Friday Catch Up

I'm sitting at my desk this morning as I write this, with the door open behind me. The morning sun feels warm on my back and towel-dried hair, noisy Canada Geese just flew by, and I keep getting wiffs of the burn pile that's still smoldering down in the orchard. Its definitely fall around here. These sights and sounds around me tell me it's true.

Yesterday Emma and I finally broke down and carved two of the pumpkins that have been perched on our porch. For the last few years, my method of carving has involved my husband's power drill, but this year, at hte influence of Emma, we were much more traditional. She designed the faces, which I told her to keep simple, and then we carved them out. She definitely kept them simple. (and I'm still going to get some polka-dotted pumpkins out on my porch before the season ends.)

Last night I made Sour Cream Apple Pie, a recipe that alicia posted about a few weeks ago. It was so yummy and so incredibly easy. Good warm with a little drop of ice cream.

And I've been neglecting my sewing machine lately for my knitting needles. I've put down the one-button swingcoat and picked up a pattern for a baby sweater from this book by Erika Knight. I don't know why I haven't just broken down and purchased this book. I love almost every pattern in it. And I think I'm the only person that ever checks it out of the library....although I probably don't give other patrons the chance, really. I'm making a raglan sweater with three little buttons across the shoulder. The pattern calls for embroidery designs all over the sweater when you're finished....but I'll probably wait to see what is growing inside me and then decide how I'll finish it.
I'm just really drawn to my knitting lately. It is so easy to pick up, I can take it anywhere and I find it extrememly relaxing. Not to mention it doesn't require cutting and pinning and measuring, and clearing off my desk to make a space for the sewing machine....

And with all this knitting going on, Emma has been begging  that I teach her. I've really been avoiding it, because I'm pretty sure she'll just get frustrated. I've been giving her excuses like, "I have to find my big needles" or "I have to get some good yarn for you to start with". But a few days ago she cornered me with yarn and chubby needles, so the lessons began.

She can talk her way through all the steps, its just making her fingers do what her mind understands that is hard. It ends up being a bit of tag-team knitting, really.

I must pull away from this post now. I should have answered the well-known call of the chair being dragged across the kitchen floor, because my youngest just appeared around the corner --naked, with a face full of peanut butter. At least it wasn't nutella....