Rambling in the Woods

Some people like to carve pumpkins.

Some people prefer to knit.

We only got about 5 cms of snow, not even close to the 15 cms that was predicted. Although I still enjoy the magic of the first snowfall, I am glad it won’t stay because that would make for a very long winter. This was enough snow, and it is staying long enough for us to admire the way a bit of snow can change the way things look:

It also gave us a chance to bundle up to the point of being unrecognizable.

And enough snow for a snowball fight:

We have had some pretty frosty mornings but at least it is just frost and not snow. I like the way the frost outlines the edges of things.

I have been a fan of Kaffe Fassett for a long time so when I heard a rumour that he had his partner Brandon Mably were coming to Perth to give a workshop and lecture I had to call the local yarn store to find out if the rumour was true. It was. Knowing that an opportunity like this would never happen again I booked myself a spot. Last Thursday the workshop was held at the Perth Manor. This is a building that I have long admired but never had a reason, or excuse , to enter. It is lovely. Kaffe Fassett is known in the knitting world as a master of colour work. Although colour work is not my favourite knitting technique I do admire it when it is done well. The problem is that doing it well is difficult and intimidating. However, Kaffe Fassett’s enthusiasm for colour and contempt for the colour wheel is infectious. His point is that if you ignore colour theory and use your instincts you will come up with a pretty exciting result. The workshop was led by Brandon Mably who began by telling everyone to dive into the pile of yarn that was on the floor and tie strands of colours of light value together and roll them into a ball. Then tie strands of a darker value together. Then knit those strands together following a simple chart and see what happens. The trick is to ignore the actual colours but focus on the value.

The workshop was about six hours long which included lunch (I know you’re wondering – grilled chicken, couscous salad and an apple and pear tart for dessert). After those six hours I had this:

This swatch measures 11×17 cms and contains approximately 990 stitches and 33 colours. It is quite possibly the slowest knitting I have ever done but I am quite confident that I mastered the technique for weaving in the many yarn ends that accumulate as you knit with so many colours.

When you look closely you can see the odd pairings of colours which I think was the point of the exercise. I still don’t think I am a convert to colour work but I did learn a lot.

Since I am a true knitter and have my priorities in order, I did not take a picture of Brandon Mably but I did get a pretty good shot of his vest:

This dahlia has been hanging in there despite some pretty frosty temperatures.

I spent quite a lot of time admiring the pale pink petals and the yellow beads in the center. Several days later I noticed it again.

This time it was the way the early morning sun shone through the petals that caught my attention. When I leaned over to take a look from the other side I was surprised to see a bee that had been caught out after the temperatures fell. It was in some sort of stupor from which it awoke as it was warmed by the sun. But look what had happened to those little beads in the center. They had burst open and released their pollen. The bee had noticed this, but I would have missed it.

At the risk of sounding silly or sentimental, isn’t it amazing the things that are going on all around you that you can so easily miss?

I admit defeat. After pickling and canning so many cucumbers that the smell of vinegar makes my stomach turn I am ready to say that I was outdone by an abundance of cucumbers. I have made dill pickles (sliced, whole and quartered) bread and butter pickles, spiced cucumber rings, lemon zingers and relish. Well, someone else made the relish, but I was very supportive. All the time a little voice kept telling me that there are not enough years in a lifetime to eat so many pickles and eventually that voice became too loud to ignore. The rest of the cucumbers, which were really past their prime anyway, were thrown into the compost where they were enjoyed by chipmunks and raccoons. However, besides a supply of pickles that are really quite good, I learned a couple of important things:

1) there were 132 seeds in the package

2) just because you buy a package of seeds it does not follow that you have to plant the whole package

3) homemade dill pickles taste better than commercially prepared dill pickles

I am seeing circles everywhere these days. These beautiful fungi are growing on a stump:

Take a closer look:

I love the circles of gray and brown. Nearby these logs are patiently waiting to be split:

And despite frost, rain and an entire summer of neglect, this little flower is bravely blooming: