worthwhile textile

The sky has been so beautiful this week, as the weather shifts decidedly into autumn territory and the rains increase.

In the very early hours, the clouds take on a rosy cast.

Then, touched by the sun, they turn golden.

Every morning brings a heavy dew and lovely fog.

While it's still warm enough, we're both out doing yard work.

Borga loves to assist...

...and be rewarded for her "hard work."

In defiance of our chilly nights, many flowers are still blossoming in the garden...

...but I see much more of this.

I have to admit that I love seeing little bits of vibrant life out there.

The goldfinches are even more frantically and systematically stripping seeds.  Can you see all three in this photo?

I am lamentably late with my Halloween decorations, but at least I got the porch decked out with loads of pumpkins from the garden.

The windows are always cracked to let in a delightful bit of chill, and I'm frequently curled up under a quilt with a textile project.  I'm making nice progress on my red snake tapestry (design by Japanese artist Yumiko Higuchi)...

...despite Tabitha's "help."

I'm really excited about my current knitting project, a pair of cozy gloves by Scottish designer Ysolda Teague.  The circumference of my palm is usually a full two inches smaller than patterns for a "normal" adult woman's hand, so most of the gloves that I've tried to knit are floppy oven mitts on my hands.  It's not as simple as going down a few needle sizes, as smaller needles are flimsy and hard to work with, and end up painfully cramping my fingers.  I'm loathe to change a pattern, because I don't have an intuitive sense about how stitches that I make will translate in the work.  I took a chance on these gloves, though.  Instead of casting on 65 stitches with a size 2 needle, I cast on 48 stitches with a size 1 needle.  I knitted about a third of the mitten...

...but realized that it was too small.  It fit my wrist, but the design got distorted out of shape when I pulled it over my thumb.  I'm so easily discouraged that it would be normal for me to toss the project aside at this point, but I doggedly cast on again, this time on a size 2 needle.  I'm just past the thumb now and it's a perfect fit!  I can't wait to finish them up.

In summary, we are absolutely loving these chilly, rainy fall days and are making the most of them, both inside and outside.  Each of us in our own way.  :)

Have a great week!