Knitting and yardwork

I mentioned in a previous post that I had taken up knitting. To be honest, I was not very sure I would take to it well. I don't have a very domestic background and have failed with cross stitching and sewing projects in the past. However, I must say that knitting has a rather addictive quality to it. I find that I really enjoy making something, and keeping my hands busy while listening to podcasts of NPR is a very relaxing way to spend an evening. There is a very meditative quality to repeating stitches and working methodically through a pattern. I just may have found my long-lost home economics niche!

That said, here are the fruits of my labors -- I finished my first project and have some handsome slippers made of six square pieces later sewn together. My feet were convinced -- I couldn't take them off or keep staring at my handicraft all evening. One slipper is quite a bit larger than the other, but that just makes it uniquely mine!







The friend I met in Finland last weekend also brought along some inspiration from her much-longer honed knitting hands in the shape of some awesome legwarmers. I also put these on and wore them for the duration of my stay in Helsinki. Not only are they hip but they are also quite practical in a climate that can be rather brisk, even in these early days of autumn! To top it off, the yarn is from a project called Peace Fleece, blending wools from the US, Russia, and Romania. And the color of my brilliant legwarmers? Why, Baltic Blue, of course.



I will be starting another project soon -- more slippers -- and this time in a mixed yarn so that I can learn a few more tricks before I am ready to move onto other things!

My last project of the week was my yard. I just got done mowing, and I love having a bit of a yard. Although it is quite small by American standards, it gives us some green space and is a nice buffer between the back of our apartment and other shared spaces for storage. One of the tasks we have as renters is to cut the grass when it needs it. No problem. I have some serious qualifications for mowing yards (after all, I did spend a summer mowing the Hardee's grass in the middle of my hometown, amongst other projects), and I really don't mind it a bit as long as there are no snakes that might slither across the grass while I am at it. The difference here is our method of cutting the grass. We have a small bladed mower (see picture) that works just great but requires a bit of sweat to really get at the project. I rather enjoy it, but I must admit that the yard looks a lot bigger when you are making swaths without a motor. I can imagine that people back at home really would maintain smaller yards if they all maintained it this way! I think it looks great -- and I feel like I got the workout I needed for the day.