Fall Frost, and Knitting Resumes.

I had a kick for a while this summer with knitting washcloths. I didn't realize how quickly Sugar & Cream loses its color - I mean I've read that it fades quickly- but some of the ones I knit in the spring look like antiques. Another factor is that I think I'd move up another size with the needles for the next time I feel like knitting cotton - from the dryer they shrink so much they look too small, but wet they grow an inch or so.

With the cool weather I've resumed my large double-stranded Red Heart yarn afghan. It's huge and heavy - and I think probably more than half done - but the weight makes it impossible to knit more than 2 rows at a time max, and lately my hands are cramping less than halfway through 1 row.

I've started 2 new scarves and finished both of my old scarf projects. The aqua toned one curls quite a bit being mostly in stockinette, and I've been debating whether I should felt it. I really have no idea how it would felt - if the width would shrink more than the length or vice versa. But I'm learning towards felting it with the curling.

The near permanent dirt under my fingernails

I haven't been doing much knitting, as when the AC goes on, I feel wasteful knitting under a blanket. I have been gardening, though the rain and recent temperature spikes haven't cooperated. My irises were gorgeous this year, with a couple of colors I didn't remember showing up well. Grass though has been a hard to get out weed in my flowerbeds, only really sprouting in my perennials, and they are loving my creeping phlox. I did make an attempt to kill all the grass in the phlox on my corner bed, but only succeeded in killing the phlox. :(

Spring Clean Up

I'm not sure how most cities and towns do this, but in my town there are 2 big trash days a year - Spring and Fall Clean Up. That week all sorts of big items are put on the curb, garages are emptied of the junk, and the recyclers drive by slowly. It's funny, there is a rather long list of things that are banned like a/c, dehumidifiers, and the like - but you can put them out anyway as anything metal tends to be grabbed up within hours of being on the curb.

I thought perhaps there would be less people this year - as the cost of gas is so high that it might rival the amount they get for scrap - but all through the night the sounds of slow passing trucks continued, though the day crowd had already grabbed up the metal from our shed clean out pile. (That's the creepy part, the after dark scroungers.)

Of course, after it is picked over, there is still the question if the garbage men will actually take it all, and a bit of a cheer when they do. Because sofa cushions that may have seen the 60s, and belong to nothing, really don't need to be in a shed.