Where we finally get to the knitting stuff

So here's the little pumpkin with the blanket I knitted for her. It was done in acrylic baby yarn that came from -- where else -- my LYS, Walmart. Seriously, folks, the nearest real yarn store is about 80 miles away. Anyways, the acrylic will do well for the baby, since it probably will get washed aplenty. It was done in a chevron pattern I found in a 2003 magazine, "Country Afghans", using size 6 circs. I hadn't used circular needles in many, many years and I didn't think I would like it. And to be honest, I didn't like it all through this afghan. But more experience with circulars has started to convert me away from straights, especially great long monsters that seem to hook on the arms on my chair, my belt, the cat, or anything else foolish enough to get close. But to get back to the afghan, I used nearly three Walmart sized skeins to knit this, and after I felt it was long enough, I crocheted a lacy edge on it that you can't see here. I am told by her mother that they usually keep the afghan on the back of the nursing rocker when it's not in use, and the little one tangles her fingers in the crocheted edging while she nurses.

I did like the pattern in this afghan, and might use it again. But I've ordered the pattern for the Estonian Lullaby Baby Blanket from Patternworks, and I'd like to try it in the Cotton Fine rather than wool or acrylic. At the moment, though, I've got four other WIP's on the needles (Christmas is coming, as if we all needed reminding), and it will probably have to wait awhile.

Mondays are for hiking

...or anything else we want to do. For many years the old man and I have not had a day off together, due to our different work schedules. But now we have Mondays off together and it's become our day to hike or do anything else we want to do. This Monday we decided to go looking for the fall color in the mountains. We took a six mile hike in the Huachuca (wa-CHOO-ka) Mountains, southeast of Tucson. Specifically, we took the Carr Peak Trail, three miles up and three miles back down. It took us two and a half hours to get up to the peak. The trail is pretty narrow in spots and in some places the footing is a bit tricky. Besides that, it has been a couple months since we have done any hiking in the mountains, so the old legs were just a tad out of shape. But it was all worth it to get rewarded with a view like this.

And introducing...

In celebration of figuring out how to get a picture posted, I give the honor of the first picture to our newest pumpkin, granddaughter Veronica Kathleen, 09-28-05.

And yes, there has been baby knitting going on, with a passion -- more on that later, along with pictures, of course!

Time to get my feet wet

Well, it's finally time to jump off the dock, get into the water, take the first step on the trail, etc., etc. After spending a few months reading dozens of those amazing knitting blogs out there, I've finally gotten the courage to create my own. I've been hesitating because, even though I knit as much as time allows, I know I can't keep up with many of those super-knitters out there. But, hey, I finally realised that it isn't about output -- it's about sharing and having fun and learning a lot and making friends. So hello, everyone out there!