August Silently Passes

“There is no month in the whole year, in which nature wears a more beautiful appearance than in the month of August. Spring has many beauties, and May is a fresh and blooming month, but the charms of this time of year, are enhanced by their contrast with the winter season. August has no such advantage. It comes when we remember nothing but clear skies, green fields, and sweet-smelling flowers – when the recollection of snow, and ice, and bleak winds, has faded from our minds as completely as they have disappeared from the earth, - and yet what a pleasant time it is. Orchards and corn-fields ring with the hum of labour; trees bend beneath the thick clusters of rich fruit which bow their branches to the ground; and the corn, piled in graceful sheaves, or waving in every light breath that sweeps above it, as if it wooed the sickle, tinges the landscape with a golden hue. A mellow softness appears to hang over the whole earth; the influence of the season seems to extend itself to the very wagon, whose slow motion across the well-reaped field, is perceptible only to the eye, but strikes with no harsh sound upon the ear.” – Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers

The lazy days of late summer… or perhaps the insanely busy back-to-school days spent running as fast as the heat and humidity will allow, trying to get in all the summer things that we just never found time for in June and July… either way, August drew to a quick close.

It seems that even those who aren’t sharpening their pencils or searching for the perfect outfit for the first day of class are still feeling that fall push to crack down, focus and get things accomplished. Granted, when those “things” are fall sweaters and new scarves and hats, well, much better than algebra or dare I even say, English!

Signs of fall are starting to pop up in the air here and there… rainy days where a sweatshirt is needed… chilly nights that provide an excuse to wear handknit socks again… Even on the way to school I see the signs…

… extra large billboards advertising fall in Pennsylvania. I give the tourism board props for alluring advertising, but there’s still something strange about advertising a season. I actually had to see the silly things a few times before I figured out who was actually advertising what… and then of course I spent the rest of my drive fantasizing about a nice escape weekend in a rustic cabin somewhere in Allegheny, peacefully knitting with a cup of cocoa and gorgeous scenery.

But what to knit?

My typically indecisive self is flitting between sticking to my rules about finishing UFOs and wildly abandoning all restraint, ordering a bunch of tweedy yummies and casting on willy nilly. As always, somewhere in the middle is probably going to be my best option.

I will be starting a commissioned lace piece (woo hoo!) in a few weeks so when I get the yarn from the dyer, I want to have free needles and a focused mind. I technically have until November, but I want to try to finish this one as soon as possible as it’s for a wedding and I know how frantic wedding planning can be. Don’t want to leave the mother of the bride worried about whether or not part of her outfit will be coming in at the rehearsal dinner! And I may have a completely unearned reputation for being a tad, um, tardy with things like this. *cough, cough*

So, while summer draws to its seasonal close this weekend as we celebrate the Labor Day holiday, I’m hoping to draw a few knitting and sewing projects also to a close in the coming weeks. The pictures here actually lie in that I've completed one pair of these socks and have one at the toe. I'm looking forward to a few new projects and am definitely looking forward to the new season.