A Bit Foggy

The autumn mornings are beautiful and a bit crisp. The afternoons are clear and sunny.

 I'm loving walking with the big black dog as the fields slowly reveal themselves. But I have been a bit foggy, myself, with the same cold that everyone is struggling with. Luckily, I can rest until my next shift on Thursday.

So there has been knitting and crafting. The WORK + SHELTER hand warmers, above, were only one day of knitting each. The yarn is left over from my Silk Moon Crescent Shawl (the third) and are made for my niece's step-daughter, because she is family, too.

 For my mom, I made a needle book to go with some embroidery equipment for Christmas (all saved in a cake box). She gave away her stitching collection but wants to get back into it.

 For my BFF on her birthday, just past, I made an Ice Queen smoke ring. This is the kid silk haze that always finds its way into my stash. I hope to make co-ordinating mitts for Christmas. I needed a sharper needle to enjoy this, and I know better, so it's my own fault.

 For my DH, I made a surgeon's scarf (a cowl if you're a girl). The tunisian crochet is so masculine, and the deep stash Socks That Rock is still a delight. I made it 26 1/2 inches long and worked it length wise until it was 10 inches. This turned out well.

 Very soft and warm when blocked. And look at those colours! Thanks to Morag Ruadh for teaching me to do Tunisian crochet.

 This cowl turned out as I hoped. It's for Scott's girlfriend who pinned it on Pinterest. I tried to make it for Christmas last year, but ran out of yarn. My fault entirely. Thanks to electrictree yarns for ordering more at some trouble.

 It only needed the button bands and blocking. More Christmas knitting done!!!!

 For Scott I'm making the Joe's Coffee Cosy from the current Interweave Knits Holiday magazine. This yarn, from stash, is perfect and a bit felted. Half done in one day of sitting and resting.

 Say good bye to the stripy sock, for a while. I managed to start the ribbing. But there are mittens and gifts to make.

 Stay tuned for January selfish knitting when I will get the second sock done and play with my first afterthought heel.

I'm making more WORK + SHELTER hand warmers because I love the simple knitting, I love using 50 grams of worsted from stash, and I love the final product.
I'm also doing a second colour pattern owl mitten, and need to make a second pair.
My other auto pilot knitting is this handspun scarf/shawl in the Twilight pattern A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd. I love this pattern, it loves me, and it loves this yarn.
I'm raising the hem on one of the dresses I sewed because it fits Emily spectacularly. We have a family wedding this weekend and look forward to being over run by my kids, the nephews and their friends!
Now I have lots of simple knitting for these foggy days.

Quick Trip to Whistler

I saw this on Pinterest and couldn't resist making one for my nephew's wife. We have been leaders, together, at our camp several times over the years (I knew her before he did). I love girls who love campfires. The box was from a bourbon bottle (Bookers is the best!) the stick is walnut from our back yard and the marshmallows are Crayola foam clay.

 We took time to get away together during the off season. Our points at our Intrawest time share go much farther then, plus we don't ski anymore. It's up in the mountains and the cold nights had the trees showing off their colours.

 Most of the mountain is carefully planted. I love this alle. It makes me think of our trip next year to Paris.

 There are many trails that go around lakes and through woods. We live close to those things here, but don't take the time to wander.

 Early autumn sun is lazier and has more shadows.

 Lost lake is only about 25 minutes walk from our place. These trails are off limits in the winter because they are groomed for cross country skiing.

 There's a beach and you can swim in the summer, but it was way cold.

 It rained one day, but we poked around in the shops then. Eating out is fun, plus we brought our own lunch and breakfast.

 Our daughter was here during the winter Olympics, playing with the Sardis Secondary School Drumline. But we used our time share points to go to Hawaii.

There was a bit of development for the Olympics, but most of the town was already ready. I don't think we have been up here since then. They made a nice square in the village with a covered stage and a huge lawn.
Scott and his girlfriend, Dallas, went up for Thanksgiving and did a bungee jump to celebrate their third year anniversary.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with a turkey and board games. It seems I am working a lot more lately.
I knit on the way up to Whistler (about 3 hours), worked on a secret project during our stay, and now hope to finish it to get back to project mittens.
We're lucky to be so close to a great get away.

Autumn Skies

 It's starting to get cold in the evenings with a heavier dew. I am enjoying longer walks as the dog. I always enjoy looking up to see the mountains. These mountains are looking south.

 The corn came off shockingly early this year. Some of it before school went back after Labour Day weekend. We saw, in Greendale, a 6th cut of hay. We regularly get 3 or 4 cuts of hay from a single field, but a sixth is unexpected. This is Mt. Cheam, our biggest peak that watches over us from the east.

 Our houses are never far from the fields that feed the dairy cows that make up the largest industry in our valley. D is a dairy vet, we both grew up on dairy farms, and did our time helping with the harvest, or, in my case, cooking for the crew. Thanksgiving dinner was often postponed for the corn harvest to make silage for the cows.

We don't get a lot of fall colour because we don't get the extreme temperature shifts, or we get the rain that turns the leaves into brown mush. Our poplar trees turn gold. But we can plant decorative trees in our Zone 4 and enjoy the reds and oranges on a smaller level.
And of course, this is knitting weather. I am really enjoying the small projects. Mittens for great nephews, hats for men, and a kidsilk haze smoke ring for my BFF. Good travel knitting, all.
Small enough to pack, and easy enough to watch the sky.