We’ve been going through an insane heat wave here that has made this autumn seem like the dead of summer. The mercury is slowly lowering and evenings and mornings are again becoming more enjoyable with sweatshirts and cozy blankets. Last evening I tried on the Barn Sweater I’ve been knitting only to find out that it’s a size too small. Oh! So tonight I will be pulling it back out and knitting it up a size. It’s a nice pattern with a subtle play between garter and reverse stockinette stitch that I like very much, so I don’t mind reknitting. As much as I enjoy the challenge of knitting lace and cables, what I enjoy wearing are more simple patterns. I’ve worn my boxy sweater countless times and that is a simple stockinette sweater.

As for reading I’ve been slowly enjoying The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharpe. If you are a creative person or someone who strives to be more creative, this is a great book. She explains her hardworking daily creative habits and organizational habits and combines it with exercises you can do to think and act more creatively. You’ll like this book, I do. Ever since the children have been back in school, getting into new routines for myself has been a priority. Twyla stresses that creativity and new ideas don’t descend upon you like divine inspiration, but by the result of daily habits towards refining your craft. I like her viewpoint.

Lastly, above is a photo of my niger hollyhock dyed fingerless gloves. As a busy mom, who always needs to tie shoe laces or wipe crumbs & jam off faces while rushing to the car first thing in the morning, I need my fingers free. These quick knitting fingerless gloves are fantastic. These gloves are a mixture of two different niger hollyhock dyed wools. The cuffs being a soft thinner store bought wool, the mid section being from my neighbor’s sheep, and the top section is an iris dyed yarn done at the time of my fair isle sweater. They are my spring flower dyed gloves to keep my winter chilled hands warm.

Last Friday night I went to go see the David Rawlings Machine at beautiful Gundlach Bundschu with a good friend. She was my partner in crime in diving into natural dying. As we watched the sun set, drank wine, and waited for the band to begin, we talked about the romance of hand dying yarn. It’s true, you can buy more luxuriously dyed yarn in the stores, but you can’t buy the stories you get when you dye with plants you’ve grown or found, or picked while traveling.