Gotta do my part cuz I love this country!

In the blink of an eye . . .

it's gone.

This morning we awoke to a howling wind. Our maples were stripped of their leaves and if you can believe it . . . it is snowing. (Fall Lovers: CLOSE YOUR EYES)

The Autumn party is over. Officially.

I went out for a few pics but I haven't knitted myself any Knucks or Fetchings yet, so my hands got too cold and I had to hurry back indoors. The wind is making a moaning noise, like it's being blown through wooden pipes. That scene above was just filled with 10, 10 year old boys playing football and wrestling off their cake and ice-cream filled bodies after an ambitious sleepover birthday party. Happy B-day, Lunker.

So it's bleak and blustery outside, but every knitter takes these opportune days to grab some wool. Or at least think about wool while cleaning up after 1o boys. Did I already mention the 10 boys?

Since I don't actually have time to knit today, (grandparents comin' for din din and, you know. 10 boys) I snapped some photos of my FAVORITE Woolgirl Sock Club yarn so far.

Yarntini merino sock, colorway: Plum Blossom

And she packed this yarn with loads of yumminess so that the yarn actually smells like Plum Blossoms. It's truly divine.

Darn it!

Remember that awesome dog I have that eats everything. See if you can guess what this is...
Does this help?
Yup. Socks that Rock. That's my dog eating it.

Instert very angry sarcastic voice here:

Isn't he cute. Yes. So. Cute.

(my mother's voice): Maybe you should keep it in a container.
me: He ate the container.

So. So. Frickin'. Cute.

Another ode to autumn

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.


Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.



Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,


So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

-- Robert Frost


**********************

I was driven to distraction this weekend by the weather, the color, the sounds of Autumn. I heard crows cawing like mad in the woods, so I grabbed my camera and went to investigate. Usually, we'll find a patient owl sitting in the branches somewhere close to the crows. But this day, I found something different. Take a look for yourself.

It's a not-so-wily coyote who let me get within 20 feet of him before he noticed me and skedaddled. I was glad the dog was not with me - he would have broken his collar to get at this old fella.


Oh, yeah. And keeping with the knitting-blog theme, I have an item to show you. It's the back piece to a sweater I'm a-knittin' for my 10 year old (size 12 yikes!) in his very favorite color in the whole wide world. It's Berrocco Peruvia and it is warm and soft and lovely to knit up. Can I end that last sentence without a preposition? Is "up" a preposition? Gah, I'm reapplying for my teaching license. This is embarrassing. I must get to the bottom of this! Hmmmmm.

Anyway, the pattern is "Supersize Me" from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for Older Kids. Got me a copy from the library (and yes, I realize that sentence is grammatically incorrect).

A Walk in the Woods

We're gonna take a walk outside today

Gonna see what we can find today


Gonna take a walk outside today



Gonna see what we can find today.



On a pretty little farm the sun comes up


On a curious cat and a pug nose pup


A brand new life outside the door.
Follow your nose and go explore.

Walk Outside
by Richard Tarrier
Sung by Dan Crow
find it on itunes

Mmmmmmmm. Autumn......

Wow. That's what I said when I took Leo for his walk today. The colors are unbelievable. Sugar maples and sumac defy reality - colors that can't possibly be recreated.

A bit further on our walk, I saw these fellas before the dog did. I got an ok shot of them. There were about 10 in all and they seemed fairly unconcerned that I had a bird-dog at the end of my leash.


Looking at these turkeys reminded me that I have an FO of about the same color to show off to you:

You're looking at "Patrick's Irish Hiking Scarf" knit with a soft (but machine washable and affordable) Bernat Cashmere Natural Blends - 3 skeins to be exact, on size 8 needles; in Charcoal.






So having one Christmas FO finished, I'm on to #2 - Elsa's Nest Tote in a lime green Lily Sugar'n Cream colorway called "Hot Green". The picture doesn't do justice to the color. It's much more limey. It's a new colorway!

For the Love of Lace (and mini-putt)

This is how far I am on my Secret of the Stole III knit. (Hint #5 to be exact.) For those of you unfamiliar with this - it's a club of sorts - the design/pattern of this stole and doled out on a weekly basis, one section at a time. So no one but the designer knows how the finished piece will look. This is my first lace project, and having weekly objectives has kept me going.
It will be done in time for Christmas and I think it will look stunning with a black dress. It's a beautiful pattern and I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Check it out on Ravelry!
These are random pictures of our last few days. Belle, here, received a face painting kit from her Nama and went to school today with this on her face. Not bad, huh? Considering I'm not a painter.

*****
Shameless advertising for local mini-golf:
BIG STONE
Minnetrista, MN

If you live in the Twin Cities and have not seen this place yet, you have to go. This is more than a mini-putt course; it's an amazing sculpture garden.


Your ball ends up here and travels through this polished granite slab. My monkey-children were climbing all over it and the owner/sculptor walked over to us. I was sure he was going to tell us off for climbing on the sculpture. Instead, he laughed and marveled at how creative kids can be when they interact with his sculptures. Isn't that cool?

This is our favorite hole. I think it's hole #7. It's an upturned boat hull with colored plexiglass in the round holes. It's like walking into a strange alien cathedral. I think I've posted about it before, but it was worth another visit.
OH, and ONE MORE THING:

If you are on Ravelry, you have to check out the work of HarpaJ. It is stunning. I don't know how she does it. I'm very envious! You can also see her work here on her blog.