Practically Perfect in Every Way

You know how some days you feel good just to be alive?  This has been one of those days.

First, there’s the weather.  We’ve had a real mixed bag lately, alternating between sun and clouds and pouring down rain.  Today there is not a cloud in the sky, with just the hint of a soft breeze. 

I mean, there’s no other way to describe it other than soft.  I sat out on the swing this afternoon and was struck by how the light touch of the breeze felt neither cool nor warm, just soft.

Meanwhile, the air has been continually filled with the sound of birds chirping and chittering.  The feeders are a buzz of activity these days.  I’m used to seeing house finches, chickadees, house sparrows, and Stellar’s jays year round but I’ve recently spotted many of my favourites, including juncos, white-crowned sparrows, towhees, bush tits, and flickers, returning from their summer grounds.  The goldfinches are still hanging around but are wearing their winter colours and will soon be migrating south.

  

I also woke up this morning with a sense of satisfaction.  Last night I finished the first pair of what I am dubbing “the Alaska socks”.

The yarn for this pair was bought at Mission Street Arts & Fibers in Ketchikan.  It’s Bear Feet by Raven Frog Fiber Arts in the “Northern Lights” colourway knit into a basic stockinette sock.

Ketchikan was our last port and Raven Frog was the only yarn left on my souvenir list (I’d already purchased yarn from two other Alaskan dyers in Juneau and Skagway) but, truth be told, there wasn’t much of a selection so I chose what I thought was the best of the bunch.  I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the bright, neon green and purple bits but when I began to knit I was pleasantly surprised with how they knit up in predictable spirals against the navy background.  And with its cashmere content the yarn is oh, so soft.  I am going to enjoy wearing these this winter.

I also finished another pair of socks yesterday afternoon.  Two in one day—not bad, huh?

  

These are “Archery Socks”, the second installment of Chrissy Gardiner’s CSK.  We’ve been gearing up for October’s sock, featuring yarn from The Unique Sheep’s Gradiance Collection and got our first glimpse of the pattern today.  Instead of simply knitting the shades from light to dark along the length of the sock, Chrissy has designed a sock that combines the shades from either end of the gradiance in a colourwork pattern.  As much as I’d love to jump right into this one I’ll have to wait until I receive my yarn order from The Unique Sheep, which probably won’t arrive for a couple of weeks. 

What did arrive on my doorstep and added to today’s perfection was my goodie bag from the CSK, which was awarded to the first 100 members to sign up.

     

Besides a canvas bag, we received all sorts of goodies, including a needle case, a couple of yarn samples, a sock-blocker keychain kit, a scarf pattern, a stitch marker, a ruler/needle-gauge, notepads, pens and a pencil, a button, and a box of yarn-themed gift cards.

As if life wasn’t good enough, it is about to get even better.  On Monday afternoon we are setting sail on a two-day cruise to San Francisco, where we will spend three nights before heading home on Saturday.  My sister and brother-in-law, Alison and Stan, are traveling with us and we are all looking forward to exploring the city, touring Alcatraz, and going on a Napa Valley wine tour while we are there.  San Francisco is one of those cities I’ve wanted to revisit so I am very excited to finally get the chance.  Cross your fingers that the good weather there holds.

BTW, Hallett’s Ledge is back on track.  I’ve finished the sweater body but I’ve had to put it on hold for the time being while I work on some gift knitting.  I’m hoping to get back on the ledge before too long.