Knitting: On the Needles and In the Baskets!

A Sand and Sea shawlette. I'm using Habu silk lace - awesome! I'm determined that this pattern will help me get over my aversion to short rows!

This is a gift for the holidays and I know I will be sad to se it go. I anticipate leftover yarn though so I may get a little something for myself out of this silk!

I went to Knit City last weekend!! Greatest thing ever.

And I was number 48 in line, so I was able to score a Fabulous Swag Bag!!

(Thank you, Faire, for patiently waiting with your mom for an hour in line before the event opened so she could score said swag bag. And for enjoying the Knit City as much as your mom and asking to return the next day. You enabler, you!)

Plugging away on my Wisteria sweater. I can't wait to be warm and cozy in it! I have finally signed up for the sweater knitalong at luvinthemommyhood to provide some incentive to finish this, even though holiday gift knitting looms over me!

My beloved yarn purchases from Knit City: Four skeins of Madelinetosh (one Pashmina, two Tosh DK, and one Tosh Merino Light), one skein of Malabrigo sock, and a three-skein set of fingering from We Will Tell You All of Our Secrets (the lovely Caitlin at Baaad Anna's)

None of these will become gifts for others. Just sayin'. ;)

Got my hard copy of the book Pacific Knits, which I had already bought digitally. And I scored an advance copy of Island!!!!! By Jane Richmond! Five patterns all inspired by life on the Island. Anyone who knows me will know that my own love for Vancouver Island is boundless. One day, I will live there. Some of the skeins in the basket above will be used in these patterns. I'm deliberately not winding the skeins into balls so that I am forced to do some gift knitting first!

My easy-access yarn stash is a mess. Today I will figure out what is being used over the next few months, wind it into balls if need be, and put the rest away in the craft room stash area.

Canning: A Typical September Weekend

Ahhh, September.

All my children went to school this year, something that I still find unbelievable!

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the often-repeated question posed to me: "Wow, what's it like with no kids all day??" I'm sure many of them really wanted to ask me when I was going to get a "job"! But that is a post for another day. Ahem.

Mainly, I filled the September days the way I always do - in the kitchen, often with my sister-in-law Kyla, standing over a canning pot! Even though we have go it down to a fine art, it still wipes me out by the end of the month. At this point, I am okay not seeing a fresh tomato for a while. At least not one that I have to peel anyway!

Once I add everything up, I will post my canning yields for the year. There is always more over the next few months, but not major undertakings like in September. I wrote it down last year and it was fun to check back this summer and see what all I accomplished. I wish I had posted it, because now I need to hang on to that paper list!

Until then, a few glimpses at what surrounds my family during this busy, busy month...

For school, Shea had to make an About Me page. Under his mother, he wrote "busy in the kitchen"!! Not surprising right now!

When we run out of space inside, the jars get "downgraded" to the back porch! 

**Now that it is October, and life is settling in somewhat, all these jars have found new homes for the year in our cold room, or kitchen cupboards. What a big job that was!