Do I Knit?

Last week Blue Toe Spinner posted a comment asking if I knit. The truth is...I do. All the time. In fact it's pretty much all I do lately. I am either writing about knitting, knitting, or editing writing about knitting. The things I am working on, however, are for my next book, so I don't like to share them until closer to the book's release. I don't know why this is, it just is. last week I knit 2 hats, a kid's sweater, two cowls and half a shawl. So far this week...well, we'll talk about that in a minute.
The things I post here are things I am doing when I am not knitting, because all of the knitting I've been doing (until today, you'll see in a minute, promise!) has been for this book. So there's been a lot of this gardening stuff.

And there's been a great deal of canning. Some zucchini pickles, then 60 lbs of tomatoes in various forms, and most recently watermelon pickles, which were this morning.

Then there's been some cooking, in this case combining the tail end of last year's canning with a chicken I grew all by myself.

 And today there is this.

Now don't get too excited, because I am not sure what it is yet. Sock? Glove? gauntlet? I don't really know. Heck it could be a mitten for all I know. For now it's a pair of rich and luscious tubes in Spirit Trail Fiberworks Sunna (75% Superwash merino, 15% Cashmere, 10% Bombyx Silk, 100% amazing; color Vireo). Whatever it becomes it will be self-published as a pattern for sale on Ravelry and hopefully via my website as a .pdf (we're working on it. It should not be taking so long, I know, but there's so blessed much going on around here that it's impossible some days to breathe it seems).
Also, Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks is now available through the Crafter's Choice Book Club. This gave me a good giggle because they sent me an email asking me to join, and when I clicked through to see what they had for knitting books, I was greeted with my own book, right there under "Bestsellers"! Now is that good for the ego or what?
Having exorcised my excess energy on starting these amazingly beautiful Sunna babies up, it's time to return to the new book for a few days. Stay tuned - once this book is put to bed for a while I'll be right back at it. I have plans. I want to do some more self-published patterns; a bit of a change from working for other people for a while. Not that I don't love other people. I do. But I want some me time - just yarn and needles and time to play.
And about those Sunna tubes. I am willing to take opinions. Socks? Gloves? Gauntlets? Wristers? I just cannot decide!

So About that Blog I Have...

Summer here is chaotic at best, insane often, frequently over the top and always unexpected. This one has been no exception. A coyote comes every time I let birds out and eats them, sometimes before my eyes and always before I can react. We did our first slaughter of birds for resale. We've done it twice now and we're getting much better at it. The birds are not like the ones in the store. There's a difference in the meat that you can either handle, or not. I love it. I am working on the new book most of the time and inserting canning tomatoes, chicken killing, coyote watching, seeing family, gardening and life-in-general in the cracks. There are not a lot of cracks. So pictures I think for now, since it's been so long. Knitting...someday! Closer to completion of this book I will start sharing bits of it. I don't like to share while I am in the middle of the thing. It feels not right somehow. I am not sure how. Just not right. So you get life, in brief.

The hawk who harries my birds. One of, I should say. Momma had 2 this year and has managed to keep both alive.

Thud that was. He is now gone. In the end I could not eat him and in spite of my protestations against waste, he went to the coyote or some other wild thing.

Young birds on range with supervision - we've had a coyote here eating birds faster than I can grow them. I spend a lot of time bird-watching, and not the wild ones.

I think I keep chickens just for this. I love to watch them being chickens.

Armageddon. Three supers full of honey, and the extractor due here this week. The honey shall (I hope) be mine!

Beans. I love beans. I have a new (to me) variety this year called Lazy Housewife which seemed right for this year. Good call. Prolific. Stringless. Tasty. What's not to love?!

The tea jug (formerly used for racking wine), just because I like the handle.

Aidan, my Ninja Grandson. No really. He is. He's almost invisible.

 April, granddaughter, non-Ninja, all innocence.

Aidan eats corn. Somewhere there is a picture of him on this same deck eating corn, but he's about 5 years younger.

April looking pensive, or curious, or just young. Or just perfect.
Hope your summer is wonderful!