SAFF Class- Recycled Sweater Mittens

Today, I am going to feature the last of my 4 SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) classes, which will be held in Fletcher, NC in late October. Check out the website if you're going to be in the area Oct 30-Nov 1. Today's feature is Recycled Sweater MIttens. Use felted wool sweaters (or fulled/felted woven wool fabric, or non-felted non-wool sweaters) to make adorable appliqued/embellished mittens. Many fabric and embellishment options will be provided. I taught this class last week at NCFF, and it was great fun! Here's info on the class

SAFF Class- Recycled Sweater Mini Stockings

Today, and every day, I am going to feature one of my SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) classes, which will be held in Fletcher, NC in late October. Check out the website if you're going to be in the area Oct 30-Nov 1. Today's feature is Recycled Sweater Mini Stockings. Use felted wool sweaters (or fulled/felted woven wool fabric) to make adorable appliqued mini-Holiday Stockings.Many fabric and embellishment options will be provided. Here's info on the class.

SAFF Class - Assemble Your Own Drop Spindle

Today, and every day, I am going to feature one of my SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) classes, which will be held in Fletcher, NC in late October. Check out the website if you're going to be in the area Oct 30-Nov 1. Today's feature is Assemble Your Own Wooden Spindle. Students will choose from assorted rim-weighted whorls, and then sand and assemble the pieces (all provided) into a balanced drop spindle. Students may make a top or bottom whorl. Class info here

SAFF Class- Caribbean Bobbles Hat

Once again, I will be teaching classes at SAFF, in Fletcher, NC. This will be my 6th time teaching at the festival, and I have an entire new roster of classes.

Starting today, and every day, I am going to feature one of my SAFF classes. Check out the SAFF website if you're going to be in the area Oct 30-Nov 1. It's a fantastic festival!

Today's feature is the Caribbean Bobble Hat, which I designed while on a knitting cruise, to, (duh) the Caribbean. The class will focus on knitting back backwards to make the bobbles. Here is my original, modeled by my lovely granddaughter. 

Info for this specific class can be found here. 

Hope to see you there!

Book Giveaway at SAFF

In honor of my 5th year of teaching classes at SAFF, I've decided to give away a signed copy of Fearless Fair Isle Knitting in each of my 5 classes!

All you gotta do to enter is sign up for one of my classes. If you sign up for more than one class, you'll be entered in each one.

This year I'm teaching:   


EEK! A Steek (Friday, all day, assorted colorway kits to

 choose from)


Exclusive SAFF 2013 Fair Isle  Fingerless Mitten (Saturday 

morning- assorted colorway kits to choose from)


Little Tips and Knitting Tricks (Saturday afternoon)


Writing Patterns for Publication (Sunday morning)


Design Your Own Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten (Sunday 

afternoon- design only, no knitting done in class)


Hope to see you there!

SAFF 2013 Workshops and Classes- Oct 25-27

I'm heading back to Asheville/Fletcher and SAFF again in October- for the 5th time! The festival runs Friday October 25-Sunday October 27. Class registration is open, and there is still room in all of my classes. I'm providing kits for all of the hands-on classes this year, so people can sign up at the last minute (you just need to bring the right needle sizes), but classes do fill up, so don't dilly dally too long if any of these catch your eye. Take a peek, and if you're going to be in the area, join us in the fun!

Friday Oct. 25- 9am-4pm: EEK! A Steek.
Kits with pre-knit tubes in assorted colorways, yarn and buttons will be provided.

______________________________

Saturday Oct. 26- 9am-12 noon: SAFF 2013 Exclusive Fair Isle Mitten

This exclusive pattern will not be taught or sold anywhere else for a full year. Kits with assorted colorways will be provided. Note that the picture IS this year's pattern. The class listing was not changed to reflect the photo.

_______________________________

Saturday Oct. 26- 1pm-4pm: Little Tips and Knitting Tricks

Beads and wire will be provided. I'll have some extra yarn too.

_________________________________

Sunday Oct. 27- 9am-12noon: Writing Patterns for Publication

Bring pencil and paper for taking notes.

____________________

Sunday Oct. 27- 1pm-4pm: Design Your Own Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten

No knitting in this class, but you will leave with an original design to knit on your own.

_____________________

As I said above, no homework needed for any of these classes, so late signups are welcome! October will be here before we blink!

Checking in- and class info

I'm home again (for a good long while... or at least for a couple of months anyway), and getting caught up on correspondence and other chores. I'll be back with lots of pics and cool things from the Michigan trip as soon as I catch my breath. Turns out that traveling 11,000 miles in 2 1/2 months takes a bit out of you.

In the meantime, for local South Dakota Fibery Folk, the class list is up for the North Country Fiber Fair, to be held in Watertown, SD (as always) September 20-22. I'll be teaching Little Tips and Knitting Tricks on Friday, Sept 20, and a new Needlefelted Half-Moon Santa class on Sunday, Sept 22. There is a lot of room in both classes (she says, trying not to sound too terribly needy), so check out the list (click on 2013 fair, then on Class Details. I hope to see some of you there.

And in October, I'll be going to SAFF for the 5th time! I love love love my visits to Asheville.  SAFF is being held Oct. 25-27 this year, and I have classes scheduled for each of the days (Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten Design, Steeking, Tips and Tricks, Writing Patterns for Publication, and a Exclusive Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten workshop with yarn and pattern provided). Some of my classes are filling up, but there is room in each still. Check out the list by clicking on Workshops, and then Schedule.

Of course, there are many many wonderful classes and teachers at both of these events, so maybe other offerings will appeal to you. In any case, I hope to see you there.

And then, there's the March 2014 Cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten on one big ass Royal Caribbean ship. Friends and Fiberworks of Asheville is sponsoring the knitters' cruise, and it promises to be even more fun than the first (and you KNOW how much fun I had on that one). Check out the ship and the info here. You don't have to be from Asheville to sign up (duh), and you don't even have to be a knitter- there are lots of fun classes to take. Go ahead, register. You know you want to!

Upcoming Travels and Classes

My Work Travel Season is starting earlier this year. Here's where I'll be, and what I'll be teaching, and when. Registration info, materials provided and/or needed, and material fees (if any) as well as class fees are listed on the individual sites and links.

I hope to see some of you there!

Fantasy Fiber Arts Knitting Cruise
sponsored by Friends and Fiberworks, Asheville, NC, July 26-31

Leaving from Charleston, SC on July 26, with day excursions in Nassau and Freeport, The Bahamas!
I'll be teaching:

Mystery Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten- here's a sneak peek of the pattern. Students will be given a choice of lots of yarns for their own two-color combos.

I'll also be teaching a Mystery Lace and Beaded Fingerless Mitten Class (sneak peek to be posted soon), and the EEK! A Steek! class. All materials come with the class fee except knitting needles, large-eye needle, and scissors.


Michigan Fiber Festival (MFF)- Allegan, MI
Festival August 16-18, Workshops August 14-18

Wednesday AM: Writing Patterns for Publication
Wednesday PM: Little Tips and Tricks
Thursday all day: Nordic Christmas Stocking
Friday all day: EEK! A Steek!

North Country Fiber Fair (NCFF), Watertown, SD
Sept. 20-22

Friday: 1-4 pm: Little Tips and Tricks
Sunday: Needlefelted Half-Moon Santa (all materials provided, no prior needlefelting experience needed)

Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF), Fletcher, NC, October 25-27

Friday- all day: EEK! a Steek!
Saturday 9am-12pm: Exclusive Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten Design (yarn provided)- sneak peek to be posted soon
Saturday 1-4 pm: Little Tips and Tricks
Sunday 9 am-12 pm: Written Patterns for Publication
Sunday 1-4 pm: Design Your Own Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten

Bits and pieces

Mostly non-related pictures and comments.

 I finished knitting the socks from the sock blank that I dyed in class at the Fibre Fallout in New Jersey. I love love love how they came out, and I doubt I'll be able to resist wearing them (usually, I save class samples for the next class... as, you know... samples). These are just too cool not to show off next week at SAFF.

I finished the water on the current needlepoint project, and learned to my dismay, that 20 year old DMC floss #415 is not the same shade as new DMC floss #415. I don't know if the floss darkened in storage (in a plastic tub, wrapped around a cardboard bobbin), or if the shades really are different, or (most likely) if I wrote the wrong number down on the bobbin. In any case, I used at least seven different grays in the water, so it doesn't matter a whole lot in the long run. I just have the sky left, which will be slightly darker than the water, and will fade to a purpley gray (all new floss, so I don't have to worry about shade differences).

Our leaves are gone now, but they sure were purty while they lasted. I have a feeling that the Asheville leaves will be gone by the time I get there too. Oh well, there is so much more to see and do than leaf peeping, so I'm not too distressed about it.

Speaking of SAFF, most of my classes still have some openings and it's not too late to sign up. There's a link to the left of this page.

These are the other yarns I dyed in the New Jersey classes. The two at the bottom are the same dye lot (graduated color band), just wound from opposite ends of the skein. The other ball will knit up in spiral stripes. I'm excited to knit them too.

 The corn harvest is in full swing here.

That's a whole lotta corn on the ground (and it's on the ground because the elevators are all full).

I just like the look of this corn fountain.

And finally, there was a moose spotted just outside my town. For the record, moose do not live in South Dakota, at least not in my part of the state. But by cracky, one passed through.

See? Proof.

Like a Proud Mama

A group on Ravelry has chosen my Prairie Earth and Sky cardigan, from Fearless Fair Isle Knitting, as a KAL (knit along, for the three non-knitting blog readers). They're making amazing progress- just look:

Aren't they absolutely beautiful? I'm so proud and honored that I'm about to burst. And now I sort of want to knit the sweater again, in the gray/rose colorway. Here's a set of Flickr pics of some of the other sweaters.

And then there's Georgienne, who took one of my classes last year at the Michigan Fiber Festival, and then came back for more this year. This time, she signed up for the Design Your Own Fair Isle Hat class, which is a fairly intensive full-day class during which students work on design elements and then assemble them on a chart to create their own original Fair Isle project.

Above is the hat she designed in class. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the motifs, and I love the colors Georgienne chose.

And then she went home and did what I hope every single student in every single one of my classes does: she played with the techniques some more, and came up with her own variation.

This is the hat Georgienne designed and knit on her own. I could not be more proud!

Thanks so much for sharing these pics with us, Georgienne!

BTW- I am teaching a half-day version of the Design Your Own Hat (and Stocking) class at NCFF this weekend, and at SAFF in late October. Neither class is full... jus' sayin'

Crossing things off the list

Well, I have finished my class sample knitting for NCFF, the Fiber Frolic, and SAFF.

I still have to write up the new dyeing workshop (the 3 pairs of socks at the bottom of the pic), and another new workshop (the original Fingerless Mitten pattern for SAFF), but the rest of my prep work is mostly printing out already written handouts.

Yay!

I might actually finish in plenty of time (the first boxes of materials have already arrived in New Jersey, and I hope to have the SAFF stuff and in the mail before I leave for the Fiber Frolic). And then maybe I can play again.

I hope.

In the meantime, NCFF is next weekend (woohoo!).  And here's a pretty sunset pic for you.

Class Openings, We gotcher class openings!

Between enjoying the last weekend of the summer (which, temp-wise, shows no sign of ending), and getting ready for my upcoming classes, I've been absent lately. Sorry for the silence.

I got the rest of my supplies and handouts sent off to New Jersey for the Fiber Frolic, but I still have to finish knitting up the class samples for the Sock Blank Dyeing Workshop. I love how these came out, and I love the knitted socks even more. That festival is at the end of September, and each of my classes has reached the minimum number of students (and most are near the max). But some of the classes at my other festivals still have room in them.

If you're going to be anywhere near Watertown, SD September 14-16, I'll be teaching classes at NCFF, the North Country Fiber Fair. This is my local festival, it's small and very well run, and I love love love it. I will be teaching a Mitered Square Cuff class from 1-5pm on Friday, a 1/2 day Design Your Own Fair Isle Hat or Christmas Stocking from 9am-1pm on Saturday, and Little Tips and Knitting Tricks from 12:30-3:30pm on Sunday. As far as I know, there is room in each of these classes. Come and see us! You'll be glad you did.

Several of my classes at SAFF, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, in Asheville/Fletcher, NC, October 26-28, have filled, but not all of them.  On Friday, I'm teaching an all day steeking workshop called EEK! A Steek!, On Saturday, I'm teaching Design Your Own Fair Isle, and Knit a Fair Isle Fingerless Mitten (this pattern is exclusive to SAFF 2012 and won't be taught or offerred again until fall 2013). On Sunday I'm teaching Writing Patterns for Publication, another session of the Fair Isle Fingerless Mittens (the first class filled up immediately), and Knitting Tips and Tricks.

I hope to see some of you there!

Classes, we gotcher classes

I'm teaching all over the place this fall, and class registration is open for everything (though early-registration prices will end tomorrow for the Michigan Fiber Festival). I hope to see some of you... well... everywhere!

Michigan Fiber Festival, Allegan, MI- August 18-19, Classes August 15-17

I was delighted to be invited back to the Michigan Fiber Festival. Early registration closes tomorrow for the Michigan Fiber Festival, but late signups are allowed. Information on registering is on the website, and here is a description of the classes being offered.  I'm teaching:   Thursday All Day: Nordic Christmas Stocking; Friday All Day Fair Isle Design. I can't find the listing for my Wednesday classes, which makes me think that they're full already.


NCFF North Country Fiber Fair, Watertown SD, September 14-16

Registration for NCFF, which is my local fiber fair, just opened. Here's a listing of all of the classes. On Friday, I'm teaching Mitered Square Cuffs; on Saturday I'm teaching Half-Day Fair Isle Design; and on Sunday it's Little Tips and Knitting Tricks.


North Country Spinners Fiber Fallout, Johnsonburg, NJ, September 28-30

I'm teaching dyeing classes at this cool spinning retreat. This will be my first visit to New Jersey, and I'm really excited about it. On Saturday it's Spiral Dyeing, and Dyeing Sock Blanks, and on Sunday it's Graduated Color Band Dyeing. The link to everything is above.


SAFF- Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, Fletcher, NC, October 26-28

I'm heading back to SAFF for my 4th time, and I am thrilled. Registration for workshops has just opened for SAFF members. Registration for the public will open on July 15. Here's the class description list.  I'm teaching EEK! A Steek! all day Friday; Fair Isle Fingerless Mittens on Saturday morning; Fair Isle Stocking Design Saturday afternoon; and Little Tips and Tricks twice on Sunday (morning and afternoon), and Writing Patterns for Publication in the between the Tips and Tricks sessions.

It's going to be a busy couple of months!

On the Road Again...

... well not today, but in January. I've been invited to teach classes at the Friends and Fiberworks Winter Retreat in Asheville, NC!

 Astute blog readers will remember that I was just in Asheville, not even a month ago. Those readers will also remember how much I gush about the area, every time I visit. I am thrilled to be going back. I will be teaching workshops all three of the retreat days, but not all of the classes have been posted yet. I'll announce the full schedule as soon as it's up (and you can click on the classes link to see what else is being offered- as always, I wish I could take some classes too). So far, I'll be teaching the All-Day Toddler Fair Isle Hat class on Friday Jan. 13, and the Mitered Square Cuff, and the Little Tips and Tricks class on Saturday Jan. 14. I imagine the rest of the schedule will be posted today (and I'll announce the schedule here). Registration is open for the listed classes.

Woohoo!!!

And speaking of teaching classes in Asheville (or more specifically, Fletcher), Connie travels from Florida to attend SAFF every year, and she's taken several of my classes. This year, she took the Fair Isle Design class. This is the hat she designed and knit after going back home. I love it when students continue using the techniques learned in my classes. Thanks for sharing this adorable at with us, Connie!

Nothing but this 'n that these days

With the clock ticking for SAFF and my stuff ready and sent on ahead (and safely in place), there's really nothing much for me to do before I leave next Thursday, except twiddle my thumbs...

 ...and read, and observe that Edgar Rice Burroughs surely did not like the Germans.

 ...and knit. I'm making progress on Forest Canopy with the marigold-dyed handspun Romney. It still looks like an amorphous blob, but it's a pretty yellow amorphous blob.

 ... and spin. Another 163 yds (4.6 ozs) of self-striping Romney. I'm amassing quite a bit of yardage.

 ...and play Jewelry Maker. These are amethyst stones, and pink opal.

...and admire my new CafePress goodies, from Curt's Store (link at the top right of this page).

But mostly, I'm twiddling my thumbs, and mentally commanding the leaves in North Carolina to wait until I'm there to turn.

SAFF Workshops

There is still time to sign up for workshops and classes at SAFF, which will be held at the WNC Ag Center in Fletcher, NC, October 21-23.

I'm scrambling around, getting all of my workshop stuff done (printing handouts, gathering supplies and book giveaways) so I can mail them out early next week. It's too much to pack, and I wouldn't trust the airline to get the bag to Asheville with me (did I ever tell you how I flew to Burbank to tape a couple of HGTV shows, but my clothes went to San Francisco?).

Anyway, this is the entire workshop listing- as always, I wish I had time to take classes too.

Here are the classes I'm teaching at SAFF:

Friday 11:30am-3:30pm: Mitered Square Cuff. Openings available
Learn to knit mitered squares with worsted weight yarn and Size 5 needles. Use your mitered squares to make cuffs for mittens or socks (patterns for both included in the class handout).

Friday 4:00pm-6:00pm: Writing Patterns for Publication. Openings available
Learn about writing patterns, formatting, photography, and submitting your original designs.

 Saturday 8:30am-12:30pm: Fair Isle Design. Class full, but you can get on a waiting list
This is a half-day version of my full-day Fair Isle Design class. Use worksheet exercises to design your own toddler-sized Fair Isle hat which you can knit later.

Saturday 1:30pm-3:30pm: Knitting Tips and Tricks. Class Full
Learn tricks for fixing mistakes in Fair Isle knitting and cable work, put beads in your knitting with wire, knit back backwards and make bobbles, and lots of other great knitting time-savers.

Saturday 3:30pm-5:30pm: Knitting Tips and Tricks (Session 2- same as above). Openings available

Sunday 9:00am-4:00pm Nordic Christmas Stocking. Openings available.

Learn yarn wrangling as you knit a Nordic style Christmas stocking. No Fair Isle or sock knitting experience necessary (this pattern uses an Afterthought Heel- no short-rows). It is not likely that students will finish their stocking in class, but we'll have more than enough time to learn the basics, and knit the heel. There was an error in the homework listing for this class on the SAFF site. That error has been corrected. Students need to bring 2 balls of worsted weight yarn (highly contrasting colors) and Size 8 needles.

The great folks at Taunton have supplied books for class giveaways. I'll have copies of all 3 of my Taunton titles (I Heart Felt, The Big Book of Socks, and Fearless Fair Isle Knitting) to give away, one per class. I hope to see some of you there!

Workshop Listings for SAFF, Oct 21-23 in Asheville, NC now open for SAFF members

The workshop registration for 2011, for SAFF members is now open. Registration for the public opens June 15. Click from this page for the workshop listings. Click on Workshops, and then on Schedule. And if you'd like to become a member, click here.

As always, there are many classes that I would love to take, but I'm teaching all 3 days. Here are my classes (you can find the class descriptions and requirements in the link above). Note that the Writing Patterns for Publication class will be held twice:

Friday 10-21:
Mitered Square Cuffs: 11:30am-3:30pm

Writing Patterns for Publication: 4:00pm-6:00pm

Saturday 10-22:
Fair Isle Design: 8:30am-12:30pm

Knitting Tips and Tricks: 1:30pm-3:30pm (note: there is a typo in the listing right now that says that this class starts at 10:30am, but it's an afternoon class).

Sunday 10-23:
Nordic Christmas Stocking: 9:00am-4:pm

Writing Patterns for Publication: 4:00pm-6:00pm


I hope to see many of you there!

Shepherd's Harvest Class Signup is now open, and other stuff

The class signup for this year's Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival is now open. Go here to learn about the festival in general, and here for the full class list. This will be my first time at Shepherd's Harvest, but I've heard good things about the festival for years. On Saturday, I'm teaching a new class- All-Day Nordic Christmas Stocking, during which we will work on a stranded, toe-up Christmas Stocking, with an afterthought heel (the link has a pic). No prior sock knitting, or stranding experience is needed. You just have to be comfortable with knitting in the round. On Sunday morning, I'll be teaching my Writing Patterns for Publication class, which goes over formatting, submitting, photographing, and writing up patterns, and a lot more. No experience needed for that class either. I have heard a rumor about a booksigning in the afternoon on Sunday, but nothing firm on that yet. I'm excited to attend and teach, and I hope to see some of you there the weekend of May 7-8! And as always, the bad thing about teaching at these festivals is that I can't take classes myself. The roster is full of workshops I'd love to attend.

Speaking of going places- I've been invited back to SAFF, so I get to go to North Carolina in October again! Woohoo!

In between planning classes and trips, I've been doing a bit more knitting.

I finished the Opal Dumbledore socks. They turned out beautifully, if not particularly Dumbledoreish.

And I started another hat. I'm experimenting with a honeycomb slip-stitch pattern for the brim, and I'm using up more leftover yarns (this is old Knit Picks sportweight superwash sock yarn- discontinued long ago). I like how it's coming out. I plan to do the crown decreases in plain stockinette stitch. Next time, I'll work the purled rows in a contrasting color- that'll make those recesses pop.

But the biggest knitting project on my drawing board is a wedding shawl for The Wonderful Cassy, who is marrying Younger Son in July. I want to design and knit something spectacular for her- she has already expressed a preference for a rectangular shawl, and I'd like to incorporate some seashell/ocean design elements since the wedding will be in Oregon, at the beach. I'm excited about this undertaking, and since I'm not working on a lace book, or a shawl book, or any knitting book at all right now, I can share pictures as I work. It'll be an adventure!

Catching Up

You know that cough I mentioned? The one I mostly ignored before I left for SAFF, and assumed would just go away? It turned out to be bronchitis. I guess emerging unscathed last year from five days with the Swine Flu Sisters fooled me into thinking I could spend time with Coughing GrandGirls without consequences. I was wrong. I'm on the mend, but it's taking awhile to get back up to speed.

Outside of the constant cough and the car sitting on my chest, SAFF was wonderful. The huge festival is extremely well run, and I bow to the organizers. I caught up with old friends and made lots of new ones. I ate plenty of Goat Milk Fudge (new wonderful flavors: Vanilla/Orange, Mocha, Raspberry, and Mint), whose booth was extremely popular. The weather was perfect- chilly in the morning and shirt-sleeve in the afternoons. The leaves favored me with beautiful colors (the orange/red/yellow Blue Ridge Mountains on my takeoff from Asheville were breathtaking). The songbirds still sang. Biltmore was every bit as amazing as I remembered, and I got to spend 6 days, reconnecting with my sister (who took very good care of me- I'm not very good at not feeling well). Mostly, we ate at our motel, but for the first two nights, we had supper at the Texas Roadhouse, which specializes in huge portions, amazing sweet potatoes, and very good Black Russians.

I am thrilled with how my workshops went (as always, I had genius students)- I taught two new ones (Little Tips and Cheater Knitting Tricks, and All-Day Fair Isle Design). The Fair Isle class had a low-signup but I'm glad for that- it's an intense workshop, and I don't think I'd want more than 6 students at a time. My sister Sandi, who hadn't done much knitting in the last 30 years, knitted her first Fair Isle ever in the previous day's All-Day Hat workshop. Here's what she produced from the Design class:

It's her own original design, and she sat up until 1:00am working on it! I don't know who is prouder- the designer, or the big sister.

I didn't do any recreational knitting at SAFF- by evening, I was ready to collapse (teaching is exhausting- how do real teachers do it every day?), so after supper, I just read (4 books, which I will talk about later) and enjoyed spending time with Sandi.

The storms were already starting to brew on Monday. Flights in and out of Atlanta were delayed, and there were tornado and thunderstorm watches and warnings all over the place. I was very glad to be routed through Detroit. All of my flights were bumpy, and most were delayed a bit. It rained and blew everywhere, including on the 75 mile drive home from Watertown. But I made it in and home safely around 11:00pm. If my flight had been scheduled for yesterday, I would still be stranded in an airport somewhere.

We've had 30mph steady winds, with frequent gusts up to 60mph since yesterday morning, rain, and dropping temps. Today, we woke up to this (I had to take a pic from the back deck, because the very strong west wind won't allow us to open the front door):

I don't think it's Fall any more.