Saturday, September 24, 2011

saturday shuffle

There were wild turkeys on the lawn this morning.  MANY turkeys.  Harley nearly lost his mind.  I couldn't capture any images, but believe me when I tell you that one unnamed golden retriever ran the entire flock out of town!  Turkeys scattered to four corners when I let him out- to the roof, the pergola, the trees and the garden.  He did not know which direction to turn to!  Mad funny stuff.


I have made the decision to knit my way through this exceptionally gorgeous book - actually my hand (or foot) was forced after seeing my physician this week.  My foot has not healed properly from the bad fall that I took this past summer.  For the moment, sensible shoes are mandatory.  (yuck)  Sensible shoes require gorgeous socks.
It seemed fitting to begin at the beginning, and so I give you Konnichiwa, which, according to this book, is the Japanese greeting translating into 'good day'.  I remember hearing this expression as a child when my father, who served in Japan during the war, would practice his Japanese expressions at the dinner table!
I am deeply in love with this book.  I chose Blue Sky Alpaca for my Konnichiwa socks and I made them one repeat shorter than the original pattern required.

I've never used size 6 dpn's for socks - what a speedy experience!  I imagine that I will be reaching for these 'house' socks quite often this winter.   I've also pulled out my Anne Hanson Caterpillar Socks.  They've been languishing long enough!  
This was a collaboration yarn/sock design that I purchased as a kit a few years ago.  The yarn came from Adam who was known as Yarn Nerd.  I cannot find him anymore!  I wonder where he disappeared to.
The late pole beans are arriving - the last of the garden bounty.
It's a brave woman who goes out there, whether she is walking the dog or picking the beans.  It's a fight trying to avoid the marauding blood-sucking clouds of mosquitos that materialize the very moment that one leaves the safety of the house.  We have had such rain soaked weeks that the blood-sucker population has exploded.  I am praying for a cold snap and blessing the army of bats that congregate each evening at dusk.  They are magnificent to watch - a symphony in the sky!  I know that my sister would not agree, but one can hardly blame her.  She once startled a sleeping bat in her clothespin basket and was forced to have the series of rabies shots.  Not nice.  Still, my bats are not aggressive, simply hungry.  I welcome them and watch from a safe distance.


The hummingbirds are still with us and feasting on what is left in the gardens - nicotiana, canna, buddleia.  I have tried endlessly to capture them on film.  I think that a zoom lens might be called for.  I have the fragrance of fresh dill and zinnia to knit by - and small signs of the upcoming season are beginning to appear around mi casa.
My first week back to work was hard, but I survived!  Now it's time to go upstairs and poke around in fabric.  Happy Weekend All!

3 comments:

life in red shoes said...

A woman of many talents! Knitting...a complete mystery to me. Funny thing, my little dishcloths are about the only thing I crochet. Single crochet, over and over and over...!
Beautiful socks, now find yourself some practical red shoes ;)

Delisa said...

Hi Jody! It sounds like you are having a wonderful Saturday. I am sorry to hear that you are having some problems with your foot. That was a scary fall you took in the yard.

Your knitting is so beautiful! My goodness you are a talented person, I so admire the beautiful attention to detail you show with all your quilting and knitting, photography and garden design! Your blog is one of my top ten favorites.

You are right, I am now officially hooked on socks! I am working today on my second pair of gloves. I'm still not completely happy with the area between the fingers, it is hard to close it up without an awkward looking stitch or two showing or a little hole. I tried switching to a size smaller dpn when I made the "pick up 2 stitches" connecting the fingers and it made a big difference. Do you have any secret glove knitting tips?

I hope you have a nice evening ahead and that the bats will come and feast on all your mosquitos. We put up bat boxes in the trees around our meadow. I always see them now swooping around after dusk. Bats are wonderful little creatures to have in the country!
Delisa :)

Paulina said...

Are you going to put toes on those socks? I am going to make a note of that book and get a copy. It looks wonderful. I think I saw a container that said yarn in my storage space. It has been 8 years. But maybe something survived.....