Poised on the cusp between Summer and Autumn, these are some of our most pleasant days — gray mornings and temperate blue-skied afternoons.  Our late afternoons are brighter than ever as the sun slides along at eye level now instead of plummeting from its summer noontime zenith — but then it slips below the treetops before I quite expect it to and the birds flutter about in surprise as well.  Summer is waning, but Autumn is patient and polite yet, whistling cool winds in the wings awhile longer.  Her time is coming.

So there is wool in my knitting bag again.  

In the form of my rapidly growing “Soldotna Crop” by Caitlin Hunter — a short-sleeved circle yoke pullover that will be perfect on its own for early Autumn and then can layer under a jacket when the weather gets chilly.  This is so much fun to knit!  

Another fun piece (tho not wool, but a nice heavy cotton which will suit early Autumn well) is the “Chalice” shawl from Paulina Popiolek (Quince & Co pattern and yarn).  In a raisin-y burgundy hue — which will go with everything in my Autumn wardrobe. (The photo does not do justice to the color — it is a richer, browner tone in real life!)

And then there is the ubiquitous wool vest — a wardrobe staple I have been missing for too long.  This one is not exactly a quick knit — at 345 stitches a row!  But the pattern is straightforward and the stitch pattern is a simple waffle (one row alternating knit and purl stitches and then plain knitting on the next row) — so if I can just keep it in my hands every waking moment that I am not knitting something else (or driving or washing dishes or typing a blog post….) there is hope that it will make its Autumn debut.  It is Pam Allen’s Tern Vest — and, again, in Quince & Co yarn.   Wool/silk blend with the right bounce for the stitch pattern.

It is such a blessing to have these patterns available— especially when I am in a “wardrobe building” frame of mind.  As a designer myself, I appreciate the vision and careful work that goes into these patterns.  Could I design similar pieces myself?  Probably (tho I readily admit that I have more shawl-designing experience than sweater-designing expertise)  But someone has already figured it all out!  That is like a gift of time for me — and well worth the prices of the patterns.  There has been a lot of chatter about pattern prices in the knitting world lately and I can say without hesitation that I would pay twice what I do for patterns of this caliber.  The fact that I can knit useful garments with confidence makes it possible for me to consider handknits as wardrobe staples.  

So, the Autumn knitting commences!