Now I'm Knitting a Nicky Epstein Bag

Monday night I drove into the village for knit night at the LYS. It is only the second time I've been since the ownership changed. It took a few weeks for the new proprietors to work things out and I thought the group was going to fold; I think they thought so too and decided it would be worth their effort to accommodate the group and, in a welcoming environment. Anyway, the group was ready to start a new project with everyone making the Nicky Epstein, Jacobean Floral Felted Bag. I wasn't sure I was going to do it but then decided I should show my support for the shop and to the proprietors. I realize how fortunate we are to have a LYS here in our little rural village and I do want it to survive and prosper.

I'm not sure I like the bag (plus it means I'll have to break down and read a chart) and it was a bit costly considering that it was bagged into project-like quantities with just the amount of yarn needed to knit the bag. I'm again trying to think of it as helping the shop survive and I can always give the bag as a gift or use it in one of the bag swaps I participate in.

I'm almost finished knitting the first triangle of the Two-Tone Triangle Bag for the Bag Styles' Knit-Along. It is knitting up nicely even with all the right and left increases. I have a couple of embellishment ideas that I may try to incorporate in it when I'm ready to put the bag together.

It is wintertime here, 23 degrees this morning. This means we won't have any re-blooming iris in our garden this fall. Mr. Rō's heart is broken. He has been covering them for about a week now trying to protect the ones with buds from the nighttime elements. Yesterday he decided it would be a losing battle and so cut and brought in one that has three buds and already showing color. This particular iris is named Iceland and is a gorgeous white, big blossoms, fragrant, and performs beautifully in our garden. It amazes most people to learn there are some tall bearded iris that bloom a second time each year, in the fall. A few years back we had our Harvest Dinner for the Iris Society on the 3rd Sat. In November. We had enough bloom in our previous garden that I was able to cut and arranged a basket full of iris for the table. We now live about 20 miles northwest of our previous home but thats enought for the planting zone to change.

While Mr. Rō was in the iris garden, I was picking tomatoes. There are only two large plants remaining and bearing fruit ; they are loaded with so many green tomatoes the vines are weighted down. I picked what was left of the ripened ones and most of the largest green ones. They will ripen on the window sill and we should still have fresh tomatoes from the garden for Thanksgiving dinner.