Putting the Garden to Bed

 

 Two days left before winter rains arrive. This is the promise we've been waiting almost six weeks for. The garden must be dug. The leaves must be raked and the acorns gathered. This will be a busy two days.

 Winter Menu     

Roasted fowl with garden herbs

Winter fruit and vegetable slaw

Baked root vegetable

Green vegetable

Baked apple bars

Cider

Roasted chestnuts or mixed nuts

Often menus are left open ended, such as the one above. Green vegetable can mean anything that you prefer, is available, or you can afford. Adapt this menu for yourself, your kitchen and your purse.

 Wednesday and the weather has turned. It is cold in the mornings and slow to warm up. There are only a few hours a day to be outside before I am stiff with cold. It is time to turn inward and nest.

The storm windows are painted. The leaves have fallen and they need raked away from the house. There has been no rain this fall. The fire danger is very high. Leaves need to be cleared from the orchard. The leaves provide cover for mice and voles that damage the young trees in the winter. All wildlife is hungry this fall. It has be near seventy degrees this November; that's not right.

Paint the storm windows. Clean and store screens.

Wow, nearly two years.

Two very difficult years and many changes. Let's look forward to 2021 with optimism and hope for the future. Let's hope that family and friends are well and healthy. Finally, let's celebrate the smallest of victories each day.

I hope to be writing here more often. I like the "old school" nature of the written word and still photography. It gives me an opportunity to think and reflect.

Photo: Chicken of the Woods Mushroom

New Year New Project

Today I began the restoration of my 1921 Singer sewing machine by taking the first layer of dirt off the iron stand.

When not sewing or knitting...

These are a terrible photos. I haven't mastered a smart phone photo by any means, but this project is finally finished. It started out as a 1980's stereo/TV/drinks cabinet that we purchased at the local second hand furniture store. When we got it home, it stank so badly of cigarette smoke that I washed it with de-greaser, then TSP, then mineral spirits and then I parked it in the sun for the entire summer. This fall it came inside to be sanded.

It was painted mouse grey and I left the light blond "wood" finish on the inside.

Just as I was about to move it to the living room as our new TV stand and DVD storage unit, the octopus moved in.  (I do not accept responsibility for this, I was left totally unsupervised.)

Two Firsts

A long time ago, well really,  last May? I think?? I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. It was there that I bought some lace weight yarn from Wales. Reflecting on this, the purchase was idiotic, as it would have been easier to go to Wales than Maryland, but I saw it and I had to have it. No amount of rationality came into the equation. At any Sheep and Wool Festival, I am deep into yarn crazy.

I have never knitted lace before and I have never knitted a shawl before. So, why not do two things at once! Oh, and let's make it a Pi shawl too, just to up the anti. This is the Elizabeth Zimmerman Camping Pi Shawl in early September, nearly finished and the day before I ripped it all out, rewound the yarn, and started again, on larger needles. (Take that run-on sentence Grammarly.)

This is the pi shawl two months later cast off of 4.5mm needles but unblocked. The yarn has yet to convince me that it's all going to be worth it.

Three hundred pins later... I exaggerate...but only a little, the shawl looks like this.

Okay, now I can see it. Will I knit lace again? Probably, I have one full skein left over. Will it be any time soon? Probably not, I have several projects in the heap shame that need to be finished first.

Next project? Something that has been sitting in the utility room for nearly 10 months. I need to make room for the newly purchased project that is sitting in the front hall. Rereading myself, I am beginning to think I might have a problem or two.

Wow!

Time flies and there went the summer and the fall. Our family has undergone some changes and they required time and adjustment. My blogging falls to the last item on my list when this happens. It doesn't mean that sewing stops, just that the documentation of the sewing stops.

Here's a bit of catching up. I've made two things this summer. The first is a Cape Breton top made in traditional blue and white French terry.

Second, I tried a new pattern, a tunic shirt in a cotton print. The pattern is Kwik Sew K3799. The fabric was labeled Gutterman "ring-a-roses".

I had three problems with the pattern, but still, I had good results.

I found the pattern length for the front and back of the shirt is not drafted properly. The front and back are different lengths and so I needed to pay attention and cut both pieces evenly.

Also, the sleeve placket should not be cut out as indicated on the sleeve pattern piece.  I followed my tried and true method of sleeve plackets instead and got a better result. My tried and true method can be found on the web also.  Angela Kane has a very good variation of the technique I used and she has a free pattern for the sleeve placket too.

Finally, the cuff and collar assembly as stated on the pattern sheet was very awkward.  I used a more familiar "standard" method of cuffs and collar for faster and better results.

I have to say that I love this pattern and the long tunic shirt is perfect for working about the house in just leggings and a top. The shirt is comfortable, roomy and covers the bum. This pattern is going on the use it again list for me.

 Finally, I did some non-selfish knitting. These are some new bed socks for my husband.

So onwards and upwards, let's hope some more writing gets done on this blog. I have tidied up the sewing room again. I now have an empty work table right in front of the window which gives good daylight for close work. My desk also now has a space for a laptop computer and all the extras that go with that item.

The other thing I did was separate the project stash from the sewing and knitting tools.  It's a pile, a pile of guilt, a big, no, A HUGE pile of guilt, but there it is on the floor. Now, I have to look at it and choose something to finish.