Foliage and Fiber Unite

First of all, congratulations to Brenda for winning my Blogiversary contest. Brenda informed me that she has been involved in that backbreaking fall ritual of stacking wood and I think she deserves some nice new yarn to sit down and knit with. If she were going to Rhinebeck, one of the Vermont vendors that she would like to visit is Shepherd's Flock, a company that makes lovely slippers. Excellent choice.

It's Vermont and it's October, which mean colorful trees and usually cooler temperatures. The trees have been changing, but the temperatures have been more typical of July than early October. While I am concerned about the unusually warm weather, I have allowed myself to take advantage of it. This past Monday afternoon, I went for a wonderful hike with Ella T. Dogg up Worcester Mountain. It was a little cloudy near the the top, but I was still able to enjoy the view in the photograph above. I have done this hike probably 5 times in the past year and, as the seasons change, it always feels like a completely different experience. Ella, as usual, was full speed ahead, zigzagging across the trail and running off the trail periodically to mark her territory.

Here is Ella considering a little bath and showing a stick who's in charge.

Inspired by the colors and beautiful sunshine of the past few weeks, I decided I would do some outside dyeing. So I gathered my 5 skeins of undyed Sylvan Spirit, which is 50% tencel and 50% wool, and set up a work space in the driveway. I used jacquard dyes, which have a very brilliant color, but muted them by overdying. I had a lot of fun playing with all that color and fiber. When I was done, I had 5 skeins of beautiful yarn (if I do say so myself). I