in season

You might not guess by looking out your window right now, but take my word for it: Knitting season has begun.  The days have gotten shorter, the mornings--at least some of them--a little crisper.  While the back-to-school season might have some people thinking of apples and woodsmoke, I am mostly dreaming of sweaters.  It is time to knit.

To be honest, I never really stop knitting.  Even in the midst of this summer's wedding madness, I was meandering through a few projects.  I haven't done anything all that exciting, though, and now it's time to gear up for the challenges and deadlines that have come to define my holiday season.

I'm warming up with a few baby projects.  I love knitting for babies because everything is small and works up very quickly. Also, babies are adorable and I've been spending a lot of time thinking about them lately...

I finished a pair of thumbless "infant mittens" in about a day.  They're cute and super-soft, but kind of boring to look at, without the curves and complicatedness of socks or "real" mittens.  Also, I don't know how practical they are.  They seem inclined to just slip off a tiny hand and fall in a mud puddle.  Maybe I should add little loops so they can be buttoned on to a sleeve...

Now I've moved on to something that, if not trickier, is certainly more time consuming: The "Organic Heirloom Blanket" from Hadley Fierlinger's Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.  I'm already one skein in, and it doesn't show signs of ending anytime soon.

It's slow going, but it will be darling when it's finished.  Then I'll have to go through the somewhat painful process of deciding whether to keep it or give it away to some deserving little baby.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

And once knitting season starts, it's time to host a knitting night.  I always say I'm going to be good about  having regular meetings, but this year, I'm sticking to it.  If you're in the Seattle area and would like to knit with friendly folks, let me know.  We'll invite you, too!

Happy knitting season, everyone!  Hopefully, there will be plenty of projects to share with you in the weeks to come...