The garden is pretty well finished for the year and all that remains are a few broccoli and cabbage plants that have been happily growing despite the frosty nights here. I am nearly finished canning garden produce as well, having only the frozen tomatoes that I need to turn into sauce left on the list. The days now have more time to devote to other things and I have recently begun to crochet again.
My current project was a request from a coworker. They wanted a thick blue scarf and I had just the perfect bright sky blue yarn just waiting to become something. I am using a double crochet stitch worked in rows to make a nice thick and even fabric for the scarf. Once I get it long enough I will finish the edges and add fringe to the ends. I think its going to be a nice warm addition to a winter lifeguard's wardrobe.
Other coworkers and friends have begun to make requests for hats, slippers and other things, so my project list is growing. The best part of people making special requests is that I get to make something for someone that is uniquely theirs. I have never made the same hat twice and now that I can spin and dye my own yarn I can cater to special requests of color or material for a project. The only real limiting factor is time. Fortunately with the yard work slowing down to a bare minimum I will have lots more time to devote to my craft.
Last year I completed my goal of downsizing my yarn stash as much as possible. I made hats with partial skeins left over from previous projects and happily increased my hat inventory with no additional cost to me. This gives me plenty of space to restock my yarn stash with both store bought yarns and yarns that I spun myself. I have a feeling that most of my spinning will take place after the holidays when gift requests have died down for the year. My goal is to finish spinning all of the roving that I have so it will be ready for any projects that I come up with along the way. I would also like to take my bags of alpaca fiber to a local mill to have it cleaned and made into roving. The cost for this is a bit prohibitive right now, but it is something that I have been wanting to do for years. Having the fiber doesn't do me much good if I can't spin it into yarn.
The winter is just creeping in, but with the coming cooler weather comes hours of time for quiet, busy projects indoors. I have many hopes for what I can make this season, though I know that it won't be long before spring garden planning will begin again. In the mean time I will use my creativity to share warmth and comfort with the people in my life.
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