Knitting on Impulse

Dancing Moss

I asked a good friend this week what sort of yarn she would like for her belated birthday gift, and she was quite clear that it was to be Red.  It seemed as good a time as any to start revisiting some of the more popular colourways, therefore this week is devoted to one of my favorite photo inspirations, the dancing moss:

There is just so much primal energy and joy in those little sporophytes - the world of moss never fails to delight and astonish me.

Once again, I strove to capture their pure, translucent reds, lit from within by the warm spring sun.

Merino lace:

Luminous lace (baby alpaca / merino):

Bluefaced Bliss - I divided this into two groups - one with more defined contrasts to go with the Shifting Hues Scarf pattern:

(I included an un-reskeined shot to give you a better idea of the colour progressions) and the other group of skeins are more of a deep semi-solid red:

Truthfully, I was disappointed and even despondent when I saw the initial outcome of these skeins, thinking I had spoilt them with too much brown.  But I persevered with overdyeing and the end result is a rich red wine with subtle base notes of mahogany and a lingering finish of sunshine.  (In other words, quite satisfactory!)

No socks this week, due to a little learning experience about the vagaries of the wholesale supply chain, however, all is now sorted and there will be lots next week.  I've collected some very cool sock-worthy photo subjects in the meantime.

Yarn's Up

Over here. 

And also, check this out. I love the uncluttered graphic esthetic of Miriam's lace designs, so I am totally thrilled and honoured and excited to see what she will create!

Sock Revisited

First though, I want to thank Tora for her wonderful tutorial on no-turn bobbles.  I haven't tried it out yet, partly because I want to finish the body border consistently (I'll try it on the sleeve borders) and partly because all my brain power is currently employed in fretting about my daughter, who has been suffering a week of lethargy, low grade fevers, and an enlarging lymph gland that is now approximately the size of a tangerine. Plain socks are best for doctors' waiting rooms, in any case. 

Speaking of socks, I thought I'd give you an update on the red BFL socks.  As you may recall, I knit the heels and toes in two end stranded fashion for the insurance of double thickness, but without much hope that 2 ply, super-yummy-soft, non-superwash wool would stand up to wear.  I have to say, they have pleasantly surprised me!  I have worn them often and vigorously - long walks in hiking shoes, hanging out around the house, running errands...

Here's how they look:

The soles have become fuzzy and felted a bit, but they have not shrunk and remain comfortably flexible:

Most importantly, there are no signs of thinning in the high wear areas. 

The bits that show have mild, easily removed pilling, but otherwise look as good as new:

So nice, in fact, that I bought them some shoes:

Actually, I was in dire need of a pair of comfortable walking shoes that weren't hiking boots, but it seemed an opportune time to indulge a longstanding envy of certain other knitbloggers and their Mary Janes.

Hard Slogging

I wasn't doing the actual slogging in this case, I was just dyeing on our patio a scant 6 metres from the jackhammers.  All. Day. Long.  (Not to mention I have nowhere to soak my aching back....)

This, however, is my doing:

One round left, with two stupid time wasting cute bobbles to top off each stupid delightfully funky flower in this border.  I don't know what it is about bobbles.  I have no quarrel with their appearance, (used judiciously) but there's something about having to interrupt a perfectly peaceful round of knitting by turning around and going backwards... and then forwards.. and then backwards again... and then forwards one last time and it only counts as One Stitch.  And you do it about a million times.  Bugs me.  I've been rewarding myself with 15 minutes of housework each time I finish a bobble round - how sick is that? 

Symptomatic

Rob pointed this out to me in our bookshelf the other day.  It kind of explains a few things (note which book has the upper hand....)

For the record, to the right is our wedding album and a sports medicine text, and to the left, the aircraft operating instructions for an F-18. I think there are some old design sketches stuffed on top, and Rob's grandfather's WWI photo album (he was a pilot, too) underneath.

Shifting Hues Scarf

Pattern: my own design, presently being proofread and test knit.  Designed specifically to work with the skein length and colour intervals of my BFL.

Yarn: Bluefaced Bliss in Forest Floor.

Notes: Simple to knit, and works up very quickly - would be a fabulous last minute gift.  I plan to provide the PDF free (on request) with any purchase of Bluefaced Bliss.

 

I Forgot

To mention that I am going to try a wee experiment and turn off the hated Captcha.  It has never stymied me in commenting on other blogs, but it does seem to bug a lot of people, and the clincher?  Typepad's latest newsletter suggests turning it off so as not to annoy readers!  (Kinda makes you wonder why they invented it.....)  So - we shall see. If I am inundated with helpful suggestions for the improvement of my husband's masculine attributes, I may reconsider, but it can't hurt to give it a whirl.

Oddiments

Bear food:

Any day now, we will round the corner to find an enormous bear sitting on his big furry bum, stuffing his face.  They adore dandelions.  Rob saw a lovely cinnamon bear down by the school the other day, doing just that (never a camera when you need one), though I think he was asked to leave by the nice man with the noisemaker.

Bobbles:

The orange sweater is well underway.  It was my reward for a weekend spent sorting and storing my entire yarn stash, which leads me to the literal sense of the title:

The project-worthy yarn lots are safely zip-locked, documented and stashed in the storage locker, leaving two big bags of oddiments - one of cottons and silks, one of wool and wool-ish things.  Despite being unquestionably in love with the projects presently on my needles, I have this huge urge to dig through the oddiment bags and make some sort of patchwork / stripey little masterpiece. 

I'm not entirely sure what fuels my attraction to scraps and oddballs.  Perhaps it's the fact that most patterns I followed in my early days (admittedly crochet) were for stuffies, and the materials list invariably read: "Oddiments of wool in the following colours...".  Or maybe the sense of risk-free potential - these are either leftovers from big projects or ridiculously inexpensive sale items, so I can indulge my imagination and if the result is hideous, the only waste will be a bit of time.  I have these ideas for kid cardigans with a log cabin construction.....

Must. Be. Strong.  Off to the closet!