When witches go riding,
And black cats are seen,
The moon laughs and whispers,
'Tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Autumn

I cannot believe it is now mid-October!  We had a brief color change with the trees this year.  Looking at my photos, I would never think that all those lovely trees would be bare or dried up.  I managed to gather some leaves for pressing, which I later dipped in wax and gave to my Mom.  She loved it.  I put them on her table so she can look at them while she has her coffee.  She used to do that when she was a little girl, and I still cannot resist picking up pretty leaves.
Being secretary of the troop has really kept me hopping.   I made templates for the weekly announcements, the monthly parent meeting minutes, and sign-in sheet.  The weekly announcements went out on meeting night after the meeting!  Huzzah!
Knitting is progressing.  The blue vest is resting after surgery (steek-cutting) and the red vest is ready to work the fronts, as the back is almost finished.  I am making a hat as a shop sample--not sure I am crazy about the pattern, but I chose a bright greenish-yellow for the main color.  The variegated yarn is in pink, purple, orange...originally I found some purple that was perfect, but it was difficult to see the rib pattern.  The new color combination will be better.  It is a child's hat, so more color is better!
I've been going through the yarn stash and reorganizing.  Painting on the Advent banner at church has made me miss creating art other than the fiber sort.  We are so close to finishing the banner.  I must remember to take my camera when we work next time.

The felted hat is a recent shop sample I made.  I quickly
designed a hat band for it.  The pattern will follow, soon! 

Kathy gave me a bit of one of the Alpaca fleeces to
spin.  I carded and drop-spindled it. It is so soft and
spinning was smooth and easy.

Here are some photos from our brief Autumn color

I love the contrast of the bright leaves and dark trees.

It was warm, so the sprinklers were going.

Eevee takes a break under the treeless tree house.

I have apples from Kathy (from the shop) to use and also Ben has requested some Hudson Bay Bread.  Today and tomorrow will be baking days.

I can row a boat...canoe?

I know, that's pretty lame.  Jim had me renew the license for the canoe so we could go on a fun adventure yesterday.  Three canoes, six paddlers, and a gorgeous day!  We started at the dam in town and spent the day on the Mississippi River.  On our journey, we saw people fishing, three bald eagles (one in flight and two perched in a tree on one of the islands, a blue heron, lots of geese, and ducks.  Karen saw a turtle, which I missed.  As we left the residential area and approached Minneapolis, we could hear traffic, some boat traffic, and the city skyline.  A conductor tooted the horn for us as we approached one of the many bridges we crossed under.  A small paddle boat and large pleasure boat passed us and everyone waved.  As we entered the city, we went through two locks.  One dropped 50 feet and the other 25 feet.  The first one was a bit of a wait.  When approaching the opening, there is a cord to pull, which notifies the lock master someone wishes to pass through the lock.  Also, we had to wait at the traffic light blinking red until it turned green.  We have been through a lock before, but never with just three canoes!  People were standing on the bridge watching and it must have been funny to see three little canoes come through the large gates. We all joked that they looked like the Gates of Mordor opening.  I hummed the Lord of the Rings theme song.  We landed at the University of Minnesota's Boathouse and we had one of our friends meet us.  I did not feel tired until we stopped.  After loading the canoes on the vehicles, we set off for a favorite Chinese restaurant of Dennis'.  It was delicious! We got home a bit later than planned and Eevee was very happy to see us, although she was even happier to go outside! 

Driving from our house to the dam. 

Our intrepid canoeing companions paddling on the mighty Mississippi River. 

Not a bad shot from the phone camera.  It's tricky to stop paddling, balance, and click! 

Dennis, Karen, Niel, and Bennett waiting for the green light. 

Dennis and Jim keeping the canoes steady as the water level drops 50 feet.

Karen holds on and we held onto their canoe. 

The lock is quite large. 

It took eight minutes to drop 50 feet.

The second lock.

We chatted with the lock master. 

My feet! 

The gates begin to open.

On our way!

The pencil is mightier than the sword

 I usually post my knitting  here, but today I would like to post some art work.  I had a commission from a dear friend and today I finished it.  Sadly, the dog passed away, but I hope that her husband likes the surprise.  I used different pencils from H to 9B and I love the result.  Drawing is still one of my favorite forms of artistic expression.  The simplicity of the materials is ideal!  It was also nice to do a larger work.  This piece is on 18" x 24" drawing paper.  Storage of art can be a challenge, so commissions are a great way to work.

The process began at the drawing table after picking a pose. 

I adjusted the contrast of the bandanna, and then made a grid on tracing paper, sketched the portrait, and then using my window as a light table, finished the portrait on the drawing paper (moving to the large easel after getting the subject blocked in.

The finished portrait.

Class descriptions

I have my September classes on the schedule at Shepherd's Choice.  Of course, Color and Cables (renamed Color and Texture) is coming back.  Color and Texture is for students wanting to take their knitting skills beyond the basics (cast-on, knit, purl, increase, decrease, and bind-off).  The class is four, two-hour sessions and students can choose their preferred projects and yarn.  Color techniques include stripes, stranding/Fair Isle, intarsia, and embellishing.  Texture techniques include knit and purl surface designs, cables, and lace.  Projects can be as simple as a washcloth or as complex as a sweater.  One of my favorite books is Folk Vests, by Cheryl Oberle.  The projects feature many knitting and construction techniques.  I have two more projects in progress, which will bring my FOs (finished objects) from this book to five!  Vests are wonderful garments.  They add punch to any outfit and are a staple for in my wardrobe.

Vintage knitting gnomes--I love the web site

Next on the schedule is Drop-Spindling.  This is a one, two-hour session introduction to spinning wool into yarn.  It is amazing what one can create with a spindle and some wool.  Spindles are wonderful tools, they are portable and the investment is small compared to a spinning wheel.  My new class offering is Finishing School, a three-session class for finishing those pesky UFOs--picking up stitches, Kitchener stitch, seaming, blocking...etc.  Check out class offerings at Shepherd's Choice.  Stop in the shop to sign up--hope to see you in class!