I’m home, after a week filled with north country hiking, Quebec snowshoeing, catching up with a friend who makes incredible lemon meringue pie in Montreal, and even working on a sock by the woodstove, glass of wine in hand, with a fellow knitter. Much french bread was consumed, and many kilometers were walked/hiked/snowshoed. Thus, success. The prospect of returning home was made a bit easier by the sight of these two:

My brother was kind enough to come to town to house-sit and hang out with Boh. Looks like they had a good time. Also, since this space purports to be about knitting, here’s that sock I mentioned:

It is the first sock of a second pair of Thuja, knit with a 48 st cast on. These are for my uncle — I wrapped the yarn for him to open on Christmas, but I wanted to measure his feet before beginning these. Nobody likes to receive (or knit!) socks that don’t fit.

Must go check on the pie in the oven — 09 knitting goals coming soon…

Hilary of The Yarniad just posted some photos of our real-life rendezvous, and I must say, I’m blushing. It’s truly wonderful to get a chance to engage on a multi-dimensional, human level with people you know through your computer screen. In conclusion, hooray for knit-blog friends! Thanks, Hilary! I’m already looking forward to next time.

Here’s a cute dog picture for good measure:

P.S. If you don’t read Hilary’s blog, you should. Her knitting is always inspiring. Exhibit A: Her Julia Livilla Cardigan.

I am really enjoying this — the recipe format of the pattern makes me feel like this is really moving along. I’ve finished the initial decreases, and am about to begin the increases (again). I snapped this picture because you can see the wavy-ness that indicates that I’ve done a bit of frogging. I did 4 of the increase row pairs using a basic M1 — lifting that strand between the stitches, and there is just no definition. I think I’d prefer to make these increases look like those on a top-down raglan, as it looked a bit funny to have my seam just disappear after the decreases. Things like these remind me of how much I am learning each time I work on a project. Last year at this time, I would not have even considered sliding 106 fingering weight stitches off a circular, ripping back, and putting the stitches back on the needle — no matter what the reason. Today, the decision to rip back was a no-brainer: I can make this look better. Why wouldn’t I frog 10 rows and start again? As I begin graduate school next week, I think I am going to particularly appreciate how visible progress and growth are in something like knitting, as I think my own learning and development as a scholar and teacher will be harder for me to see while it is happening.

I’m treating this transition time before school (eek!) starts like an extended weekend. Not quite vacation, as I’m getting a lot of things done, but like a really good Saturday. I’m crossing things off lists (purchase and assemble composter, problem-solve the not quite cold enough fridge, do laundry, organize recipes, etc.) but also doing things I love: cooking, running, catching up with dear friends and, of course, knitting. Yesterday I finally made my own granola, using this basic formula from The Kitchn.

I also cast on for my first-ever BSJ:

I’m using a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in the Strange Harvest colorway. I managed to get gauge (6 st per inch) using a size 4 KnitPicks harmony circ. The slightly larger than standard needle seems to be giving the fabric a nice drape. Despite my ownership of multiple EZ books, this is my first attempt at one of her recipes — so far so good! I’m not sure which baby this will be for, as, off the top of my head, I count at least 3 children who should be joining the ranks before snow falls this year. Speaking of snow, it is probably time to start planning my holiday knitting…

You guys are great. Thank you for all of the kind comments and happy thoughts you sent my way this week. Some dear friends came to town for the funeral (all day yesterday), and while the circumstances were terrible, it was so nice to catch up in person.

No knitting to share just yet — I was a bit too frazzled this weekend to focus on anything but a few rows of a basic dishcloth.

I snapped this photo early on Friday. (Can you still say “snapped” if it is digital?) Morning light is my favorite, and I particularly love to wander this place while all (or most) are still sleeping…

Boh and I are housesitting this week, so hopefully I’ll have a range of gorgeous sunrise shots to share with you. This also means that we are playing with 2 more dogs and a cat. I made absolutely no knitting progress yesterday, but there is some good news: I woke up hungry for toast today! Hoping I will be craving coffee soon — a sign that I’m on the mend.