no cigar

I am this close to finishing my Montana Tunic. Here's a sort of bunched up view of the shawl colllar. Which means I am this close to failing my deadline, no let's call it my dream, to wear my Montana Tunic when I meet Joan Tapper in New Mexico for our Shear Spirit booksinging & blabbing road trip .

And that would be because I'm in the airport right now waiting to board the planes and the knitting is sitting in a bag next to me. It needs a long side of ribbing- just 2" across 270 stitches, to call it done.

Possible? maybe. Likely? I'm not known for my plane knitting productivity but I'll give it a try. Find out later today when we'll be at Village Wools in Albuquerque at 5 pm or maybe tomorrow at Tapetes de Lana in Las Vegas (New Mexico-- not the one with the fancy lights , gambling etc- yep the one with the funky antiques and weaving center))

Full schedule for crossing paths on this rare Shear Spirit 2 headed tour at the link in the first paragraph. (Taos Wool fest all weekend-woohoo)..

BTW? if you like the looks of this yarn, it is the very wonderful 100% organic sportweight from 13 Miles Lamb & Wool Ranch in Belgrade Montana, dyed indigo. It's really a wonderful shade of blue and guess what? You can win a 350 yard skein of it over at Norma's Red Scarf Fund contest- so click over there and donate. $5 a chance- what're you waiitng for. Go!

in order to show you a FO...

I'm resorting to borrowing my sister's clothes.

.

In this case, her version of the Simple Yet Effective shawl that sis - you know, the one who said she was "over" knitting upon completion of our epic mitered afghan- finished last week. Don't you love her use of color?Of course it's more subtle in person- maybe you'll see her in it at Rhinebeck. Heh, so much for being over knitting, right? At present she's working on a Meseta Alta Shawl whilst scheming her festival purchases.

My fullest knitterly intentions for the past weekend did not play out. I'm not a very competitive person but emails from Marsha re: her rapidly progressing Montana Tunic sparked my inner- I dunno- Olympian? I NEEDED to have mine done before she completed hers. Umm not quite, last I heard hers was done & blocking. I, on the other hand, sewed in the shawl collar and finished one long side of ribbing, at a snail's pace.

I cant complain, not only is hers gorgeous in gray but she gave me a blog award. (Thanks!, I am so honored- and absolutely stricken at the thought having to choose 7 others- so instead I say, if you reading this know of a great blog, pass the award on.)

And to all observing tonight, l'shana tova- a sweet new year!

for the birds

The buffet bar is open!

This ugly green chain link fence appeared on the edge of the post office property next to ours, along our driveway. I'll be making the best of it, starting with the flower heads left in the garden. Next month--maybe something spooky?

Knitting tomorrow. Perhaps.

in which i state the obvious

Found in a boiler room building while photographing a job in Lancaster PA last week. How perfect. Shouldn't everyone have a button like this?

• I am an utter failure at blogging everyday. I'll keep trying, but wow, hats off to those who can.

• I've missed two Think Red Wednesdays but that doesn't mean the Red Scarf Project deadline is not on my horizon (October 31).
My scarf is about half finished-- or if you're a pessimist, half-NOT. More on that below. It's a wonderful gift to send these handknits to college kids who come from the foster care system and receive no care packages from "home". Even more, it draws attention to the need for advocacy and policy for these young people. More info here.

• Being very close to finished on everything makes one feel like nothing is getting done. Socks- coupla inches to go. Montana Tunic- just the last edge ribbing and some sewing down of collar to go. Red Scarf, as I said , halfway there. But halfway on one of these sideways knit no-brainers is a snap away from FO.

• Going to a knit group is always a kick. Last Wednesday we had knitting at the gallery at our In Sheeps Clothing exhibit, a mix of friends, neighbors, art lovers and SnB . So wonderful! The following night, needing to kill a half hour between runs to the high school and feeling put upon, I ducked into a coffee shop on the green that I rarely stop at, to find the newly formed local knitting group at the front table. Can you say serendipity? I just happened to have my knitting with me. Mwah to the Shoreline Stitch & Bitch .Stop by if you're around the area.


This was in the boiler room too, don't you love pink power fuse boxes. I complimented the super macho dude in charge of the big furnaces why he had such lovely colored controls and he got a little flustered. Adorable.

reluctantly noted

For GALE ZUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY--go HERE

and if you're here for the blog, read on, apologies again for that line up top, professional site and google still giving each other the cold shoulder. Vaguely knit related content follows.

Everyone has their end of summer rituals: closing the cabin , shopping for back to school clothes, cooking huge pots of tomato sauce with basil. Being a swimmer, I hate to see the warm weather fade. September is glorious but wistful as the water cools and days get shorter. Around here we draw out the summer ending ritual as long as possible.

First there's our festival all Labor Day weekend. I was a judge at the sand castle contest this year. oh, the power.

Then there's my summer knitting ritual, of finishing up a pair of socks that I work on a few lines at at a time on the beach. Sandy, slow ,and sociable knitting. My own little private Summer of Sock(s).

I thought I'd be slipping them into the FO files last week while riding home , knitting merrily, from a shoot in Lancaster PA. A short time after this, um , nutritious dinner stop

I got the yarn into a tangle and stubbornly worked on the knots for 175 miles or so. Unsuccessfully. The the next morning I cut and reattached, leaving me 3" short of a finished foot due to lost primo knitting time in the passenger seat. Note to self: stop being so damn stubborn.

Tonight though, finished sock or not, marks the real end-of-summer ritual . It's the annual Last Full Moon of Summer Neighborhood Ladies Skinny Dip , referred to locally as The Swim. I've got champagne (required) , my candles (optional but a nice touch, we float them), there should be about 60 of us. The teenage boys of the neighborhood cringe in horror at the thought of us out there, and complain of the noise. Revenge? sweeet.


Only , what?, 10 months to go till it's summer again...

whirlwinded

Looking for GALE ZUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY --- click HERE
Here for the knitblog? Read on . Will try to resume my more regular posts, as sort of promised. Until my professional website host and google are back on speaking terms, I'll have that up top.

How about some knitting?
Noho Boho Hat from Shear Spirit, that's linking an earlier I knit, followed by the Ravelry link. I love this hat: it's a quick knit, a stashbuster, a people pleaser, a color mixer. Plus it'll keep your bean warm.

yarn: Araucania Nature Wool Chunky
needles: size 7 us
notes: this yarn claims it's chunky but must have poor body image, I'd say heavy worsted. Just check your gauge on this pattern, whatever yarn you choose. About the colors: I am still deeply enamoured of barn red and minty green, like this (again), or pale blue and true red. Or turquoise and red, any combo like that. The Araucania light blueish green and coral red totally suit my mood.
For the In Sheep's Clothing exhibit nice review here, the LYS (across the street from the gallery, you can't get much more L than that) and I put together kits for the Noho Boho , for sale at the gallery during the exhibit and especially at the knit night this Wednesday. (please come!)
We thought it'd be a swell thing to do, kits priced at $9.

Although there was a point where all the other stouthearted kit assembling souls disappeared and I found myself alone in a closed yarn store winding many skeins of yarn, trying to pair colors and weigh balls, and it just felt a little crazy. Good crazy, though, in that-how did I get myself into this?- way.

Maybe that's the theme for this whole month. More on that. Soon.

straight to the (knitter's) heart

Looking for GALE ZUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY--click HERE

and for those looking for the knitting blog, carry on (little tech problem over at the professional site & google this week )
True conversation last Friday noon, over eggs, grits & homefries at a Miami diner . We are doing the freshman dorm move-in day. There is a declared emergency due to impending hurricane for the region. It's as if the increasingly agitated meteorologists have made my inner emotional state the weather news.

me: so, did you pack any of those squoosh hats I knit for you?
him: yeah...I did.
me: you did? (that's a surprise, haven't seen him wearing one in ages, they were important to his 15/16 year old self, vintage photo evidence)

him: well, just one, it's pretty raggedy and stretched out now......
me: awwww.
Inside I do a backflip and tapdance on the table . He's got a knit from me with him. He chose to bring it.
Unable to join the clean plate club, we pay bill and leave. We head for St*ples. The hurricane heads for Cuba.

the hang of it

Here we were last Friday, getting In Sheep's Clothing onto the walls. I am blown away by exhibiting with Julie Fraenkel & Laurie Grace, the two artists with sheepy interests. Here's a totally inadequate sneak peek, and a nice review . We look pretty dang good now, with all the math and leveling and hammering over. Stop by the opening on Sunday 3-6 pm at the Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven and see for yourself. More events on the link .