Monday, January 02, 2012

New Year


Happy New Year to You! Another stack of 365 days to knit and weave and draw and embroider and spin and... you fill in the rest. When the new year starts to unfold, I hope to find myself knitting a lot. I wish to be inspired to draw a bit more as well. Hopefully I will discover few great books, find time to listen to music and will feel the urge to lace my walking shoes over and over again. It would be nice to be able to walk on a few new paths as well. 

And knitting is going quite well. I don't know if you remember these socks I started sometime last fall but they fell aside because I was not sure how to continue with them. 


I am more and more drawn to stranded knitting, so I picked up the socks again and I think I know now which way I am going with these socks. (The yarn is Poll Dorset by Renaissance Dyeing.) We'll see if the outcome is what I expect it to be, there is one point that I am not sure of yet.

I love stranded knitting,  and most likely because it is still very challenging to me. I have to concentrate on forming the stitches, and keeping the dominant yarn in its proper place and the strands on the back side loose enough. I keep going back and forth from double pointed needles to circulars and back again and cannot  decide what is the best way. And the same goes with holding the yarns, for a while I keep one in left hand and the other in right hand, and after a while I look at the stitches and wonder if they would be more even if both of the yarns were in the right or in the left hand. Good blocking takes care of most of the wonky stitches and I am again counting on that.   


(I had to block this sample just to make sure the blocking really works!)


I looked through my pile of unfinished knits and discovered a pair of socks that needed to be finished. They are knit from the top up on a magic loop (I think my first magic loop pair) and I used all of the yarn (band missing, but probably very familiar to you)... but when knitting the leg-part, I kept squeezing the yarn to see how much I had left because it felt like the yarn would never end. I did not wound the yarn into two separate balls but knit one sock from the inside and the second from the outside of the ball.


Few words about drawing...

I am not sure if you know of Carla Sonheim... She published a book called Drawing Lab - I think it was last year - and I love that book. She offers workshops on line as well and last year I took part in her "Silly class" and enjoyed all the worksheets she had us doing and now I have enrolled on two of her classes that both happen in January. The first one is called Faces 101, it lasts 5 days and she will have us draw 101 faces during the coming week. 


The course started today and I think there is still time to take part in it if you wish to do so. If you love drawing or have ever considered drawing, I highly recommend her classes. Her approach is very easy and friendly and you really don't need to be a good drawer or illustrator to be taking part. I learnt a lot in Silly 3 and hope to learn a lot from this face course as well. The illustration above is the first set of faces I have done.
 
The weather has stayed nice, clear skies and not too cold. It was -10°C (with the wind -18°C) when I went for a walk today. The sun rose 1100 and set 1338 (0138pm), so the day is already 2hours and 38 minutes!! 


This was really the color of the world at 0930 this morning.

Hope you all have a good week,
Wool with you,
Lene

20 comments:

  1. Happy new year, Lene! Your blog is such a pleasant place to visit, and all your creative pursuits both amaze and inspire. All the best to you.

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  2. Anonymous17:15

    The faces made me smile, but, boy howdy, that photo! What a beautiful place and how magical that you were able to capture it.
    You are inspiring me to pick up my pencils again to draw.
    (Amusing to see you use the word 'wonky' too. Is that an official knitter's word like 'frog'?)

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  3. I like your page and I love the sheep you have on your site. Really nice. I will follow your writing with pleasure- Sennia

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  4. Anonymous18:40

    Happy New Year, Lene! I followed, with great interest, your days of December and to see the sun 'nest' - a delightful expression. I see it has hopped out of the nest and it is painting the landscape!
    I love your faces - also like the sheep on your header.
    Peg on Vancouver Island

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  5. Happy New Year Lene,
    I love your socks and your faces!

    All the best,
    Dawn

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  6. The small detailson the back of the leg.Super!

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  7. LOVE those socks - both the patterns and colours! Happy new year!

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  8. Anonymous23:16

    Happy new year, Lene!
    All the best to you.
    Geerte,
    Regards from The Nedherlands

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  9. Anonymous01:41

    Love the color of the landscape - I'm surprised that there was that much light so long before sunrise.

    Happy New Year and thanks for your lovely blog.
    margieinmaryland

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  10. very beautiful post, your knitting is so perfect. and your drawings are so lovely too. happy new year!

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  11. Anonymous18:18

    Happy New Year Lene! What a lovely way to start they new year - taking a drawing course.

    2hr and 38 minutes - woo hoo. Although it seems like your sunrise (and sunset) is long and beautiful :-)

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  12. Thank you for sharing your special place in this world. I love the photo - so sureal. I look forward to more of your posts in 2012.

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  13. Thank you thank you thank you for posting about the class! I homeschool our boys and it's ha to get them to sit and draw. They were so excited after watching yesterday's videos that they got right to it!

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  14. A lovely reader of my blog, Dawn, sent me a link to you just in time to enjoy your Tonttu! I was lucky enough to receive from my Mother skeins of hand spun that are quite similar in appearance to the yarns you used; so now, I have my very first Tonttu thanks to your excellent tutorials.


    And I have found your blog which I am already enjoying very, very much.

    I look forward to watching the sun return to Finland and following your new adventures in 2012.

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  15. Happy New Year, Lene! I am looking forward to another year of your lovely posts. Love your little drawings and yes, the photo is magical. I am imagining Moomintrolls snoozing in their pointy house just over the next hill.

    My cousin in Virginia sent me a picture of a winter iris blooking in her yard. I told her that I had been looking out my kitchen window yesterday, thinking how spring-like it looked (gold-finches flying aabout, squirrels chasing each other across the yard). And then I realized that winter has only just started for us! It's wonderful how different the seasons are around the world...I do enjoy seeing your winter.

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  16. Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing your world.

    Andrea
    Leonard, Texas, USA

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  17. Karen00:40

    Happy New Year Lene! So nice to be a little part of your world.

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  18. Anonymous04:42

    happy new year Lene
    I do so love reading what you have been up to.And I also love reading your tempatures and amount of sunlight you receive.I would be most unhappy without the sun,do you find it bothers you (lack of) or are you used to it?
    I hope lots of knitting for you in the new year
    hugs Sue

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  19. Maureen - New England05:13

    I was missing you already - thank you for another posting! Your blog is beautiful art that feeds my soul every day in so many different ways.
    You're a gufted teacher, Lene - I always learn something new from you! May the new year ahead be kind and gentle to you and those you love!

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  20. Dolores22:52

    You are a real inspiration, Lene! And thank you for the info on the drawing book. I'm sending away for it today!
    Always, always, always a pleasure to visit your blog, and a happy 2012 to you!

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