November? Really?

So much for the discipline of sticking with a journal. Twins win? My last entry was Twins win?! Where did that month go? It's not like I haven't been doing anything. Honest.

There have been the usual "winter is coming" chores to take care of: cleaning out the garden, storing the porch furniture, raking leaves, etc. Both sunny days that we had in October (not an exaggeration , by the way) were filled with that kind of fun. (We even had two measurable snowfalls during October. Doesn't Mother Nature ever get tired of proving Al Gore is an idiot?)

Lots of hours have been spent with some volunteer work that I enjoy doing at church. It's satisfying to get back into the routine, but at the same time, a little overwhelming catching up after sloughing off over the summer months.

We even got a chance last weekend to drive to the North Shore. Even though most of the leaves were off the trees that far north, we did enjoy hiking. Nothing is better than that spicy fall air in the damp woods.

And I've gotten some knitting projects going. Months ago I bought Elise Duvekot's book, Knit One Below. (Free pattern available on the web site.) There was so much buzz about this book when it first came out that I just had to give the technique a try. Finally, this month I bought the supplies for the felted bag pattern. It was a quick project and definitely got me excited to try some of the other patterns. This technique appeals to me because it's a way to do color work by only working with one color on any given row, and it can be worked into multiple effects.

I've been knitting a long time, and it's always exciting to try something new, especially something new that's challenging. Even this simple bag pattern took some effort, and I practically broke out in a cold sweat when I had to frog back on a row. Once I got the hang of it though, I got more confidence. I'll be coming back to this book.

Another fun little project was the Chic Knits Mondo Cable Cap KAL. I had purchased a couple of patterns from their web site and received the instructions for the cap as a bonus. The first clue arrived on the day that I had purchased a skein of Berroco's Vintage wool to test. How could I resist? I loved both the pattern and the yarn.

The patterns on the Chic Knits site are sort of traditional with a modern twist. One of the patterns that I purchased happened to be another of the Mondo Cable designs--a vest. I took the yarn and pattern with me on our trip up North, and it's almost done. I think I'll like the finished project. The knitting is pretty boring though. It was good for a road trip. Maybe some pictures by next week.

Last but not least, I finally found some acceptable buttons for my Lopi jacket. For some reason, I had it in my head that I wanted red buttons and only red buttons. No luck, so I settled for some black/brown, sort of natural looking ones. The poor old thing looks a little saggy in the photo because I've been wearing it so much. It's terrifically warm and the warm red color lends a little cheer to our gloomy weather.

With a new month I'll try and be better about keeping the habit of keeping track here. In fact, I will put up the details of a cool sewing project I found online later this week if I get the chance. An easy project for Christmas gifts.