Summer's End

Jo, please don't fall out of your chair in shock that I've actually posted.

Jenkins Woodworking is back online, except I had to use our old domain name, ArtEdJe, since the Jenkins one isn't cooperating yet. I hate to think of how many orders & emails got lost in cyberspace when our host server was wiped clean by hackers.

I've drawn my tiny wood DP swords. Sock Wars awaits! Sign-ups close on Sept 8th. Join in the madness. The least you'll come away with is a new pair of socks knit by someone else. :-)

The hops are being harvested. Tall 12' rows of vines are cut down and taken to the dryers to eventually be used in beer making. The scent of hops is one I love. The season lasts such a short time that I want to gather vines dripping with the hops into my arms and bury my nose in them. Here's a small bit of vine showcasing the knit bias ready to be handsewn into place.

Aurora's bolero was finished and wrapped in time for her birthday. I stayed home from church knitting the biased bands for the cuffs. That part turned out very well. Can you see the black knit bias around the front/neck and sleeves of the bolero? Time consuming for this slow knitter but so worth it. The twisted stitch in the middle of the band helps it to fold neatly, the increase at one edge of every other row with a corresponding decrease of the same row at the other edge makes the knit biased. I found a copper button and made the icord for the closure. I'm not happy with the raglan sleeves! I really should rip the seams but they were ripped and reset once and I'm afraid the woven fabric is too delicate to withstand another ripping. Fortunately Aurora loves it! The body was woven from navy chenille with subtle stripes of handspun wool and silk. I'd originally planned the jacket in wool but had a hard time finding any finger weight heather and the chenille cones were a great price. I really like the way the handspun wool & silk turned out. Next time I'll make a heavier gauge of yarn so it stands out better.

Last week I spent quite a bit of time playing around with spindling from silk hanks. Stay tuned: Next post will have pictures and findings as I've delved a bit deeper into the world of silk spinning.(The colors in this picture are the best representation of the bolero & silk).

Argh! Can you believe I'm sitting here posting when I could be listening to Yarn Harlot at Powells Bookstore right this moment in Portland??? Up until 4pm I'd planned to go. I'd even made arrangements to meet a neighbor from our Portland days. After all, the meeting is taking place a mere three blocks from where we used to lived! Oh those lucky hordes. My orange meetingsocks are drooping in the drawer from disappointment at not flashing for The Harlot. (Remember those socks on needles from the jury and meeting posts in July? Go ahead, look back in time and get acquainted with them.)

I'd forgotten that Ed had a meeting tonight. And I'd been to Portland with d-i-l for her last sonogram (Fascinating!) just yesterday so the thought of another hour drive to Portland, deaing with the traffic, and another late night, dimmed the outing a bit. Further darkening the picture is that I get tongue-tied and shy, and crowds are diminishing to my soul. But the nail in the tire was when Ed tried to start his pickup. Dead. As in not coughing. Don't blame it on the batteries - they're fine. The truck is old. Was old. Battered and road tired. Ed took the car.

Monday night the stars finally peered down at a couple of daft chix in sleeping bags. :-) I have a friend who's also keen on sleeping out. Her husband is in Papua for a few weeks so I whisked her away from the drudgery of everyday chores. It was so good to flop our bags on a tarp and lay there looking at the smoke tinged stars (forest fires in the mountains) and the drifting lopsided moon. After an out-of-control week the change of pace was much needed. No concerns or hassles tried to snuggle into the toasty sleeping bag with me. Nope, not under the expanse of stars. By 9:30 dew was settling everywhere. But the fleece blanket tucked into my bag and draped loosely around my head felt as cozy as a baby in a crib. I woke up throughout the night to look at the stars and the low southern moon etching its way through the black trees. I didn't want to sleep but to totally savor the night with everything in me.

A thermos of warm coffee with hazelnut creamer awaited us. Perfect! We edged carefully around trying not to smear the heavy dew into our bags or on the clothes. (We'd slept out away from the trees so we could see a larger piece of the sky.)
Blurry picture of Jane raising her cup to the morning - my dew slicked feet were wanting to dance in the grass.

Steam rising from the pond inticed me to dive in. Okay, I didn't actually dive into the water. Capering about and swimming in the early morning is pure joy. The feel of water's satin smooth coolness is invigorating and yet so soothing and calming. All too soon it was 7:30, time to head back to reality.