Give me crisp days and cold nights and I am hankering for yarn.  Thick socks.  Wooly sweaters.  Bright scarves.  That is, of course, until the temps climbed to 85 degrees this weekend.  No matter, a temporary inconvenience because the leaves are crunching underfoot, the smell of wood burning is in the air and I hear the call of clicking needles.

Meditative, tactile, visually stimulating – the repetitive nature of
knitting is soothing and undemanding.  From what is basically a ball of
string and two sticks comes an object of warmth and beauty.  This month I
am looking forward to finishing a project put aside after my father
died two years ago.  It’s a lovely sweater in a juicy magenta mohair,
and wearing it I will be enveloped with sweet memories of time spent with him.  

And there is such pleasure in knitting with friends.  On a recent
evening at Pam’s, we curled up in front of a crackling fire, bags
overflowing with yarn, everyone gabbing and working away.  

As the days grow shorter, be good to yourself – gather some wool and needles, a steaming cup of tea and a few lemony cookies, and knit-purl  yourself something cozy and beautiful.

LEMON POPPY THINS 

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2.  With a mixer, beat lemon zest and sugar on medium speed.  Add butter.  Cream with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, another 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix in lemon juice.  Add flour mixture; mix until just combined and no flour pockets remain.  Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
3.  Roll rounded teaspoonsfuls of dough into 3/4-inch balls; place 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet after 5 minutes, until the edges are just set.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

Makes 60 cookies.