In The Dark...

Good Morning Everyone!

I just had to share this gorgeous photo that Adam Silverman (@wej12) posted of Sunday evening's breathtaking sunset over the Adirondack mountains. (If you love images of the moon and sun as much as I do, give him a follow, he's super talented). Especially when you compare it to the absolute Armageddon many of us experienced about 24 hours later. The rumble of thunder alerted me to pull the cushions off the porch furniture and stack them neatly against the wall. Little did I know that within moments, I would be witnessing what felt like a tornado fly overhead. HOLY SHIT was that scary! I was watching my HUGE maple trees get whipped around like blades of grass, holding my breath the entire time. Then the power went out, oh boy...I went out onto my porch to see my neighbor's powerline was underneath a tree. What I didn't see was across the street, an enormous 100 year old maple snapped like a twig narrowly missing my neighbor's house. We were very lucky, only a couple of limbs came down, I was thankful to see that 4 of my cushions blew off the porch and were nestled in the bushes. We did need the rain, but WOW WAS THAT INTENSE!

Of course I was immersed in my knitting when the lights went out, UGH!! Nothing mindless, that would just be convenient. I am working on the latest KAL, Antipodes by Andrea Mowry. I was finished with the "mindless" 4 inch section of stockinette, deep into the charted colorwork. Despite having a rechargeable floodlamp-like flashlight, it was annoyingly too bright (first world problem I know). Lucky me, I had my little headlamp power pack all charged up, VIOLA, let there be light! It was the perfect solution, I could easily see my chart and my knitting without getting blinded. The only drawback was having a hat on which made my head (and me) a lot warmer than I wanted, especially since my fan was no longer operational. So there I was sitting in a halo of light, knitting and listening to my book (Airpods were at 19% lol). Thankfully, the power was restored in a matter of hours, very thankful for that. Now I'm sitting in my kitchen writing this being serenaded by a symphony of chainsaws, let the fun begin, CLEAN UP! I just watched the third dump truck go by full of tree debris, holy mess...

What I'm really grappling with today is just how quickly summer is going by. This is the first year that I will not be doing "Back To School" shopping, I can ignore the ads and the sales. It's approaching the middle of August, the sweet corn is ready and DELICIOUS, blueberries have been picked and strawberry season seems like last year. The signs are all there, it will be Fall soon (my favorite season) and before you know it, snow will be falling. I have made space for the beautiful new yarns that will be arriving from Lang. The selection of baa ram ewe Coast and Woodnote dk have been very popular as has the Edition 3 by Schoppel Wolle. Emma is doing a test knit and decided to work with the Woodnote dk held with Berroco Aerial, it's STUNNING! If you're looking for a new project, it's not too late to join the KAL (official cast on date is August 22). I am enjoying this project a lot, it is perfect for a KAL, it utilizes several techniques that you may not get to use frequently. I learned how to do a different version of a provisional cast on using Purl Strings, for example. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of keeping the skillset sharp and the mind/body strong, god knows I try, I just keep the hands and body in motion...

If the KAL is just too much to add to your queue, the August Hats of the month are worth considering. I offered (2) knit versions, one features a Latvian braid and color work. The other one starts at the top, increasing to the brim and incorporating an adorable Paw Print cable. If you've been curious about creating a Latvian braid, but are afraid of it, don't be, it's surprisingly easy to do. The yarn is worsted weight, much more manageable and forgiving than using a fingering (which I just did). The Always By Your Side hat uses sport/dk Lanas Light or Woodnote dk would be perfect. I'm going to cast this one on and attempt to add an OWL cable for very obvious reasons. I've knit a hat with owl cables before, I'm hoping I can figure this out, stay tuned....

We will be meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day and I'll see you soon!

Katy