Getting ready for winter

Here's the little wrap-around cardigan for my soon-to-be niece. This was my first complete sweater. It's small, which was nice, and I learned quite a bit while making this. I feel like a better knitter now and want to take on a bigger project.



But first, I made some mittens for myself!



And here's a little jumper in progress...



I started knitting a sock in the round (with double-pointed needles), but got frustrated with the slow pace. I'll come back to it. For now, I want to knit something cozy to keep myself warm this winter.

Speaking of keeping warm, I've been hearing that the hoop house will create only a small amount of heat for the garden. I knew it wouldn't last into the winter, but I'm afraid it's not even going to extend the season much. I'm considering getting a little greenhouse heater. Has anyone heard about these? I'm wondering if it'll work and if the electricity cost is worth it.

This weekend, John and I finally got smart with our stunted Brussels sprouts. John did some googling and learned that we're supposed to pick the leaves once the sprouts appear. This allows the energy to go to the sprouts, not to the big, beautiful leaves. So we did it. And the plants now look like adorable, healthy Brussels sprouts plants that need at least another month to develop. Farmers Almanac predicts an unusually mild November. Let's hope they're right.