tuesday tidbits

It's hard to write about what's going on here without mentioning the terribly hot and humid weather. I'm not complaining about the weather; it's just that it is playing an inescapable and major role in my daily life.

In the past month we went from unseasonably cold weather - pots of soup and turning the heat on for an hour every day to take the chill off the house - to "how crazy would it be to turn on air conditioning in May?" with absolutely zero transition in between. For weeks it was too cold to plant, then literally overnight it was unpleasant to work in the garden even before the sun was up. I've managed to get a few seeds planted, and the first sprouts are just beginning to appear.

yellow filet beans

I'm trying to do a little bit in the gardens in the early mornings; weeding or planting. I don't know if I'm hopelessly behind in my gardening this year, or if it just feels that way because the weather says it's August.

asian cucumbers

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Last week when Peter (I finally remembered to ask if I could use his first name on the blog instead of calling him "my hired helper") was here, we created a small, Slightly Raised Bed. Worth the effort, but after hours spent on the task - and Peter always comes at 11AM, so the hottest part of the day - I was pretty much useless for two days following. Whew.

Small but carefully crafted. 

First, raking out all the leaf litter, twigs and debris: that's the pile in the left foreground. Then, digging out several inches of soil and rocks: that the pile in the right foreground. Next, using the cart to move a pile of rotting wood to be laid as the base of the bed: that's what you're seeing in the center. After this picture was taken, I spread small branches and that pile of twiggy leaf litter on top of the wood, added a couple of buckets of mucky shavings I've been saving from the Poultry Palace, and topped it all off with the pile of soil and some wood ash. I watered it to help settle the whole bed a little, and watered it again the next morning after planting a hill of summer squash and an edging of chard and chives. The first two squash sprouted this morning. Fingers crossed!

~~~

Today was hot but there was often a lovely little breeze, and it was also somewhat less humid. After chores and weeding, Piper and I went for a walk in the woods.

Piper still turns away the moment she sees the camera.
She was a dot in the distance when I took this sneaky picture.

Since this heatwave began, Piper has been spending most of her time flattened out on the floor or in one of her several cushier sleeping spots. Invitations to come outside with me - even invitations that include jingling car keys - have been treated with a lack of enthusiasm that, frankly, borders on disdain. (A bit rude, Piper. Really.)

But today, Piper played "Race You To The Car!" This consists of Piper bounding ahead then turning and running straight back at me several times in the hundred feet between back door and car. The likelihood of having a 50-pound juggernaut slam into my knees adds to the excitement of this game. Piper can stop on a dime, but whether or not she will is sometimes in doubt.

~~~

I have been knitting the Leighton Socks at night, while watching Netflix. I'm finally enjoying The West Wing - the whole series, in chronological order - for the first time.

The socks were finished last night, during season 6.

This yarn was a pure joy to knit.

I began with a lace stitch pattern as planned, but after knitting a couple of inches, decided to rip it out and begin again. This plain stockinette stitch is perfect for the subtle tone shifts of the yarn.

I'm happy with the result.

~~~

How are things in your neck of the woods?

~~~~~

remembering to knit

Ann and Kay over at Mason Dixon Knitting are hosting a sock KAL right now, lasting through the end of May. If you can use a little cheering on to finish a neglected sock WIP...or if you've been thinking of casting on for a new pair of socks...well, this is a great time to join in. There are quite a few people knitting their very first socks for this KAL!

Knitting had fallen by the wayside for me since the weather changed. I've been alternating between two states: first, shoulder to the wheel, tackling one necessary chore after another, and second, feeling so exhausted I don't want to move. It's not a good system, and it's not even effective in terms of getting things done, so this week I'm trying to be aware and to pace myself a bit more.

And knit.

I've missed he transition of knitting for a few minutes here and there during the day, or at bedtime; it's very mind-quieting and centering. So Monday night, I pulled out the WIP bag and finished these socks which had been languishing, toeless, for several weeks:

Simple Gems

And today, thinking of making a nice pair of summer socks for the KAL, I decided to kettle-dye a hank of 50/50 merino/tencel. I started the dye process on the stove but then let it go on for hours in a 180F oven while I got on with other things.

 When Piper and I returned from errands and an hour-long (huzzah!) walk in the woods, the yarn was ready for a soak in a sudsy basin to remove any unattached dye. That's where it is now. I'll rinse it after evening chores and if it dries overnight, maybe I'll cast on a sock tomorrow.

Here's a funny thing: I want to recreate a pair of socks I made in 2009, but didn't make any notes. I can see what to do for every part except the lace stitch on the leg:

SeaSocks

Maybe I pulled it from a Barbara Walker stitch dictionary; she published several thick volumes, and I've occasionally borrowed one from the library.

Does it look familiar to any of my knitting readers?

It looks like a repeating series of partial discs, at a diagonal.

If you click the caption, it should take you to the ravelry project page and the original image which is much sharper.

~~~

One more piece of fibery news from the MDK blog, which has been one of my favorites for many years. This week Ann and Kay are having a giveaway for a substantial amount of Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere yarn.

'Nuff said?

Good luck!

~~~~~

as it happened

Thank you all so much for your good wishes regarding my foolish injury - much appreciated! Update: my thumb no longer aches all the time, so that is good progress! I hope to get back to outdoor projects (beyond the minimum daily requirement of chores) in another day or two. This blog post will be the most typing I've done in a week!

One small achievement: after not knitting at all for a few days, I did manage to finish my hap, in a series of many, many, very short stints of knitting.

Washed:

 and blocked, using roughly one million pins:

and finally, posted on my ravelry project page

two days before the hap-a-long deadline.

Photographed at sun-up:

I wish you could feel this - it's so light.
It's not even weighing down the ferns.

Not quite as light as cashmere, but then, not much is.

I'm well pleased with it!

It will make a cozily warm - but light! - neckerchief/scarf.

I will very likely knit another.

Hap construction is interesting, and apparently addictive:

many hap-a-long knitters made more than one,

and most of them were shawl-sized, or even blankets!

~~~

In other news, it's been raining. A lot.

When not actually raining, it's been very hot and muggy.

We had one pleasant day last week; it was very hot but not as muggy.

That day, Campion (my Champion) was not feeling well.

He's FINE now.

So I spent six anxious hours on a chaise in the paddock,

keeping an eye on him.

Apart from anxiety, it was nice to be outside and not getting rained on.

You probably can't tell, but in the picture below,

the rain was coming down in sheets.

I've been spending a lot of time on the porch.

If you come visit, you can spend time on the porch, too.

I highly recommend it.

~~~~~