~ The last of the red salvia ~
I feel like planting some mums (if I ever get around to it, it will be a miracle, but I like to pretend), making a pot of soup, and cleaning up the yarn and fiber stash. I want to make all my drawers neat and tidy, so that I won’t have to dig for socks on that first wooly-sock morning. I want to be ready for the crisp and chilly air and the first night that the down comforter will be needed.
I’m still on a linen hand towel kick, so I went to North Fork Stitches to get a couple of skeins of Euroflax. I chose Mustard and French Blue, which go well with the Goldenrod and Willow towels I’ve already finished. I’m working on one in Ginger now. While I was there I found two skeins of red yarn that will be perfect for Red Scarf Project scarves. The bottom one is Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool in Wine (50g, 192yds). Above it is Cascade Pastaza in Red (100g, 132yds), a yarn I’ve never used before. It’s 50% llama and 50% wool, and looks like it will knit nicely on 5.5-6mm needles. Look closely at the picture, and you’ll see the black sheepy tape measure that “fell” into my bag. Now to decide on the patterns…
I had a great day off, like I used to have in the olden days, before the summer. I had to do the stuff of real life, like get an oil change (an opportunity for forty-five minutes of uninterrupted sock knitting) and go to Target. It was so nice to be out there in the regular world again. I’d kept close to home all summer, and I found myself smiling as I tooled out Route 25 to the yarn store. Yes, Local Reader(s), I know I missed a golden opportunity by not stopping at a farm stand for mums. Where do you think I got the idea? The light bulb went off after I’d passed them by.
I’m enjoying the audio of When Madeline was Young, Jane Hamilton’s new novel. It reminds me of her earlier novel Disobedience. I’m anxious to finish it, though, so that I can move on to the Book of My Dreams — To Kill a Mockingbird has finally made it to CD, and it’s read by Sissy Spacek. That’s my favorite book in the world, folks, and it’s read by a woman with the perfect voice. Somebody pinch me. If I didn’t already have a road trip in the works, I’d plan one, just to listen to this book.
I washed and pressed the first two towels. Here they are in their lovely softness.
- Pattern: Moss Grid Hand Towel from Mason-Dixon Knitting, knitted with no modifications.
- Yarn: Louet Euroflax Originals, 100% Belgian linen, colors Willow and Goldenrod.
- Needles: 4mm/US6 Addis (though I switched to bamboo for a while because there was just something about this yarn and the weather). (My new Knit Picks needles, which I like, were too sharp for the linen, and I kept poking myself.)
- Time to knit: One towel = a long day of US Open Tennis.
I’m glad I managed to squeeze a regular day off into this week. It feels so good to be getting back to normal! Work is still busy, but at least it’s a bit quieter. I won’t have the old routine for long, though. At the end of next week I’ll be leaving to spend a few days in Maryland, to visit the family and…
Not Plain Jane 
It sounds like an absolutely divine day! It’s good to hear you so relaxed.
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Sweet Jane,What a terrific amount of things you have told us.A RR wheel – wa hoo, baby girl. You are one hot momma! Isn’t that terrific?! Will you have this wheel w/you at the Retreat?Cool to read of your la-tee-da times when you can be a “real” person again vs. being the Queen Worker Bee as you have been for so many weeks.Way to go, hon.XOXO
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Naughty you to save the wheel news till last! what a tickle that was.I smelled the first scent of autumn this morning (when I went out to pick up the shredded chicken wrapper my bad dog stole from the trash can)And then a cricket serenaded me while I wrote in my journal.How I love autumn. Have a fabulous famiy visit.
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How funny – that’s exactly how I felt this morning as I left for work – really looking forward to autumn. And it was just a few days ago that I was mourning the end of summer. Now I’m thinking of fires in the fireplace, sweaters and socks (now I’ll really have to learn to knit socks!), and knitting by the fireplace with a mug of tea.The R’s left for their 1st day of school today which is why, I think, that I began to look forward to the next season instead of back at summer. And to top things off I saw the biggest box turtle ever as I left the driveway, off on his autumnal errands.You sound like yourself again – what a wonderful day.
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What a perfect day! And how exciting about the wheel!! I have a few skeins of the linen with those towels in mind but I need to finish up a few things first.
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Sounds like a great day to me! I spent one of the rainy days going through my clothes and moving the long sleeved shirts to a lower shelf. And today I picked up 3 mums and planted them in the pots (finally got rid of those dead pansies!) on the front steps. Your washcloths look lovely, quick projects like that give you the rush of the new item and the satisfaction of a finished object so quickly. Have a great trip, can’t wait to hear about your new wheel!
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a new wheel.. wheee! delighted to hear that you are getting a dream wheel, too. Wishing you lots of Peace and Quiet in your life and Autumn is a lovely time of year. This hot summer was like trekking through a wasteland. We all made it though!
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It sounds like a really nice day. Your linen towels turned out lovely. But a Rick Reeves wheel! Now that’s good news. Have a great trip.
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Your towels look absolutely beautiful! The twitching of my yarn addiction is kicking in, and you KNOW there is Euroflax Linen at the LYS where I work. Too late––I am out the door of my office and up there. Did you wash the handtowels after you knitted them to soften them?Thank you! My holiday problems are solved!
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