Annushka

10.02.04 | 9:17 am
Pioneers

First some prairie news, and then the knitting news.

It rained yesterday, a good, hard, long, soaking rain, that soaked both the ground and me. Now, I need to get soil cores, and the ground has been rock hard, not having rain for a while. Friday morning we got lots of rain, so I planned to go and get the cores Saturday or Sunday, while the ground was still soft. However, I then heard it was going to freeze Friday night, and it definitely did as we are still at about 30 degrees.

If I were to wait until the weekend, the frost would have screwed up what I am looking for, so I had to go out on Friday. It worked out okay as far as getting out there, Warren was able to come with and practice jumping on and off his bike while running for a cycle cross race. It did continue to rain while we were there, and as we were heading to the car, really started to pour.

I was out walking though 6 foot tall grass in the rain, and even rain gear couldn't keep me dry. Soil samples and rain mean a lot of mud. My cores all came out perfectly, but I was still covered in mud.

It was a lot of fun, somehow, and a lot of work, but it is done, and I dried off and cleaned up fine. I can't imagine pioneer life on the prairie, not having rain suits, showers, a nice toasty lab to go back to, or being able to pick up dinner.

In knitting news, there is no mud, and the sweater pieces on my lap are cozy. The right front of the Dacapo sweater is finished! Now just the left sleeve, front, and the band around the neck and fronts. After finishing that, I set it aside for a bit to work on the flower basket shawl. It is turning out very nicely, and really shows off the colors in the yarn.

With is being chilly, I am thinking about mittens again, and I think I have enough of the Alpaca/Merino yarn for a pair of cabled/ aran gloves.

Thinking about the tartan jacket from Interweave's fall issue, and the sweater for Warren, I wonder if I could combine them, into a slipstitch pullover. It would be very dense and heavy. I might work up a few swatches and see what happens.

Right between cleaning the apartment, studying fungi, re-writing a proposal, and working. I am sure I can find time for a swatch.

If I can't, it is because I was playing with the hedgehog.