard work & gardening :)

Papa Bear cut & swept the yard for the precious clippings. We use them as mulch around the apple tree and in the gardens. This year we started right off by mulching all the beds. Usually we end up overwhelmed by weeds and spend many long hours weeding and then mulching. Hopefully any weeds that do come up through will be easy to pull. Plus it just looks a lot tidier with the mulch :)

Finally, we have our own asparagus bed! In a few years, we'll be eating our own fresh asparagus for dinner. Can't wait!

Tomatoes & lettuce.

More tomatoes & romaine lettuce. We love fresh, sun-ripened tomatoes straight from the garden :)

Sweet peppers. 

Our garlic crop - we didn't get it harvested last year and will enjoy lots this year!

Volunteer onions from last year.

And a few carrots coming up.

We've also moved the meat chickens into the big barn. More room and the coolness of the cement floors is much more practical. In a day or two, they will spend their days outside in a big open run. Much healthier for them and a lot easier for us as it keeps most of the manure outside. We lock them up only at night for their protection .

Enjoy!