This weekend was a weekend of rest after a crazy, busy week.  My work week last week became much busier due to an unforeseen event……so much so that I even had to shut down my aim, just so I could concentrate on getting work that needed to be done, finished….eek!

So….after the craziness of the week, I was ready for some rest and relaxation… and for me, that means a cold glass of wine and a date with some knitting needles, working on some SOS socks 🙂

As I mentioned before, I am using Nancy Bush’s Child’s Silk Sock pattern from Vintage Knitting, for this Neapolitan sock, but I made a few slight changes to the pattern, which will make it more comfortable for my foot inside of a shoe.  Instead of carrying the lace down to the toe, I opted to do a ribbed pattern that lined up with the lace and I added my regular kitchner stitch toe.

The yarn is a different one for me. I have had trouble getting my usual base yarn, so I ordered a different superwash/nylon blend.  When I first got it, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it because it is not merino, but rather a lambswool.  Having finished the first sock however, I am very happy with it.  The texture reminds me of my favorite socks that I live in.  They have truly been used and abused and still look like new when they come out of the wash.  I will still work with the merino blend when I can get it again, but this new yarn will be a new regular staple for me as well.  I think it is a yarn that will hold up well over the long run.

Other than working on my sock and a little on Hypotenuse, I spent my free time giving the garden a much needed weeding.  Man……it never ceases to amaze me how fast those weeds grow!

The weather was perfect though, for just spreading out a towel, turning on some tunes and just plugging away at it.

The weather here in the Northeast has been pleasantly warm, but the nights have been pretty cool, so the garden isn’t growing quite as fast as it probably would otherwise, but it is starting to show signs of promise.

We’ve had a few meals with some of the romain lettuce and this week, I will have a few ripe sungold tomatoes and green peppers.  :). 

As much as I really hate the bugs……it makes me smile when I walk down the garden paths and see the little veggies happily growing.

Do you remember those little candies?  You know, the ones with the pink,brown and white stripes….those coconutty ones?  Those little wrapped Neapolitans?…mmm.  That is exactly what this yarn colorway reminds me of.

Now normally any one will tell you, I am not really a pink person, but somehow this combination of pinks and browns has captured my attention.  I first saw it on the Sundara Yarn page, but alas it is no longer being sold.  I saw it again in Margene’s stash and was smitten all over again.

Well, if you can’t buy it…….I say, dye it.  The colors are almost victorian in appearance and begged for something lacey, so once again, I am knitting Nancy Bush’s Child’s Silk stocking from Vintage knits.  After the last sock, I needed something a bit more mindless, but with enough pattern to keep my interest and this fits the bill :-).

In keeping with the pink theme, I bring you a pink snapdragon as my Friday Flower.  Snapdragons have been a long time favorite of mine in the garden and the best part…….if you neglect them a bit in the fall, they happily reseed themselves and surprise you in the spring!

With all the rain this week, my gardens have been happily growing a lot of weeds too…uggh!  A weeding we must go this weekend for sure.

You may remember in a previous post, I spoke about my feelings on life’s givers and takers.  Well, this past week, I have met one of the givers and am happy to count her amongst the new friends I have met in blogland.

A few weeks ago, Robin had a comment contest and I won a prize :-).  I rarely win anything, so I was pretty
excited, and even more so when Robin’s gift arrived.

Enclosed along with N.Epstein’s Knitted embellishments were some lovely things that Robin made herself. Some VERY yummy soap and beautiful stitchmarkers.  Over the week, Robin and I chatted about the many things we have in common….it is always so nice to meet a kindred spirit.  Go over to her site and say hello………you won’t be disappointed.

This past weekend, I mentioned that I had traveled up north to visit with a friend.  Last Wednesday, Hannah and I jumped in the car and traveled North a little ways thru Crawford Notch into Littleton to have lunch with Judy.

The day couldn’t have been more perfect for a road trip.  The temperatures were almost autumn like with a warm breeze and the sun was smiling on us.

We met at this fabulous little cafe that looked out over the Swift River.  Even Hannah who sometimes does not like to travel out of her own back yard had to admit that it was a nice day, especially when it included a trip to Chutter’s, home to the world’s longest candy counter.

Right next door to the cafe is a little grist mill, where you can find locally ground flours, oatmeal, pancake mixes and maple syrup.  Given that I am trying to participate in Liz’s One Local Summer, I snagged some of each.  Whew……..I never realized just how hard it can be to create meals comprised of completely local stuff.  The fruits and veggies….not so hard, but it is the other things, such as flours, butters, etc that are a bit more of a challenge….but that’s for another post.

After a little chatting,
a lot of laughter and a great lunch, it was time for Hannah and I to wind our way back home thru the Mt. Washington National Forest.  As pretty as the mountains are in the winter, they are even more so in the summer.  The lush colors of green against the blue skies………..just beautiful!

There was a purpose for this trip besides just a visit with a good friend.  You see this fabulous toy……..it is an electric winder that Judy’s significant other made for me.  Let me tell you what a life saver this has been for me.  What has made it extra special to me is that some of the maple wood on this was handmilled by C from trees on their land in VT.

Up until now, I have wound and rewound my skeins with a niddy noddy to the point where I thought my arm might go on strike, but with this new little toy, I have been able to quadruple what I can wind in an afternoon and my shoulders are greatful.

With winter not to far in the distant future am trying a few new heavier weight yarns….what a dream it was to use this winder with them :-).  Thank~you Judy and C!!!!!

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring
up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that
you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
— Henry
David Thoreau

Have you ever worked on a pattern that didn’t bring you joy, but when you finished the object it gave you great joy?  This is how it was for me with these socks.  The pattern is the New England Sock from Knitting on the Road and I used the recommended Koigu. 

Now, I do love Koigu….I mean I LOVE koigu, but when I knit with this yarn, the fabric that I like the best is produced with size 0’s (2.0mm) and this is what the pattern called for as well.  To me, it is amazing the difference a 2.25mm makes in terms of ease on your hands.  I find that knitting with the 0’s causes my hands to cramp up from time to time and even more so when doing a lace pattern. 

This particular lace pattern was not one that I could seem to commit to memory, which meant carrying the copy of the pattern around with me when I was knitting, so it was easy to put this second sock down and work on other things……..but having said all of this.  I absolutely LOVE these socks.  I know that they will be my new favorite socks.  I love the pattern, the yarn, the color and the fabric.  Nancy Bush is a master when it comes to sock patterns!

In between work, dyeing and knitting, I have been working in the garden.  Ok……maybe I have more weeds than I would like, but truly I don’t mind weeding, so a day of weeding will happen next week.

What I do hate however are the bugs.  I have quickly remembered one of the reasons I put my last garden to rest a few years ago……….cucumber beetles…..sigh.

How is it that this pretty beetle, who by the way matches my Big Yellow Yaxi socks so nicely can create such havoc in a garden.

Early every morning and again late afternoon, I go into the garden and pick off as many as I find, but of course the next day there is a new batch of pretty black and yellow relatives happily munching on my yellow cucumber flowers.  If any of you gardeners….Liz, Norma...out there have any non toxic suggestions, give me a shout!

I will leave you with a few pictures of my favorite garden things……

Today is July 7, 2007 and is considered to be a very lucky day, however, last week was my lucky week for sure!

Over the year I have been participating in Lynne’s special swap and have had a very nice time getting to know new people.  The best part of this swap is that you know ahead of time who you are swapping with, so you get to make new friends 🙂

This time around the theme was a Garden Party theme and my swap partner was Sue.  My package arrived this week and was full of garden goodies.  Starting off is this garden journal, which will get a lot of use for next years garden.  I love the idea of keeping a garden journal.


Of course there were lots of yummy goodies and some very nice teas, along with a great smelling bar of soap, which pictured here are all tucked in a pretty planting tin.

And the yarn…….some very soft Frog Tree cotton along with some peaches and cream cotton, that my youngest daughter quickly snagged for her very first crochet project.  The blues will be used for some soft cushy wash cloths I think, to go with some new soaps that I am considering trying……and rounding up the package were some nice flower seeds, some great candles and some pretty flower plates.

Thank you Sue!!!

Since Iris is the Greek goddess for
the Messenger of Love, her sacred
flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages.
Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved
women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to
take the souls of women to the Elysian fields.
–   Hana No Monogatari: The
Stories of Flowers

Have you ever seen such a stunning Iris? My middle daughter, Ashley spends her summers working as a gardener and always carries her camera with her.  These little lovelies are from a garden in Maine that she tends to every week.   I never realized that Irises came in such a beautiful array of colors…….who knew?

So how’s your summer going?  Mine has been crazy busy!  Working at home during the summer is always a challenge for me.  The girls are home from school and college, the phone never stops ringing and the interruptions could make a sane person crazy.  The first few weeks of summer are always an adjustment finding a new routine that works for all of us.  Hopefully next week will find us back in a comfortable groove again.

This week also brought a wonderful swap package, a really nice surprise prize winning gift, a trip up north to visit with a friend who sent me home with something special and hopefully I am going to wrap up the week with a finished object and a locally made meal.

I was going to try and cram it all in this post, but as my daughter would say……..that is way too much information (TMI), so instead, I am going to try and be diligent and post just a little bit each day.  🙂

As a footnote, thank you all for your kind words of support for our community here.  Thankfully they caught the man who did this.  His callous comments to the media were just unbelievable.  The only word I can use to describe this man is evil……….just evil.  Hopefully he will stay behind bars for the rest of his life.

I was originally going to write a long post about cashmere early this morning, but the events of this day kind of put fiber and posting on the back burner.  I will write a little about the cashmere and a little more about our day.

Cashmere…….it’s a wonderful experience.  Last week as I took some time to visit with my big lendrum girl, I pulled these 3 different balls of cashmere roving out of the basket.  Each one of these were purchased from different vendors and each one was very different than the next.

The skein to the far right was purchased at NH Sheep and Wool and let me tell you, I so wish I had grabbed one of this vendor’s cards as it was by far the best cashmere I have ever spun.  For any of you out there who have spun cashmere, you know just how short those fibers can be.  I’m talking less than an inch.  If there is another method of spinning it other than inchworming along, it is beyond my capability.  This roving however was so wonderfully prepared that it made the spinning pure joy.  If any of you out there know who the man was that was selling little bags of cashmere for 12.00 an ounce, give me a shout 🙂

The white cashmere was purchased at Rhinebeck from Galina and this too was a pleasant roving to spin.  Not quite as smooth as the one to the right and a bit ramy smelling, but still nice.

The last skein to the left was also in roving form, but not quite as nice to spin, which surprised me given where it came from.  A lot more neps, very ramy smelling and a bit coarser, which of course was still pretty soft considering it is cashmere.  Hopefully a long soak in a bubble bath will cure the ramminess 🙂

I have a bit more of the white so while I am spinning on my big girl, I will be contemplating what to do with these lovely cashmere skeins 🙂

………………….. and now the sad part of the day.  Last week I saw a commercial on tv that kind of stuck with me today.  I don’t remember what the advertisement was for, but each person in this commercial casually makes a comment similar to " In 2 hours I am going to be in a car accident" or "on my way to work, I will be killed by someone who runs a red light, etc."

Earlier today, 3 people were shot in our little town.  2 of them are dead and one is in critical condition.  This all happened about a mile from my house in the store that my daughter’s ex-husband was the assistant manager of until just 2 weeks ago.  The only thing that we do know is that the manager, who was also a friend to Stacey and Dan was one of the men killed.  This happened shortly before the store opened.  This man, has a wife and 2 small children and today was just another day……..but then again it was not. 

In spite of state troopers, police, sheriffs and helicopters searching, the shooter was not apprehended and is still at large.  Everyone in the village was asked to stay in their homes with the doors locked while they searched for this man.  As I sat in my house, on the unusually quiet street, listening to the drone of the helicopter most of the day, I thought about that commercial and just how fragile life is. 
So if you think of it in your quiet time this evening, please say a prayer for the families of these people and an extra prayer that they find this man who caused such havoc in the lives of good people.

Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
and all the time she laughs at those who shout

her name and steal her clothes.
Veronica, Veronica, Veronica

Veronica sits in her favorite chair
she sits very quiet and still
when they called her a name that they never get right
and that they’l know nobody else will

well she used to have a carefree mind of her own
with a devilish look in her eye
saying you can call me anything you like
but my name is Veronica
Elvis Costello

Although the single stalk of Veronica is not necessarily a breathtaking beauty, it has always held a special place in the garden for me.  You see, Veronica was my grandmother’s name and is the middle name of both my mother and her sister.  As a young child, I was always mesmerized by that name.  Not quite sure if I loved it or loved it not.  It was also the name of the bossy vixen in my favorite childhood comic book, The Archie’s. 

These days though………I love it, the name, the flower and the song!

It’s been pretty quiet here on the knitting front as I have been battling hard, resisting the temptation to jump into something new. 

I have promised myself that I would finish the projects that have been languishing in my project basket.  This is when it is so very hard for me to fight that lovely ADD gene that I seemed to have inherited.  Starting things is never a problem for me as the excitement of something new is always so invigorating, but finishing things that are bigger than one sock……..well, ummm…..that is a different tale.

Having finished the wool peddler shawl, I have moved on to the next project in the basket….Anne’s Hypotenuse, worked in dk brown silky wool.  This wool is fabulous stuff!

Once I finish this shawl, I will give myself to work on my next lace project with my laceweight yarn.  The picture doesn’t capture the color very well….it’s much softer.

I also have a yummy pair of koigu socks that need to be finished before I can move on to this vest that my daughter caught sight of on knitscene.

Thankfully she is a small girl, so there is a very good chance this will be finished before she heads back to Plymouth for the winter (her boyfriend is a grad student)

That’s it for now………….have a GREAT weekend!  The weather here has finally cooled down, so we will be outside enjoying the days 🙂

What an absolutely gorgeous weekend we had here in New England!  The temperatures were almost autumn like with a warm breeze.  If the weather could be like this year round here, I think I could die a happy woman! 

I spent Saturday at Parker River Alpaca Farm with some fiber friends, including my good friend blogless Manise.  Do you think I took a picture?  Of course not…I was waaay too busy chatting away.  (I dont’ get out enough….LOL).  Cheryl was snapping away, so I’m betting she will have some pictures up soon.

As you may remember, I was really sweating the yarn situation with my Wool Peddler shawl.  I had sent out an SOS to Judy, but she had been away, so I kept plugging away on a prayer and a song.

As you can see, the shawl is finished and as you can see……..I just barely made it….eek!

Just as I was finishing up, Judy did email me to let me know that she had some more of this yarn.  Whew…….even though I didn’t end up needing it, it was good to know that had I run out, I could have found another skein.

All and all, this was a fabulous knit and one I would do again :-)!

Pattern:  Interweave Knits, Folk Shawls…Wool Peddler Shawl
Yarn:  Ball & Skein Merino/wool dk weight
Needles:  Knit Picks Options, size 7

 

babtisia……..one of my favorites in the garden.

Accomplish your visions.
Persevere in your ambitions.
Only then can you negate
Visions and ambitions.
Deng Ming~Dao

I finished my hooking project and it came out well, but not perfect.  I will be hooking a bit more over the next week, so I will share the end result next week.

In the meantime, I am sweating bullets with my wool peddler shawl.  Have I shared with you how much I love this pattern?  Or the yarn?  This is one of those patterns that I could just keep knitting and knitting….reminiscent of Birch.

As all good things must come to an end though, so it is with this shawl. I am winding down the home stretch……..but the question is…… am I going to have enough yarn? 

I have one more row and then the cast off, and this is what I have left……..EEK.  There are a lot of stitches on the needles.  If I cast off a row before I should, it may make the bottom edge look unbalanced, so I sent out an SOS email to Judy last week.  Fingers are crossed that she will have one more skein if I need it.  Did I tell you how much I love this yarn?  If I didn’t…..let me tell you it is scrumptiously soft and wonderful to knit with.

Oh….and before I end this post, I have a little treat for you if you have not already seen this.  Go take a listen to this…….you won’t be disappointed…simply amazing!  Keep your eyes on the judges….too funny..heehee!

Have a Great Weekend!