My first mitten

I am not sure if I like this mitten well enough to make a second? I am also concerned I might not have enough yarn for a second mitten! I got a bit confused decreasing/tapering at the thumb tip and where the mitten comes together at the top. I am still pretty pleased with this mitten considering it was my first effort! I am using yarn from my Mom's stash!



I learned a lot about M1L and M1R increasing on the thumb gusset. This is also my first effort incorporating a second color of yarn. Maybe this lonely mitten and the lonely sock a few posts down can keep one another company?

A Great Hike!

Took a break from knitting to go on a great hike the other day. When we've been on this trail previously I've regretted not bringing my camera along. We started this hike rather early in the morning when it was cool and shady, so the lighting was not the best for photos, but I still got some good ones... so many that I had a difficult time deciding what to post. The first photo is a creek crossing. The water is but a trickle this time of year. There are about 17 or 18 creek crossings similar to this along the trail. The trail is over 2.7 miles up the mountain; 5.5 miles round trip. It's a great work out!




My photos are a bit out of order. At the top of the trail is an 1887 family homestead. The stacked rocks are all that remains of a stone fireplace. A family intended to log this area but their plans never came to fruition.



A nice jagged rock. Too bad the lighting was not a bit better!



At the top of the mountain, you find an enormous steam boiler and flywheel. (This appears to be the door to the boiler, where I imagine the boiler would be stoked with wood or coal?) It was brought here for the logging business. Just a few yards away is a patch of wild raspberries, although on this particular day the berries were all dried up. The raspberries are on some rather precarious ground right on the edge of the creek... difficult footing. We've been mindful to watch for bears when we harvested the berries in the past, although we've not seen much in the way of wildlife when we've been on this trail. By the way, the raspberries at the top of a mountain, growing wild along a beautiful creek, and after hiking 2.7 miles, DO taste much better than the berries at the grocery store. Imagine that!




I think this must be the "flywheel".



Sunlight on berries. Autumn is in the air for sure!




Three mushrooms in the shade. The lighting was poor so my camera automatically turned on the flash, which made the photo of these mushrooms look even better than in person!




Sunflowers... a nice end to a hike. Snapped this photo just before I got back in the car for the ride home. I am fortunate to live in such a beautiful area!

Emma's Hand Knit Things

Emma has quite a hand knit wardrobe. First is the baby kimono, a Lion Brand pattern found at http://www.lionbrand.com/.


This is another pattern from Lion Brand. This one is knit from the top down. I love this pattern and have made at least four or five baby sweaters using this very same pattern.



This is actually the first sweater I ever completed. It's another Lion Brand pattern. This one is in garter stitch and I am especially fond of the pocket welts. I almost skipped that part since I was intimidated, but I am glad I perservered!

A sweet hat for Emma!

Emma is the recipient of most of my knitted baby things. She was born in late August 2009, and is as cute as can be! When I went to visit her today I couldn't arrive empty handed so I gave her this hat. I was hesistant to give this hat away because I thought it might be a bit goofy looking, but it looks so much cuter on Emma's sweet little head! It's a shame to cover up her gorgeous dark brown hair, but the nights are getting cooler as autumn approaches, so hopefully this hat will come in handy. I found the pattern on http://www.susanbanderson.com/. She makes a lot of adorable things for babies!