Philosophe

Another WIP defeated. Still three left to finish and then it's onward to other things. Here's Voltaire in all his green glory. I found out, much to my chagrin, that 220 yards of Cascade is only half a scarf; the rest is Handpaintedyarn.com Colonia. Yum.

Candide, ou L'Optimiste

I got the autumn issue of Interweave Knits yesterday and can't decide whether I'm thrilled or disappointed. The majority of the patterns in it are sweaters, with the odd sprinkling of hats and one or two pairs of socks. Most of the sweaters don't really do anything for me, but there are a couple I might someday decide to try, like the pullover with the leafy lace insets in the sleeves and neckline. The downside is that I'll probably have to modify it somehow to make it a v-neck, or in the very least make some minor changes so that it's not the rolled, semi-turtleneck that the pattern is originally for.
I've been fairly productive recently. My list of WIPs has shrunk by three projects, so that now I've got a scarf, two shawls, and two pairs of socks to finish before the board is completely cleared. The scarf is making me want to go upstairs and see what books by Voltaire we have hiding in the study/studio/library. I seem to have miscalculated somewhere, because I'm halfway through the scarf and have run out of yarn. Zounds.. Looks like I get to start perusing KnitPicks.. again.

September Song

Wow. It's been entirely too long since my last post. There's been quite a bit going on: knitting, cheesemaking, more knitting, work... flimsy excuses all, I know, but that's the way it goes.

It's cooler today, which is a welcome change after a summer of high temperatures and humidity, and very little rain. The wind, however, is less welcome since it's making the hackberry trees throw branches and bits of branches all over the house--one surprised me last night when I came home from grocery shopping by whacking me on the head. I have a nice bruise on the bridge of my nose where it hit my spectacles.. ow. Could have been worse, though, if the chunk of wood had been any bigger. As I'm writing this, I hear sirens, which makes me wonder if something serious has been blown over or there are power lines down on the other side of town.
Last night was also cheese night. The cheese is under 15 pounds of flour so that some of the remaining whey gets squeezed out. Should be a nice batch of cheese with a gallon of goat's milk and a pint of heavy cream. The cream gives it a silkier texture almost like really firm cream cheese, and the flavor of the goat's milk makes it.. well.. it's got that sort of chevre tang. Yum. I might make bagels this evening just to have a good vehicle for the cheese.
The gray scarf is done. It doesn't really need blocking, but I'm still going to throw it in the wash after I weave in the loose ends. The cat--surprise!--insisted on lying on my lap or on the yarn, or biting the yarn and slobbering on it, and I'm guessing the person who commissioned it probably doesn't want kitty drool on it. Ick.
Spinning has been going a bit slower recently, mostly because my time has been taken up elsewhere. The tension peg for my spinning wheel is still MIA, probably because it got sucked up into the vacuum.. which distresses me greatly. It's getting to the time of year when it's cool enough to sit outside and spin, though I can do that with a spindle until our little gray cat interferes.. she loves to come and give the dangling spindle a good smack, then run away and glare at it, which she repeats a few more times before I'm forced to shoo her away. I've got several nekkid spindles, which is unusual.. especially since I've got all this lovely wool to work with. At the moment, I'm working my way through the EKF Sock Batts, the merino/tencel roving, and Sally's gorgeous BFL. I really should finish the Artisan Acre BFL, too, it's so gorgeous.. sigh. Too many choices...