DK the Nautical Knitter

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The title of this post really has nothing to do with the post, but how many times do you really get to use the words "Ghouls" and "Goblins"?  So, I thought it was appropriate to try to fit it in this week’s posts somewhere.  This week Mr. K and I had fun with our annual pumpkin carving.  Can you tell who’s is who’s?  Good Luck!

I really can’t wait until November 1st when I get to look in these bags and find out which of my new projects I get to start.  The response has been wonderful!  I guess this is one way that those of you who participate in my knit-a-longs can get me back.  See, I really don’t remember what is in the bags.  I remember a few of the projects that I selected, but don’t remember which bag I put which project in. 

I have decided to wait until November 1st to even look in the bags, so I will be almost as surprised as you all are when it is revealed. 

Many of you have stated that you don’t have blogs.  Thanks for voting anyway!!  Your taking the time visit my blog and participate in the fun means a lot to me.

In honor of this weeks holiday festivities, I will leave you with a photo shoot of my favorite greeting card from this time of year.  I have held on to this card for many years and it always makes me laugh.

Enjoy!

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I am having trouble deciding which of these 5 projects to start next.  So, I thought I would let you guys decide.  Vote in the poll on the left and post a link on your blog to mine, so others will vote too.  Leave me a comment on this post telling me that you did both of these things and I will pick a winner from those who follow these simple steps.  Easy, huh?

The prize will probably be some sort of yarny goodness.  I haven’t decided yet.  I can’t tell you what projects are in what bags, I have already forgotten…  But which ever one gets the most votes I will start next.  All are lace of one kind or another and none are my own design.  That is all I can offer.  Stay tuned for the results…

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We tried our hand at planting a fall garden this year.  Well, sort of.  We actually planted things we thought might produce just prior to the first frost.  Having never done this before, we were not sure what would happen. 

One thing you can pretty much grow, year round, in the Southern United States, are tomatoes.  We have always been able to produce these.  Apparently, Lettuce, Onions, and Broccoli require way more attention and cooler temperatures than we are able to provide.  So the lettuce is growing in pots inside the house and every once in a while Mr. K picks a few leaves for a salad.  The onions were a flop.  Same with the broccoli and the Brussels sprouts. 

We determined that the pumpkins and winter squashes would have done better if planted where they would get more sun.  Since we have only been in the house 2 years and this is our first (feeble) attempt at a garden, we at least were able to learn more about where the sun is shining throughout the day and which plants would do better where.

The one surprise in this experiment was the bush beans.  They are growing like wildfire.  So, perhaps over the next few years we can figure out what works in a Southern garden and what does not.  For now, I am going outside to carve the $4 pumpkins I just purchased from Wal-Mart…

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I can finally say with certainty that Fall has arrived.  The hummingbirds have all headed south and it is time to take the feeders down.  This year we had two feeders and about 10 birds constantly buzzing each other and us while fighting for the chance to get at the food.  This particular day I was changing their food and this little lady couldn’t wait for me to hang the thing.  She started buzzing me and I thought “Well, if you can get that close to my head, let’s see if you will eat from my hand.”  She did!

Although the hummers are gone for the season, we still have a lot of Eastern Bluebirds hanging around and it is quite possible that they will be here throughout the winter.  Next year we are hoping to place nest boxes in various spots on the property for the Bluebirds as well.

Now is the time we prepare for the deer sightings.  Every year we put out piles of deer corn and at night we watch, under moonlight, for the deer to come through and feast.  We don’t hunt them on this property, but there are hunters properties on either side of ours and so, the deer are constantly migrating through.  Every year, when they realize that the corn is out consistently, they come to eat on a nightly basis.

So, goodbye hummers and hello deer…

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Put them in a pot of boiling water and dye some yarn!  That is exactly what I did and now I have 1600 yards of lace weight yarn in an amazing lavender color that is just waiting to be knitted up into something special.  This was such a totally cool thing to do that I have now found a new passion, Natural Fiber Dying.  Awesome!

Stats:

Knitpicks dye your own - 2 skeins Lace weight

1 quart semi frozen, definitely inedible blueberries from the back of the fridge

Soup pot, 1 gallon water (+or-), and 2 Cups vinegar

Bring water and berries to boil.  Cook for 1 hour.  Mash and strain out the blueberries.

Soak yarn in additional water and vinegar mixture, then place yarn and water/vinegar in soup pot with blueberry water.

"Cook" another hour or until water is clear and yarn has soaked up all the color desired.

Gently rinse yarn until the water runs clear and hang to dry.

*Do not stir the yarn too much while cooking.  It will felt!

Enjoy.

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A few years ago I was gifted a lovely spindle and some purple/mauve mix fiber.  These came in a “learn to spin” kit, complete with instructions, etc…

Fast forward to present.  I have spun enough of this fiber, on this spindle, in the intervening YEARS to confidently say “I know how” and “I don’t care for spinning”.  I think I would be able to master a wheel much faster and enjoy it more, but I still don’t think that spinning fiber is the craft of choice for me.  Let’s just say I consider it well worth my $$ and my time saved to purchase a nice hank of cashmere, silk, or even alpaca that someone else has lovingly spun into luscious fibery goodness.

So, even though it may not be my thing either, I will take the rest of this fiber mass and attempt to needle felt something.  If that doesn’t work, and you happen to be a close friend or relative of mine reading this, you can probably expect a nice felted bar or two of bath soap in your Christmas packages this year.  The spindle is going on the Christmas tree as an ornament.

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is actually finishing several things in quick succession.  First off the needles we have, the Mystery Stole 3 that I started over a year ago.  It is finally complete.  I did not like the wing part of the stole pattern, so I just knit the first half twice and then Kitchner stitched the two halves together.  I was very pleased with my join on this one.  It is very hard to see where the splice is.  Here is the photo of it blocking.  Unfortunately, there will be no model shots until the recipient opens it at Christmas.

Whoo Hoo!  One Christmas gift completed, several to go….

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Yesterday Mr. K was out of town, so I sat myself down and, in addition to getting a lot of knitting done, I created several new ad graphics that will run on Ravelry ads in November.  I thought they turned out pretty good, what do you think?

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I have been waiting for what seems like forever to do this post.  In August our son Bryan was married and I did a short blog post about it.  I have been unable to post photos of the wedding because the stole that I made for his bride was the pattern for the Secret of the Stole III.  Now that the last hint has been released I can finally show you a few of the thousands of photos their “official” photographer (Mr. K) took of the nuptials.  I still cannot reveal the name of the stole, but the photos cannot wait any longer.

The above photos were taken during Sara’s bridal shoot.  She was a beautiful bride!  The ceremony (below) was performed outdoors at her parent’s cabin in Colorado.  The mountains as a backdrop made this, truly, a most scenic wedding setting.  The beauty of the mountains, trees, and lakes and, the intimate ceremony with close family and friends, made this a memory that they will forever cherish.

If you would like to see more of the Amazing wedding images that Mr. K shot, as well as his other incredible photography work, please hop over to his site at ScottFillmer.com and click on Gallery at the top of the page.  I will be revealing the name of the stole pattern in about a week with additional photos.  Fair Winds.

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