October

October 6, 2015

I sit at my desk looking out at the pine forest dappled with the bright orange and yellow colours of fall. Today we filled the new woodshed with wood for the stove in the greenhouse. I pulled the mature bean plants and beans and put them to dry in the greenhouse along with the popcorn cobs. Slipping on cozy wool sweaters in the morning is easy now and they make sitting on the deck, in the morning with my coffee, comfortable and relaxing.

Since opening The Twisted Purl I have been knitting incessantly. Testing and exploring all of the yarns that have shown up. Right now I am working on a beginner knitter baby sweater, a beautiful lace cowl, my Noro yarn heart square blanket, a sweater with Rowan felted tweed, a beautiful hat with some New Zealand Yarn, as well as finishing off a Cowichan sweater for my son Ky. The patterns pile up tempting me to begin more. I really love this opportunity to be so immersed in knitting and yarn. There is something about focused, slightly obsessive behaviour that brings out much learning for me.

Last week our inaugural Learn to Knit Class finished their first 4 weeks. What a delight it was to watch the group get connected to knitting in a way they hadn’t explored before. There was dish cloths knitted, shawls, scarves and a hat completed. I am honoured that the people in the class showed up to learn with us. Thanks for trusting and being a big part of our beginning.

The pattern that is inspiring me today is one I found in this months Vogue Knitting magazine. On page 38-39 there is a pattern for a traditional fishermans watch cap. Knitted with a trio of traditional gansey patterns it is a great hat for an adventurous beginner. If you are an adventurous beginner and would like to join us on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm. For the next 4 weeks we will explore making this pattern.

Warm wool tuques, comfortable  caplets, wraparound scarves and slippers are all part of getting ready for the winter. I look forward to helping you get ready for your winter.

Kathleen