Forest for the Trees or Squirrel for the Nuts

So can you see the forest for the trees - or in this case, the squirrel for the nuts?  You might have to squint and cross your eyes a bit.  Oh - and imagine the front part of him too (which is currently missing).  This is French Country Squirrel from JBW Designs.  Like the other French Country designs it is made up of a bunch of small motifs. In this case there are a bunch of autumnal designs - the tiny squirrel is especially cute.

The weather here has been just perfect.  It has been very dry and crisp.  And - the leaves are starting to change.  Thank goodness.  I was beginning to worry that we might have a fall and winter like last year.  I don't think I could handle another Snowtober.

When picking up our CSA share at the farm last week I was chatting with a friend.  It is a small farm with a small dirt parking lot.  We were amazed at the trouble people were having driving through the parking lot because they were having to dodge the crazy squirrels and chipmunks.  We were joking around about it when the farmer walked by and asked - "Didn't we chat about the chipmunks last year?".  We had chatted about the chipmunks last year because they kept eating my cherry tomatoes.

So we all sat down and continued our chat while eating some the best apples ever.  Russell, our favorite farmer, pointed out that it was very late in the season when I was complaining about the chipmunks - late September.  The squirrels and chipmunks that we were watching in the parking lot and scampering over the stone walls were all carrying nuts or one kind or another.  Russell pointed out that the squirrels should be gathering nuts at this time of the year.  Last year the squirrels were still eating fruit (my tomatoes) at the end of September.  They hadn't switched over to nuts to prepare for the winter.  In hindsight, its pretty clear that the squirrels knew we weren't going to have a real winter.   So, if we are going to learn anything from that, I would say we're going to have a humdinger of a winter this year.  I haven't seen the squirrels gathering nuts this frantically in years.


With all that in mind, I am stocking up on projects.  I found the most gorgeous sweater pattern on Ravelry - called Fireside Sweater designed by Amber Allison.  I haven't knit anything that intricate in quite a while - but it is really beautiful.  That could very well take me all winter without doing any other projects but I fully expect to be stitching as well.  Now I am choosing my stitching projects for autumn and winter.  It is certainly easier now that so many of the fabrics that had been back-ordered for months are available again.  I am trying to decide between a big project or maybe a bunch of smaller ones.  Either way - I'm not planning anything on fabric that is very dark just in case we lose power for great lengths of time again.  It is brutal trying to see that dark linen with only a few light bulbs running on a generator.  And, who knows, we might be needing that generator again.  I'll have to see what I can come up with.

Happy Stitching everyone!
Kelly