I think summer has finally arrived – hot and humid and the AC is on. The heat saps me and in order to do all my wool projects – air conditioning helps. I also dye wool at this time of the year and a hot stove with simmering water just needs cool air.
So I walked around and took some pics of my flowers – a good reminder that yes I can grow something. Once tried a vegetable garden and that was a terrible disaster. It probably had something to do with the black walnut tree I have growing in the yard. Learnt years later than you should not plant a veggie garden near this type of tree. Don’t know if it is true or not but hey it was a good excuse rather that say my green thumb was sadly lacking in green.
Yay! I am almost finished the MIL socks. I get to the end of the foot and think about what luscious yarn I am going to use next. What part do I like best about knitting socks? Hmmm… I get confused with the cast on and doing the joining – there invariably is a gap but I read about a little trick where you switch your stitches the first and the last and it locks the round. It’s just trying to make sure your cast on stitches don’t twist. The leg and all those variations in stitches are a delight. I love lace knitting! The heel is pretty routine though I vary the finish – but it is really a cast off and then a cast on. The foot itself is the longest part – round and round we go but then I try to carry the pattern down.. and dare I say it the toe – Ok I have a thing about toes – the Kitchener stitch scared the heck out of me – but it really does have a beautiful finish – seamless. Now I am getting the hang of it. It demands full concentration and absolute quiet. Peter gets hushed with “I’m doing the toes – shhhhhh” and Roby gets a cookie to put him in heavenly bliss. Done!! The second sock is always faster – you know what to expect with the peaks and valleys of the whole construction.
What was waiting in my e-mail box yesterday was an announcement from The Loopy Ewe for a wool sale. Ahhh…immediately click to the site – the credit card was whipped out and I am now a happy owner of more Dream in Color Smooshy Yarn ( delectable colours) and yes more sock patterns. I think I am seriously addicted to socks.
I went through my stash of The Gentle Arts cotton overdyed threads and reacquainted myself with their colour palette. Just gorgeous and the names are especially wonderful. I especially love their line of Shaker colours. I have been mostly designing with my wool threads (Red Island Threads) but thought the next design will be done with these instead. I have drawn the design out and will show it tomorrow – actually a couple I am looking at. But the one I want to try first is a cat on a crazy quilt background with cascading flowers. I love flowers in borders that contrast with linear elements. This one I will punch needle and then translate to a rug. I want it for in front of my favourite chair.
My pup loves it when I sit outside with him – so yesterday AM when the air was still relatively cool I sat and he prowled the perimeter of the property. He showed the cats who was boss by herding them and made sure everything was A ok in his world. What would we do without their funny faces and happy smiles!
So I walked around and took some pics of my flowers – a good reminder that yes I can grow something. Once tried a vegetable garden and that was a terrible disaster. It probably had something to do with the black walnut tree I have growing in the yard. Learnt years later than you should not plant a veggie garden near this type of tree. Don’t know if it is true or not but hey it was a good excuse rather that say my green thumb was sadly lacking in green.
Yay! I am almost finished the MIL socks. I get to the end of the foot and think about what luscious yarn I am going to use next. What part do I like best about knitting socks? Hmmm… I get confused with the cast on and doing the joining – there invariably is a gap but I read about a little trick where you switch your stitches the first and the last and it locks the round. It’s just trying to make sure your cast on stitches don’t twist. The leg and all those variations in stitches are a delight. I love lace knitting! The heel is pretty routine though I vary the finish – but it is really a cast off and then a cast on. The foot itself is the longest part – round and round we go but then I try to carry the pattern down.. and dare I say it the toe – Ok I have a thing about toes – the Kitchener stitch scared the heck out of me – but it really does have a beautiful finish – seamless. Now I am getting the hang of it. It demands full concentration and absolute quiet. Peter gets hushed with “I’m doing the toes – shhhhhh” and Roby gets a cookie to put him in heavenly bliss. Done!! The second sock is always faster – you know what to expect with the peaks and valleys of the whole construction.
What was waiting in my e-mail box yesterday was an announcement from The Loopy Ewe for a wool sale. Ahhh…immediately click to the site – the credit card was whipped out and I am now a happy owner of more Dream in Color Smooshy Yarn ( delectable colours) and yes more sock patterns. I think I am seriously addicted to socks.
I went through my stash of The Gentle Arts cotton overdyed threads and reacquainted myself with their colour palette. Just gorgeous and the names are especially wonderful. I especially love their line of Shaker colours. I have been mostly designing with my wool threads (Red Island Threads) but thought the next design will be done with these instead. I have drawn the design out and will show it tomorrow – actually a couple I am looking at. But the one I want to try first is a cat on a crazy quilt background with cascading flowers. I love flowers in borders that contrast with linear elements. This one I will punch needle and then translate to a rug. I want it for in front of my favourite chair.
I use my rugs. At first I thought – hmmm no way – but they are durable and I do them in linen which is much sturdier. I laid one on the floor as an experiment – as you know I have a Sheltie and what do they do but herd those fluffy wooly 4-legged creatures. I have seen what he does to a ball of wool. I thought the cats could be bad but oh no – this ball of wool travelled the whole house – chewed and scattered to the four corners of the house. Lo and behold the rug has survived with nary a pulled loop and he is best friends with it. His bone (not a real bone –yuck) gets dropped on it, barked at, picked up and dropped at another location to be sniffed and chewed. Now does this look like the face of a rug chewing pooch?
Well I’ve had a good chat and I am off to do what needs doing for the day.
Have a great one - Joni
There is a time to be born and a time to die.
A time to laugh and a time to cry,
but there never seems to be enough time to knit
Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit, either. ~Elizabeth Zimmerman
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