Rock your boots

I love all the seasons-even winter! Of course all of us knitters are just hitting our stride in fall. We can finally pull out all of our knit finery!! Yippee, comfy warm socks, cozy cardi's, pretty scarves and shawls and there is nothing nicer than wrapping yourself in a warm handknit throw at the end of the day. Simple pleasures are just the best! I had forgotten I had knit these last winter for a friend.We were out together recently and I am glad she wore them. They were fun to do and knit up quite quickly. I knit them with Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Fine in the Ocean colourway. The pattern can be found in the book Gifted by Mags Kandis. I am definitely going to knit a few more pairs for my gift box.

Cute Kitties

Last week Lori came in to the yarn shop with a plastic tote filled with little kitties and other amigurami animals. We all went kinda cuckoo over them, They were just so cute! She crocheted them using a 1 mm hook-(way beyond me) and they are beautifully made.Unfortunately she has just moved away but hopefully will start an Etsy account. I did succumb and bought these two-one is destined for a life in Calgary.You just can't help but smile when you look at their happy little faces.
 There sure is something special about making, giving and receiving hand crafted gifts.  Maybe that is my own perspective as that is what I like to do. I always make things for my family  but I am finding gifting to other friends who are also handcrafters really a lot of fun. Of course I am preaching to the choir on this one!I really am trying to support crafts people and local based businesses a lot more now.. especially now with all the economic and financial turbulence many are facing.For many of us that whole creative process is such a necessary component in our lives-be it knitting ,cooking, knitting, quilting, artwork, woodworking ,knitting, jewelry making...etc. I  was listening to a radio program on the CBC the other day and there was a blurb about how some anthropologists had found some" tool kits" used for cave drawings in India that were estimated to be tens of thousands of years old. Interesting. So my friends keep knitting or painting or gardening or doing whatever makes you feel good-it is important!!

Back in the saddle again.....

Wow it is the middle of October already. It gets dark by 6:30 now. Definitely apple crisp season-heh heh. My garden is still hanging in there but it is supposed to go below freezing tonight. It is always sad when all the flowers and veggies are done for the season but then it does free up some time for our favourite activity-knitting!!!And finally there is some actual knitting content today.

No this is not me-unfortunately! This is Jen from my Thursday morning class modeling a cowl I have just finished. We all love this one . It is the Alameda Cowl from the Fall 2011 issue of Knitscene. I knit it using Malabrigo Rios in the pupuras colourway. It is knit on the bias and buttons up on one side. As you can see it is very versatile. There are so many ways you can wear it.It is double sided so it is super cozy and so soft. Now what else can I use to knit this one again...... I have started another project but haven't taken any pictures yet-it does involve some Noro yarn (big surprise)!

 I will finish with some more garden pics. We always let a lot of rogue sunflowers grow wherever in our garden. They always look good and they attract so many birds. Fortunately our old kitty Puff is quite deaf and losing his eyesight so there is no problem there. Mind you he has always been strictly ornamental!

 I planted these morning glories at the base of some old wooden ladders. I planted them in late June and it looks like they are going to freeze before they really hit full bloom-rats!! There's always next year. Have a good knitting weekend everyone!