Every fall, L and I make a point of choosing a day and going on some crazy walk around part of the city to look at all the fall colours. One of the best things about Toronto is that its downtown is criss-crossed by ravines, which are open to the public and allow you to walk between very different parts of the city without having to deal with (or often, even hear) traffic. It’s like a secret world, and it’s really, really lovely.
We walked down the Beltline Trail to the Evergreen Brickworks, an area that used to be a quarry and brick factory but a few years ago was repurposed into a public park with interpretive trails, event spaces, and community classes about gardening, green living, etc. It’s somewhere I’ve been wanting to get to for years, but never have, and Sunday was the perfect day.
View of the city centre from the side of the old quarry, with the Brickworks buildings in the foreground. You just just see the CN Tower over to the right.
It rained just about all day Saturday and then for most of Monday, but Sunday was one of those glorious fall days when it’s hot in the sun and cool in the shade (ideal sweater weather!) and all the colours pop. So, so lovely. L mapped our walk after we got home and we wandered for about 8.5 kilometres (a little over 5 miles) and considering that most of it was in the woods, that’s not bad considering we never left the city.
Knitting-wise, I took full advantage of our rainy Saturday.
For once, it occurred to me to take before and after shots at the beginning of the weekend.
The first Saltburn sock is a couple of repeats away from the toe, so I should be starting the second one this weekend. Charade is also marching right along – something about two-row repeats feels super speedy, despite 72-stitch rows – and I’m really enjoying watching the colours progress. There is definitely some colour spiralling (too soon to say whether it will flash or just maintain this steady turn) at this stitch-count, but it’s slow enough that I don’t think I mind. I’m just an inch or so from dividing for the heel of the first sock.
How was your weekend? Is it fall where you are?
Pans & Needles 
Ohhhhhh! Those fall leaves are so gorgeous. Our trees are just beginning to think about changing colors here. I visited Toronto once. I wish I’d know about those trails! Love the gorgeous socks.
The socks are lovely – both of them. The charade socks look simply great in that colourway!
I also love your pictures of autumn in Toronto – it has been quite warm here, which is unusual for this time of the year … but today it was about 20°C! I had the windows open all day. 😀
The trees all have lovely, lovely colours, although some of them have lost their leaves completely already …
Let’s hope you’ll have good enough weather to go for a second walk! 😀
Beautiful pictures, I love those fall colors and taking walks with leaves all over the ground, it always inspires me to knit! The socks look great too, interesting patterns you are using.
Lovely fall color. We don’t get color like that in northern California.
How wonderful to be able to have a walk like that right in the middle of the city! I love the colour of your Charade socks. Very autumny.
New reader here – I am an Ontario transplant living in Nova Scotia, where fall is definitely in full swing. I just finished a summer sweater (so your post about starting Burrard early is well taken) that will have to wait until next year. Picked up some Fleece Artist for gift knitting this weekend!
Isn’t that funny how we’re opposite transplants (if that makes sense). I love fall in Nova Scotia – it’s so lovely. I grew up in the Annapolis Valley and it’s like living in a bowl of colour at this time of year, with the mountains and the fields and the orchards all turning different shades and the red mud and the ocean…
You’re making me homesick! 🙂
Beautiful pictures. Chicago is really lacking in natural spaces like that, although I’m not sure if any city could compete with this park – very cool!
I loved Chicago when I was there a couple of years ago. Your waterfront is so lovely, and I loved that you had large gathering spaces built into the downtown. In a lot of (really good) ways it actually reminded me of Toronto.
Knitting question – I see you use several kinds of DPN’s – which are your favorite and why? I’m finding it difficult to find some I like – I need “not super slippery” and am really weird about sharp points so I thought I’d ask. Love your blog…
Thank you! And this is such a good question – I think I’ll do a post about this next week since it’s something I’ve been asked before 🙂
It’s my favourite time of year too, and that’s one of my favourite walks in the city. I used to live in the east end and my Mr. Stitch and I used to go “hill climbing” (just going up and down one of the steep hills) at the Brickworks all the time. Great exercise, great view, but not so much fun after it has rained because the ground turns into shoe-sucking mud. Thanks for sharing these great shots.