done diddy done done done!

Happy dance, oh happy dance!  I have finally finished the Watermelon Socks!

 I think that they are adorable!  But I'm very glad that they're done so that I can work on some other knitting for a while.

Also done is my foray into quilting.

 I am definitely a process spinner.  I am usually a process knitter.  I am usually a product weaver.  I am definitely a product quilter.  I really didn't enjoy making the bag much so I won't be launching into making a king size quilt any time soon.

Both of these projects were started in July.  They only took me all of summer and most of autumn to finish.

Speaking of autumn, Dan and I loaded up the dogs and took a drive out of town last weekend.  It was the first time we have taken the Terrain out of town since we got it in March.  Yup, we have truly exciting lives.

We went to the Craven valley which is about 20 minutes northwest of Regina.

The valley was flooded in the wet spring and the water is still high in many places.

There are numerous market gardens in the valley so we stopped at one for some veggies.  There were lots of pumpkins.

Lots and lots of pumpkins!

And in case the weather was unco-operative, there were even more pumpkins inside!

Back on the flat prairie on the ride home, the setting sun peeked through the clouds.

such a lovely autumn so far

Our weather has been such a treat lately.  I can't believe that my garden is still growing strong in mid-October; usually frost has killed it by mid-September.

The dogs are happy to be outside as much as possible.  I bathed and groomed them all last week so they were ready for this photo shoot.

 "Throw the toy!  Throw it!  Put that stinking camera away and throw it!"

 "I am groomed and beautiful.  This is my best side."

 "Oh, all right.  Take the stupid picture if you must."

"So many good smells out here this time of year."

Moving indoors, I warped the 15" Flip loom with 20/2 silk using two 8 dent reeds for a sett of 16.  The weft is the Austin colorway fractal-spun laceweight handspun yarn.  It sure takes a lot longer to weave than the fluffy baby throws that I've been doing lately but I love the resulting weft-faced fabric so far.

I feel so clever when I use my fractal-spun yarns.  I really love the gradual and soft color transitions.  I have no idea how I will finish the fringe.  I've been mulling over possibly using beads.  Any ideas would be welcome.

making progress

I'm feeling like I'm making headway around here.  This is the last day of our Regina Ravelry group's Challenge Week to finish WIP's and I actually have finished or made good progress on a few things.

I finished the custom spinning of Romney/Malamute.  It's likely going to be made into a knitted bag by the recipient so I spun the singles woolen but with a fairly tight twist and plyed it quite snugly too for strength.  I then aggressively finished it with hot/cold baths and lots of agitation to bring out the halo of dog fluff before hanging to dry.  The two skeins total about 140g and 415 yds.

I also finished the Austin yarn.

 There is a whopping 1482 yds., 224g.  It seemed like I was spinning this yarn forever and the large yardage explains why.  My plan is to weave a scarf with silk as the warp and the Austin yarn as the weft to show off the fractal 2-ply.

I'm also getting the second Watermelon Sock finished more quickly than the first one.  I'm just about to start the heel.

My next pressing job is also fiber related.  All the dogs really need baths before the cold weather sets in but my hand-held sprayer attachment on the laundry tub is toast and spraying fine streams of water in every direction even with duct tape covering the cracked plastic.  Dan shopped a bit the other day for a new one and couldn't find one that didn't need to be attached to a tub shower rather than the faucet.  Hopefully something will turn up soon.  I usually get pretty wet bathing dogs at the best of time.  I don't relish the notion of the sprayer dowsing me too.

My left foot had a bad summer.  I blogged about what I thought was plantar fasciitis after the Ex.  I saw my podiatrist last week and it turns out that it was actually pain because I had torn a ligament earlier in the summer.  I had been dusting the top of the fridge by standing on a kitchen chair.  When I stepped off the chair, my foot landed on a raised dog bed that someone (probably Cooper) had moved into the middle of the kitchen and rolled my foot.  I thought I heard a snap and it hurt like all get out but I was able to put a bit of weight on it by the next day so didn't panic.  It bruised in lovely technicolor shades over the next couple of weeks but healed slowly.  My activity at the Ex was too much for the newly healed foot and it protested.  So now I am doing strengthening exercises for my foot.  The moral of the story is that housework is hazardous to your health.

Speaking of summer, it still is!  We've had marvelously beautiful weather!  I covered the garden one night in September when it froze and haven't had to worry about frost since.  I'm still getting tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini from my garden which is unbelievable for the first of October.  I made a big pot of borscht yesterday with the garden vegetables.  With weather like this, it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week.