Socktoberfest

It is definitely fall here in Wisconsin. How can I tell?? Well, the sumac is turning brilliant red.

The farm markets are laden with pumpkins, squash,

and apples of all types, colors and sizes.
The islands in the mighty Mississippi are turning dry and brown,
and wool socks are starting to bloom on the mums!
Oh, no! Wait a minute! That's a Socktober fest sock entry placed strategically on the mums for maximum photographic effect. It's trying to compete with the photos displayed by the Knitting Iris.
Sock pattern "Mermaid" from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet. I love the pattern and I love the yarn from Mellenweit!! This fall mermaid is anxiously awaiting a pair, but it will have to wait for a long time. I'm busy with a more important project--a matter of life over death, you might say.

On Saturday evening my 47 year old brother suffered a stroke. He and his wife live in the same town as we do. He had just finished cleaning the falling leaves out of the gutters--meaning he was tramping around on his pitched roof for severa hours--and he came in to shower. Just as he came out of the shower, he felt an incredibly sharp pain in his neck and collapsed on the bed. He called out for his wife to call 911. After spending two days in the intensive care unit, he was moved to the neurology unit and now he is on the intensive rehabilitation unit, learning to walk, to swallow and to coordinate his body. Fortunately, his mind has not been affected. We are deeply thankful that the stroke did not occur while he was on his roof! And, we are deeply thankful that his mind wasn't affected.

I started an aran cardigan for him years ago. It is on my "let's finish all the unfinished projects" list. It got moved up today to the top of the list. I thought he might like a cozy sweater to welcome him home, when he comes home. I figure if I finish the sweater quickly, that will guarantee that his recovery will come along quickly as well.


The sweater completion was stalled because I changed the pattern a bit. The original pattern had dropped shoulders. My brother is a bit stocky and I didn't want to have so much aran bulk under the armpits. So, as you can see, I bound off a few stitches to make an armhole. Good plan? Well, I couldn't figure out how to shape the top of the arms appropriately. I have fiddled and faddled and nothing has worked out. I'm bound and determined to have it finished and fit by this weekend. Wish me luck. And, keep my brother in your thoughts and prayers, if you would, please.