Pictures.

Ok.  I took a picture of the start of the sweater I'm knitting for the KAL.  Knit ALong.  The yarn store I like to shop at now is hosting the KAL for the sweater on Ravelry.  Basically, if you join the KAL, you can get 10% off the price of the yarn if you buy it from them, which I didn't know until I was buying it.  Well, I do have a vague recollection of knowing that bit before hand, but it really wasn't a motivator.  The sweater itself is one that at first, I didn't like.  But the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.  (let's hope that stays as a figure of speech, lol).  Anyway - I figured, why not?  So I joined the KAL, and I bought the yarn (I know, I have more than enough yarn and projects already that I shouldn't have) and I cast on and managed one row last night.  I did spend some time the other night swatching, and I did spend some time with a new book looking at and playing around with some cast on methods.  So, I really didn't get much progress on the sweater yet.  But, the point is, that I did start!

Yes, it is a dark colour, and it isn't pink.  I do like purple, too... and I figure, I've done so much in pink, that it really is time to move on a little.  Yes, I still love pink, and will still make pink things.  But I do need other colours too.  I was thinking maybe black as a second choice, if the dark purple wasn't what I wanted.  And I still had pink as back-up third choice.

Next up - The granny squares I've been working on.   There have been a lot of hot days this summer, busy busy days, that have left my mind kind of mushy and unable to concentrate properly.  And stress, and TV shows, and distractions, and personal demons.... So, instead of working on the Memories of Mexico shawl like I should be, I've been working on the Granny Squares.  Kind of mindless, more relaxing, easier to put down in the middle of doing them.  I found some yarn on sale, in a variegated, that appealed to me.  And some more solids that co-ordinated nicely.  Dark brown, Tan, (the picture it looks more grey - will see if I can do better next time) and a variegated of dark brown, tan, and turquoise.  I'm going to keep making squares like the one pictured until I run out of the variegated (there was only the one ball left) and then see if I need to use some more solid to make them bigger.  The solid colours were in larger balls than the variegated.

Now, I'll share day one of the painting project.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a picture of flowers, to represent the gorgeous hanging baskets we bought this year. I haven't edited a picture of them yet; we have them hanging in our gazebo, and this is the first time I've ever "dead headed" flowers.  What a difference that makes!!  Anyway, there are a lot of pretty pink flowers, some purples, and some reds and whites.  I was thinking of painting a picture of one or more of the baskets... Well, the painting didn't quite turn out like that.... I was also thinking of doing some sort of painting about the fall colours.  I have a bush, it is called cottoneaster, (I may have the spelling wrong - spell check thought I wanted to say, testosterone) pronounced  co  TONE  E  aster and last year, when the leaves were turning from their normal dark blueish green to the red they normally go, there were some other inbetween shades of yellow and orange/rust.  I want to dye some yarn for socks in those colours, too.  Just haven't gotten around to doing that yet.  Anyway, I do think of those often.  So I thought about painting a picture of fall colours maybe.

I have done yesterday's painting, and today's, but haven't taken a photo of today's.  I'm using a cheap paper, and the paper takes up the water of the cheap acrylic paint (not to mention, I'm adding water for appropriate effect) and so the paper curls - later, I'm going to try pressing it with a warm to very warm iron, to see if that does anything interesting... Anyway, I don't have a picture of today's picture to share yet. ;)  Here's the one I painted yesterday.

Titled - Field of flowers.

Don't know what I'll paint tomorrow, if it will be another plant inspired, or maybe another theme, or maybe abstract... Or maybe start as one thing and evolve... Will keep you all posted, though.