Rainy days

The weather has definitely turned fall-ish here in the Pacific Northwest. While the summer was not all together warm, the nights are now in the low 50's with an occasional upper 40. On Labor Day the rain set in. At the moment I love it. The smell of new rain and the turn of colors is the best in my opinion. Fall has long been a favorite season of mine. Truthfully I tend to adore each season as it approaches but fall has a special place. It's a time to finish up canning, enjoy fresh greens from the garden again and a season in which I don't feel guilty sitting down to the sewing machine, spinning wheel or knitting needles.

In the kitchen I've been working on putting up more peaches, pears and apples. Produce seems to be a bit late this year, most likely due to the cooler summer, and I didn't have much of a choice when it came to apples. In a few more weeks I'll head back to obtain more apples. While I have plenty of applesauce and preserves I still need to put pie filling in the freezer and plan on canning apples like you would peaches or pears.

On the handiwork front I need to finish the Mister's quilt. I've decided to hand quilt it and while it's all sandwiched up, I still haven't begun. I also need to finish sewing together his sweater, work on socks (there are always plenty of socks to work on), a quilt for a special someone and other goodies. In the fall my mind runs rampant like it does in the spring about the upcoming garden.

I have picked up a new passion. Hand spindles. I've used my spinning wheel off and on over the last 6 years. It has always been a pleasure to spin up fluffy wool, turn it into yarn and knit something with it. After being intrigued for a while with the idea of a hand spindle I picked one up last September. I didn't take to it. Who knows why. It wasn't difficult. It just took time, something I'm not very useful with yet. During the course of the last year the beautiful purpleheart spindle sat with braids of roving. A couple weeks ago the Mister was in Chicago on business and for whatever reason I picked up the spindle. The kids and I headed north for the weekend with the spindle in tow. The portability is alluring. Oh my. Love. Complete love. Perhaps more love than what I have for the spinning wheel. It's portable. Compact. My wheel is the Ashford Traveller which, to me, does not travel very well at all. With the wheel there are steps to getting set up. With the spindle all I need is fiber, spindle and 2 hands. The most exciting aspect to the spindle is that my little ones can spin. Little Miss has asked repeatedly to be able to do so and once I can get to the craft store to purchase a dowel and wood car wheel I will be happy to oblige. I love that my little ones will learn the crafts of old. It's a romantic idea to me. It seems to put us in touch with the past, in touch with the natural world around us. This pay period saw money left over from the grocery allotment. With some of the extra I put in a request with Mike at the Spanish Peacock for a custom cedar Victorian spindle. I received a note from him today that it is ready to be on it's way to me. Oh the joy!

So, if needed, I can be found working around the house, in the kitchen canning or sitting in a favorite chair with handiwork in hand.