Works in Progress….

Rain comes, and birds–
Silhouettes against the pearlescent sky–
Respond excitedly in song.
They open their throats to heaven's nectar,
And rhyme with the drops.
Deng Ming Dao

This little verse about how so much of nature is song is so appropriate at this time of year…..and the rain…..oh…the rain we have had plenty of this week. 

I'm probably one of the strange few that enjoys the spring rains.  I love listening to the rain early in the morning as it hits the barn's metal roof…and the birds, they surely do twitter a lot in the morning when it is raining.  It's all strangely comforting and certainly invites one to snuggle in a bit further under the down comforter for a few extra moments.

Last weekend Ken and Hannah traveled down to visit his family, so I spent the weekend cleaning and decluttering.  The payment for all the work that I did has been a good amount of free time that I could spend on fibery things.

In the picture at the top, you can see that I have been spinning.  Of course it has been a treat to spin on the newest grrl in the house, but I have been making sure to spend time with the other wheels as well.  The fiber on the bobbin is some absolutely scrumptious corriedale/angora/silk blend that I purchased from Chris last year at the NH Sheep and Wool festival.  Do I need angora?  Why no, I do not, but every year I usually come home with something from Chris.  She has some yummy fibers for sure!

The knitting next to the bobbin is one of Anne's new sweater patterns, Ondule.  I would like to say that I am test knitting it for her, but given how slow I am the mistakes are always found by the other test knitters long before I find them, so I'm basically just along for the ride….LOL.

The yarn I am using is the same one that I used for Hannah's shrug.  It is a blend of merino and bamboo that I plan to put in the shop, as I really like the fabric that it produces.  This batch was dyed in the Victorian Hydrangea colorway.

I also finished up the first Cable twist sock and am nearing the heel on the second one.  Adrian's pattern is a fun and easy one for sure!  The only modification I did was to use 64 stitches with an eight stitch repeat (k6,2). This and Ondule are fairly easy knitting patterns, so they will accompany me this weekend to NH's S&W festival. 

Ken and I are going to make a Mother's day weekend out of it this year instead of our usual Saturday only trip.  This year we are going to spend Saturday night in Concord with Carole and Dale..and Jean and Dan.  It will be fun!  I am looking forward to seeing my fiber friends this weekend…..yay!!

Last but not least………Maplewing is finished!!  As much as I enjoyed knitting my bee stole, I think I enjoyed this one even more.  It is such a fluid pattern.  It appears to be complicated when you first see it, but knitting it is easy peasy. 

Maplewing is boxed up and on it's way to Ohio.  Anne graciously offered to block it for me and I graciously accepted because I suck at blocking lace ;).  Anne is a good friend for sure and we know she rocks at blocking lace!

Thanks Anne!