Knitting on Impulse

Seconds

One of the side benefits of a yarn dyeing business is that sometimes, some very lovely yarn turns out not absolutely perfect.  Not so much as to be unattractive, just not quite up to the standard for saleability.  And then I am of course, obliged to keep it for personal use.

As the red ribbon lace scarf was nearing the end (no, I still haven't tackled blocking it), I decided that I rather liked having an easy lace project on the needles.  I'm not an expert lace knitter, so easy for me needs to be really easy - no squinting at charts and messing about with lifelines.  I decided to try a Pi shawl and toss in a few simple motifs as the mood struck:

So far, so good, I think.  Now for the confession.  I began with a, um... head sized hole in the middle of the circle.  Which means that one could technically call this a poncho.  Now I am painfully aware that present day fashion has deemed it to be the most uberly uncool garment that one could possibly commit to the needles.... but I want to make it nevertheless, because I have a vision that excites me.  So I will be referring to it as buttonless cape.  Or something.  There will also be a custom designed shawl pin.

Monday

We're home from Vancouver.  Kids are home from school (pro-D day or some such). Hubby has been hogging the computer all day (OK he was finishing up the last finicky details with QuickTax and I love him desperately for it).  Thing one and I have been for a long walk in the rain to visit the library, followed by the acquisition of rainboots that don't precisely match her existing raincoat but they are All That Is Left in town despite the fact that this is the first day this year that it has rained (rather than snowed).  At forty years old, I am still taken by surprise every year that all the spring clothes are out of stock by March because I should have thought to look in January when there were still four months of winter left.   

Enough whining though, because the appointment on Friday went as well as it could possibly have gone, and my daughter has been granted the least pejorative and most useful of diagnostic labels, which unlocks a host of resources that could make all the difference between success and marginalization.  This is a very very good thing, and I am enormously grateful for all the good wishes you sent our way last week.

It was sunny and warm on Saturday.  That was also a very good thing.

For the record (because my SIL wants royalties should get credit) these tulips were photographed in her garden in Ladner (ie. Greater Vancouver).  They're a little farther along with the Spring thing down there.

On the knitting front, I finished the Ribbon Scarf, and now have to find 80 uninterrupted linear inches that have a remote possibility of not being leapt upon by the cat, the dog, the kids, or the husband before the scarf dries.  It could be a while.

Crocus

I couldn't let crocus season slip by undocumented - there will, of course, be crocus yarn at some point!

Dance Like Nobody's Watching

Crunch

This week is a bit of a bottleneck on many fronts.  Critical venue applications to be submitted, taxes to finish up (which is mostly hubby's job, but still...), and the results of a specialist evaluation for our daughter that took a year on a waitlist to get, and another two months waiting for this Friday's follow-up appointment, at which time we will either get the big check mark that confers long overdue resources and treatment and support, or else.... "sorry, she doesn't quite qualify for a label, and public money is scarce so um... best of luck".   I really have no idea which way it will go, and having worked in the system for 15 years doesn't necessarily reassure me, but either way, the implications for her and for us are huge. 

Anyway, I'm a bit preoccupied, so there will be no new yarn this Friday, and posting might be a little randomish.

All things considered though, I remain enormously grateful for the gifts to be had right outside my window:

Blue Skies and Wistful Thinking

It has been grey for an eternity and a half around here, and while I do love the new green of spring, I long for bright blue sky with all my heart.  Not those insipid teasing glimpses between weather systems, either - I want another hit of the blue that blazes straight through your eyeballs and fills your brain with a giddy sense of possibility.  The sort of blue that makes you dance and fly and laugh out loud at the wonder of being alive, that comes on the wings of light so fierce that it leaves you limp and sated and vaguely hungover by day's end.

Here's the palette:

Sock yarn:

I'm inordinately pleased with this colour-way: a base of consummately azure blue, tempered with subtle nuances of purple, green and grey, create a pleasing depth and luminosity.

It simply begged to be lace, as well:

There are seven lots of sock yarn and four of lace-weight this week.  You can find more details, and the shopping cart in the photo album to the right.   

Jitters

I feel like I've got a thousand projects flopping about aimlessly at the Great Idea, Grand Plans stage and it is tremendously disquieting.  It doesn't help that my creative priorities are presently languishing in the intimidating shadow of big deadlines - the annual submission of impeccably well presented reasons why the biggest venues of the year should let me return.  Since the past season went well, I have no logical reason to worry, but being a neurotic perfectionist, I do anyway.  I seem to recall last year comforting myself that once I was over the first year hump, everything subsequent would be predictable, organized, and smooth sailing.  Ahem. 

So, with the exception of dyeing (because it is such enormous fun), this week is devoted to getting the application monkey off my back.

I have been doing a bit of mindless knitting here and there to calm my nerves:

I looked at that heap of sock yarn all weekend and finally snitched one for myself Sunday morning.  It was my reward for surviving the planning and execution of Saturday's birthday party for eight little girls.  (Which went exceptionally well, but required a considerable expenditure of nervous energy nonetheless.)

I love the way it knit up (good thing!), and was gratified to see the short colour intervals doing their work.  (Disclaimer - every lot is slightly different, and small differences in gauge and sock circumference will rearrange the mix considerably.  Nevertheless, I think it is a pretty pool-resistant colour way.)  The fun part is that the sum of these colours (mixed together) is brown - these are essentially plain brown socks.  They just happen to have a dash of joie de vivre!

Oh... and I finished the Frosty Rose hat yesterday.  Which I like very much, but will also now join the growing throng of projects in limbo, waiting its turn for pattern development, formatting, proof reading, test knitting, kit packaging, etc.

I might go work on that second sock for a while....

Fragmented

It's always nice to start Monday's blog with something eloquent and meaningful, isn't it?  Sets the tone for the week, projects the illusion (to myself, anyway) that life is proceeding graciously and efficiently. 

Not going to happen today.  Instead of ticking off a tidy To Do list, I am running interference between the bored 5 year old and his too-sick-for-school older sister.  (Also trying to remember that this was the whole point of choosing this lifestyle, so that I am not locked into a schedule, and am therefore free to drop everything on a moment's notice to be Supermom.  Repeat to self - this is a Good Thing.)  Thankfully, running interference is at least marginally compatible with knitting, so I am trying to work up a hat design with this stuff (50/50 wool/silk - very yummy):

It is destined (eventually) to be another notecard/knitting kit, based on this photo:

Speaking of getting stuff done, I put Friday's sock yarn (two lots remaining) into a photo album in the right hand sidebar, complete with fully functional Paypal shopping cart.  (I worked out that bit before the kids got up this morning.)  In future, that is where current stock of yarn for sale may be found, though I will continue to blog the inspiration and details of the project of the week on Fridays.

Returning to Earth

This time of year, as the snow pack retreats, it leaves in its wake the moist and mouldering remnants of last year's foliage. 

And while decomposing leaves would not be considered traditionally beautiful, something magical happens when you tease apart their colour components:

There is a rich and not entirely unexpected undercurrent of chocolate and terracotta, olive and dusky gold, but there are also surprise highlights: crimson, lavender, a pure sky blue, delicate creams and pale cherry blossom pink.  It's as though, having spent a summer converting sunlight into corporeal form, the leaves now release that captured spectrum as they return to the earth that bore them.

One could interpret this mix of hues in a hundred different ways, but here is what I chose:

The colour intervals range from short to very short, which should knit up into a nicely blended effect.

I also indulged in some luscious alpaca/merino laceweight, just to see what would happen:

In this case, I kept the value and intensity very similar throughout the colour changes, since I feel that high contrast variegation tends to detract from lacework. 

Sock Details: 4 ply fingering weight sock yarn, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon.  Sold in matched 2 skein lots, each skein is 50 gms (approx. 206 m / 225 yds). Two skeins is enough for a generously sized pair of socks with some to spare.  Price: Each 2 skein lot is $26 (Can)

Laceweight: 50:50 baby alpaca/fine merino. One skein, 50 gms (approx. 550 m /600 yds).  Price: $22.

Shipping:  Flat rate $6 shipping to the US and Canada.  International orders email for shipping quotes.

Ordering:  For now, will continue to be blog based, on a first come, first served basis.  (I will look into other formats as time goes on, but this seems to work in the meantime, and ensures that I don't inadvertently oversell a limited edition product.) There are seven six four three two one lots of sock yarn and one skein of laceweight this week - email me at ruthATimpulse-of-delightDOTcom (substitute @ for AT and . for DOT) and I will email you a Paypal invoice for the total.  In the unlikely event that someone doesn't pay in a reasonable time frame (say, 48 hours), I will offer it to the next requester.  I went high tech - see the photo album in the right hand sidebar for a proper shopping cart.

A Very Good Day

I've decided that Wednesday will be dyeing day for now, since it takes two days for the skeins to dry in this climate, and I'd prefer to post them Friday morning rather than late afternoon.  Last night was full of anticipatory dreams about this week's colourway, which I think means the project has a satisfactory happiness to drudgery ratio!

The day started with an early morning trip to the gym (which I am very proud of putting back into my daily routine, after a 2 year hiatus).  When I left the building around 7:15 or so, a rosy glow was sliding down the line of snowy peaks, and above them was the promise of a clear blue sky.  It was a moment of utter, breath-catching bliss, the kind of luxury that can never be consumed, only received in gratitude.

So after getting the kids off to school, I elected to multitask for an hour or so while the yarn soaked:

No pictures of the working day (those are saved for Friday) but I was very happy with the results.

I must show you this, though - it was the last day of ski school, which meant costumes and colours, and a wee parade:

The Whistler preschool ski program has been a luxury that was not free, but worth every heavily pinched penny.  The classes are tiny, the instructors are incredible, and with two full days a week from December to April, they form very close bonds with the kids and do an amazing job of teaching and encouraging them - it really is a bit of a tear jerker when it ends.  I have been very sceptical of many childrens' sports programs, listening to the dads scream at their 4 year olds to "get it together" on the soccer field and the like, but this program has really been everything one could ever want.