Since so many of you took delight in the knitted sun I did a bit of research on the history and design. It was Meg Swansen who first had the idea of knitting a sun.
The story has it that she knitted a few suns and sent them into CBS Sunday Morning as knitting sculptures. This was back in the mid nineties and knitting was starting to infiltrate the general consciousness. Naturally, there was great interest amongst knitters, and her design was published in
Knitters summer '96 issue.
I read about this a few years later, and intrigued searched the web and found this design. My sun is a different design, and was the brainchild designer Catherine Vardy.
Knitted Sun by Catherine Vardy on Woolworks
I used a skein of Condon's sports weight wool for my sun as it was just the right colour . It is lovely stuff the kind of traditional wool that smells of lanolin and feels woolly to the touch.
Condon's of PEI was a family run wool mill that has since closed. It was one of a handful of Canadian woollen mills, that worked with the local farmers and supplied generations of knitters. The pattern is quite straight forward, and you only need a partial skein. The lacy edge is a garter stitch lace and great fun to work. I had some trouble grafting the edges, being lace, so I won't show you that closeup. As far as I know, mine is the only sun around. If you do make one, do drop me a line, as I would like to see a galaxy of suns out there.
In other sun related news, the sun was out this weekend, for brief intervals. This month has been warmer and sunnier than usual, so I planted the last of the transplanted tulip and crocus bulbs. With any luck they will escape the squirrels and bloom in spring. And we had a light dusting of snow overnight, the first of the season. And if you have a moment send some sunshine to
Nicole.
Good day sunshine
Don't let the sun go down on me
A quick hike through the woods at lunch. Blue skies, paths strewn with pine needles and leaves, it felt more like October than December. This path with transform soon enough for cross country skiing and winter hikes. The sounds of birds drew me to a tiny grove of trees and a busy birdhouse. 
Dozens of birds flew by very quickly, stopping for a mere fraction of a second at the feeder. My little camera could just keep up. Nearby, a squirrel chatted noisily. Thwarted. 
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