Monday, April 04, 2016

Hello April! Hello Monday!


This is what I wrote last Friday - I think it was Friday.

“Rainy day and gray socks (from personal sock yarn club 2016, February package, pair no 2)

Each complements each other. Truly. But as much as I wait for the sky to clear up so that I can get out of the door to take a walk (the dogs are not that willing to venture into the rain either - Tina has a very thick coat, she is shedding at the moment and looks miserable, I would pick and brush her if she was more willing, but the older she gets, the less she likes to be brushed), I made myself a promise not to knit with dark grey wool for a long time. If my personal sock yarn club is providing me with another skein of dark grey, I am giving myself a permission to take another bag... It was such a good decision to make couple of extra bags so I can take another pick. Grey wool and spring just will not work well for me. This color is so out of the season, but come November and all is set for grey and you wonder if there are any other colors in the world but grey.
Now, I should pick up the neon Regia to knit that next, but I am not sure if I have anything in the stash to pair with it. Because the weather is not co-operating with me and I don't feel like walking in the rain, I think I am going to visit my big stash in the garage and see if there is anything that would work [there was not]. Then I will pile all my stitch dictionaries and take out few magazines, make a strong pot of coffee and settle for a bit to find something interesting.
My mind is already jumping ahead and thinking about the next knit, but really, I should take a moment and enjoy these finished socks. After all, they took a long time to knit and feel like an accomplishment. They are good, and warm and sturdy (yarn is Opal, I think) and I tried to make them as well as I could. I am trying to remember just what books or movies I saw while knitting them but my memory is not bringing up anything significant.
I have knit this pattern many times and it has been a good pattern, the previous socks were the same except for the difference in pattern size. While in these socks the pattern repeat is eight stitches wide, in the blue/white ones it was 16 stitches wide and for a while I was thinking of making it little bigger yet. “

Then something happened and I shut off the computer. Today is Monday, I just came home from a short trip to town, wanted to take the time to drive today since it is supposed to snow later tonight and that will turn all the roads slippery and nasty.
We had a glorious weekend, sunny and warm and once again being outside was good. There is still plenty of snow remaining and the surroundings don’t look like much, grey, dirty snow and ice all over but in just a few weeks everything will look different. I am already seeing flowers in my mind and have this beautiful, airy and light wool on my needles.
I hope that it will grow up to be a shawl embellished with tiny, delicate wool flowers. Mindless garter stitch, but the yarn is very, very lovely. It is 100%wool (mixture of Faroese wool, Shetland wool and Australian lamb’s wool), Navia from Faroe Islands, 350m/50g and I am using 2,5mm (US1) needles. It is fluffy and light knitted but yet manages to have lots of body and is somewhat crisp too. I don’t want to put it down; it is so lovely to work with.
I have cast on for a new pair of socks as well, of course. While going outside few days ago, I took my little pocket camera along, decided to take a couple of pictures of the spring, and spotted these two tree trunks… And when home, I looked at my knitting and there is totally similarity.
Unintentional. I was not aware that I have been seeing these trunks on my walk but I must have seen them and the image must have been buried into my memory since it has jumped onto my needles. Or then it is just a coincident.
The yarn is 100% wool too, organic Poll Dorset by Renaissance Dyeing. Beautiful and strong yet all wool. I usually make my socks with wool and nylon mixture but sometimes I can feel the nylon so well that it bothers me little bit. It is odd how in some wool mixtures you can really feel the nylon but in some mixtures, it is less noticeable, even when the amounts are the same. When blocked the nylon-feel will often go away but if you can feel it when knitting, it makes the process less enjoyable.

New socks and a shawl, both on the needles, and the tiny blue flowers will be this month’s crochet content.

Hope you have a good week with lovely yarn ahead,
Wool with you,
Lene

PS. I am not sure if I will write a pattern for these past two pairs. I am thinking of it.

9 comments:

  1. It is snowing here, which is easier to walk in than rain, I think. But either makes chores a bit more difficult. Oh well.
    I made a little shawl with Navia Uno last year - it was a pleasure to work with and the shawl is so light. Made quite a change from my usual sock-knitting.
    http://ravel.me/quinn/3gift

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  2. Tree trunks and socks and yarn - love the inspiration.

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  3. That is such a beautiful sky blue you chose for your gorgeous breath-of-spring socks!

    And what is that on the tree trunks, moss?

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  4. Your shawl looks lovely. I like the little blue flowers.

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  5. Love your color combination for these socks! And your shawl looks so airy and light - the addition of the tiny flowers is wonderful!

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  6. Your creativity is a delight. It's always a treat to see a new post from you. Happy spring time to you.

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  7. Your socks are beautiful and i love the cream and white of your "blooming" project.

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  8. Anonymous00:52

    Lene: Your socks and pictures are beautiful, as usual. And the pattern for your socks would be wonderful. I'm just curious, however. Why do you twine the top ribbing and why do you have the couple of rows of garter stitches as you transition to the main body of your sock? Do the garter stitch rows keep the socks from sliding down into your boots? Or is it merely decorative? I would think the raised ridge would irritate your leg under your snug Icebug boots. Or does it flatten when inside the boots? Also, I love the follow-through pink color at the start of the heel. Does this raised ridge keep the socks from sliding down into the heel of your shoes? Or is this also only decorative? Does it wear better? I'd think it would raise a blister on your heel where it is thick. Or does it also compress? Just curious. The yellow lichen on the birches reflected in your new pair of socks is lovely. Thanks. Love your weekly updates and adoring Rusuu. LOL Renée in Wisconsin

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  9. Gorgeous socks! Your work is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

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