Thursday, August 17, 2006

First Day of Fall

There is the wind. There is the rain. There is the cool air.

All signs of fall. The night temperatures have not been close to zero nor have I been able to "smell" any frost in the air yet but today it feels like summer is gone.
The girls have been disappearing one after another early in the morning since Tuesday. I can hear my thoughts again and the house quiets down at nights. I like this very much.

Fall is a good time to start all kinds of new things. I could go on a diet. Or I could start running again. Or maybe studying something interesting like art history...

I have been searching for a good sweater pattern for myself for some time now. As you know I have been trying various things over the past few months but have not accomplished anything. For several times I have been over at Jean Moss Handknits but have not let myself buy any kits so far because for once I would like to use my stash yarn...

Interweave Knits Fall 2006 Issue has few things that I like. For some time I was contemplating between Veronik Avery's Weekend Pullover and Jodi Green's Gatsby Girl Pullover and decided on the latter. And am using the stash yarn: black Wilma (Sandnes) which has 85 % of wool and the rest is polyamid.

This is how far I am now.

It will be a challenge to get good pictures of black Wilma...

And I could not resist Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from the same magazine. The yarn I'm using is something I have come across in a flea market. The skein appears to be very old and has this homespun feel and has a little note that says new wool made in Finland by Kotivilla Oy, Jarvela and Tammisaaren lanka. Does anyone around here know this yarn?

The knee high socks are my own sort-of-designs. I'm saying sort-of because I find it very difficult to say they are my own designs. I read many, many knitting publications and now lately blogs too and although I don't remember seeing quite like them lately I might have seen similar knits somewhere and might have been influenced by them and adapted them into my own. But yes, I'm sort of making them up myself and not following a printed pattern.

Instead of studying art history or running or going on a diet, I'm only knitting.

PS. To be honest it would do me good to do these other things as well.

PS. Mr Kille was very pleased with the commets. He bows his head with gratitude.

23 comments:

  1. I love the new sweater, and the shawl, too! I'm still waiting for my IK, and can hardly wait :0)

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  2. Black is difficult to photograph and also difficult to knit with, unless you have very good light. Black is so versatile to wear that it is worth the effort.
    I hope my mailman shows up today with my fall issues of IK. I have seen the swallow tail shawl on your blog and also on cmeknit.blogspot.com. I think Evelyn Clark is such a clever designer and I always love her work. That would make a wonderful Christmas gift, so I will definitely have that on my needles too, once I get IK and finish my current shrug.
    We can feel fall here to, but won't see frost until late November!

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  3. Thank you for your response to my question. I found the website--www.woollythoughts.com They sell patterns for imaginative mathematical knit items that are spectacular. I also fell in love with the Gibson Girl pullover--so very nice. And the shawl/scarf is wonderful. Great present for someone, I thought. As for diet v. knitting--I have thought of trying to knit as I walk!!

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  4. Anonymous19:27

    Oh, I was about to write a blog post about this autumn feeling! It's in the air here in the South too!
    I think the Fall IK was a very good number with several projects I could make myself too. You have chosen among those I like too. Black is difficult to get good pictures of, but I have also lately had problems with bright red. Might be a problem in my camera, red shouldn't be that bad.

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  5. I really like this issue of IK, too! Sometimes I will only see one or two projects I like, but this issue has many. :-)

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  6. Anonymous23:20

    Its beginning to feel like fall in the mornings here, but the afternoons are still nice and warm. Your black sweater will be wonderful when done, as it will go with any other colour you are wearing. I am busy knitting socks on my circular sock knitting machine which I bought in July. I'm completely enthralled with it and can't get anything else done.My house is a shambles. Rather like when a new baby comes into the house!

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  7. Anonymous00:13

    Love your new projects for Autumn! The shawl, I will make definitely... As for the sweater, I have admired it and am still thinking about it (It is the buttons on the shoulder that stop me at the moment...) Hope the frost doesn't reach you too soon!

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  8. I love the first signs of Fall, since it is my favorite session!
    will you publish your knee-high socks pattern? I know many who would love it!
    :-)

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  9. Summer in Ohio is still successfully trying to push the hints of Autumn away, but it will not be too much longer before the Autumn gets a toe hold. The swallow tail is so romantic!

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  10. Anonymous06:07

    Funny enough I just posted about Spring hitting here

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  11. Anonymous13:54

    Hi, I meant to comment yesterday on how lucky you were to find your shawl yarn at a flea market. I often check my local Value Village but they usually just have acrylic yarn, nothing special.

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  12. Anonymous18:42

    I found your blog last January and have been reading through the archives, it is lovely reading, and although I realize you have a full life your writing gives a real sense of peacefullness, I really love that. I enjoy hearing about your life, the weather, seeing the photos of nature and your knitting, and your sewing. You are such a competent woman. The latest knee socks are beautiful, I especially like the gray ones, pattern available?
    Yes, I was also smitten with the Swallowtail shawl, my daughter was taken with the cover sweater, Equinox Yoke pullover.
    I'm envious of your changing season, here in Oklahoma at 10:30 am it is nearly 89 degrees F...it will get lots warmer before the day is over, and remain quite warm through the night.
    I realize this is a long comment but being the first one after lurking and reading and enjoying...future comments perhaps won't be so long.
    I'm so happy you made it back home, safe and sound after your trip to Scotland, glad you enjoyed your trip, that's a lovely dress you made for your trip, I'm sorry she decided to go off on her own, has she told you her stories yet?

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  13. Running and art history are good, but knitting is better! ;) I love those crisp days of fall, and now that I have kids in school, I'm liking fall even more than before. :)

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  14. No matter who tells me that Jan 1st is the New Year, to me the autumn/ the start of school feels like the start of all new things.

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  15. I'm knitting something black at the moment too and it's not photogenic, it's a black blob :)
    The swallowtailshawl is also on my knit list. Your yarns always so interesting and exotic, to me.

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  16. I agree with Peg, that black sweater will be worth it in the end.

    The Swallowtail shawl is just lovely.

    I love the fall feeling too. We haven't started getting it yet here in the States. I can't wait. It's definitely my favourite season.

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  17. Anonymous06:35

    Oh I love that sweater and that shawl and have them both on my very very very very long to-do list :) I'm so jealous of your weather. It is way too hot here in Georgia still!!1

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  18. Anonymous06:53

    Fall!!!! Autumn!!!!!?????

    You're reminding me that Maryland, USA is WAY south of the Artic circle. It was 36 degrees C (97 to us Yankees) this afternoon and we are still getting excited when the night time temperature gets below 21C (70 F).

    Love those grey socks
    Margie

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  19. Anonymous09:52

    The new IK is very tempting. THere will be lots of swallowtail shawls in blogland.

    There is the feel of autumn here, too.

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  20. August in New Jersey and it isn't so much about the weather as it is about what the weather does to everything else. There's nuts falling now so the squirrels are having a blast, the leaves are drying on hostas and trees and most of the summer's perrennials are drying up. I'm looking forward to the fall colors in wool and the inspiration the trees provide when they begin their colorful transformation.

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  21. I can't wait to see your Gibson Girl! (I meant to say this when I first read this entry, but my computer did not like that idea, and I just remembered). The new mittens (in the most recent post) are really really lovely as well. I'm so impressed with the embroidered flowers and leaves, as they manage to flow so whimsically.

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  22. I'm so pleased to see the shawl in progress. I thought I would make that my first lace knitting project but it beat me. I have decided to do a short Icarus for the repetitive nature of the pattern before dropping off the deep end into the feathers. So far, so good.

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  23. I bought 5 hanks of the same mystery Finnish yarn at a local Finnish Christmas Bazaar this weekend. I would love to know if you ever found out more about the homespun with the funny tag!

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