smatterings

creatures of our habitat

My world looks like this.  Everywhere.  Retina searing, high energy, glorious new growth green.  I think it is getting to me.  Life mimics nature, we are creatures of our habitat.  Call it what you will,  I am into this green.

It put some in my Tulip Sweater to liven it up.   I can see why this little knit is so addictive.  It would've / should've been done by now but I've got so many things going.  I pick it up when I don't want to think about the pattern.  Nothing to it.

Then there is my attempt to keep up with Mother Nature.  More green, more.... more!

Just what I needed, another project on the needles, something else on my plate.  I couldn't resist.  I had to see how the "Japanese Vines" scarf by Michelle Molis would knit up in Ball and Skein's new Arbori yarn, colorway, (what else) but Sprout.

no mojo

What with all the activity in the house the past week or so, it was easy to ignore.  There was cooking, eating, and playing games with my niece.  There were origami birds, and frogs, there were walks to the mail box, and trip to a local potter.  Saturday they left and the storm barreled in, more than 56 hrs. of rain, ice, sleet, snow, shoveling, blowing, raking the barn roof, plowing, more and then more of the same.  We spent hours in the rain and  sleet, pulling as much ice bound snow from the valleys of the barn roof as we could.  By the time we called it quits, the trees limbs around us were snapping under the new 1/2" coating of ice that we'd hardly noticed.  I ran up to the house to pump water.  It seemed nearly impossible that we wouldn't lose power.   When I sat down that evening, I was tired, ready to do nothing. So it went.  Everytime I began to think about it, I had plenty of other things to keep me busy.  Until this morning.  There it was, pushing at me, taunting me while I sipped my first cup of coffee.  Two weeks had passed since I had finished knitting something I enjoyed.  There wasn't anything on my list that I couldn't wait to start.  I had NO MoJo.   

There has been plenty to do.   I've had orders to dye.  My sister had me dye a couple pairs of socks (she'd bought 7 pairs of the same green socks "on sale").  And, she'd brought along two halves of a lovely lace scarf for me to overdye for a friend who had inadvertently knitted them from two very different dye lots.  I've been playing with a "new" yarn.  Trying to find out how it takes the dye, and trying a couple colorways.

I'd been thinking about a new wood shop project for Chris.  I wanted a swift that turned on two sets of ball bearings, one that turned smoothly and without friction.  He got to work and we've got our prototype.  I've used it all day.  Changes and refinements are in the works.

I think this little swift will make my days of rewinding go a lot more smoothly.

 

But knitting.  I can't find the right project.  I can't find the right combination of yarn and pattern.  I can't find my mojo.   I'll finish the first "Ember Sock".  It has been waiting in the wings.  Maybe, while I knit, an idea will begin to form.  Stitch by stitch..

The woods are lovely.  The ice washed away in the rain. The birches stood straight again and it snowed.  That's got inspiration written all over it.

hump day

The shortest day of the year.. that means, for all you daylight deprived, it is all up hill from here.  The solstice is officially tonight, December 22nd at 1:08 am.  I don't plan on staying awake to mark the occasion.  Tomorrow is soon enough.  All the snow this year has kept the landscape bright enough with reflected light that the dark days didn't feel quite so dark.  For me, anyway.  Tonight, it will be enough for me to light a candle and contemplate the new.  *  The all night fire can wait for the New Year. 

I've lit another kind of fire.  Out of the Ball and Skein stash, came the last skein of Ember sock yarn. 

* Cate says all of this so beautifully, go over and read her post.

walk with me

When I can't bear to look inward any longer, I am fortunate to find that inspiration surrounds me.

walk with me wednesday

Before I start with all these pictures, let me warn you...there isn't any knitting in any of them.  I did finish spinning the cormo / alpaca.  And I plied it.  The socks I was working on are also done.  But, I am way past due for a Walk with me Wednesday, and walking is what I did with a good bit of my time over the last week.   I walked with my 10 year old niece and my sister.  It seems that the energy of a 10 year old knows no bounds.  This kid, like me, loves the woods and the water.  She loves poking around, over and under.  She loves rocks.  I know where to find them.  While she climbed and played in any available water (it was in the 30's but not once did she return home with dry shoes),  I had plenty of time to  look around. 

 

   

   

walk with me wednesday

Inspiration and promise...

It was the wind, the howling bitter wind, that kept me from my walk this week.  As I slogged my way around blogland, I saw pictures not only promising spring's arrival, but daffodils.  I checked the hummingbird migration chart and sure enough, the movement north had begun.  But, when I looked out my own windows, there was winter...everywhere.  Only the bird chatter held promise.  I started to walk around the house, looking for inspiration... for the promise.  It was everywhere.  I was surrounded.  The trick to seeing is to open your eyes and your mind.  I started taking pictures of all the lovely orchids in bloom.  You've all seen them, so I changed my tack.  Maybe you've not seen the promise.

(they came, I tried, and I love them)

inspiration is the easy part... I'll bet it's at your house too.

(or maybe color and texture??)

weekend uummm... report.

The weekend was a glorious reprieve.  The eclipse Friday night was a beauty.  The clouds blew passed, partly obscuring while producing an even more beautifully mysterious effect.  Great light.  The birds chorused Saturday morning in a promise of spring.  Temperatures skyrocketed.  A man ran passed me on the road wearing a T shirt  yelling out, winter's over..!  Right.... until today.  Sunday, I gave myself time to spend doing nothing but sitting in my chair knitting and watching movies.  I made progress, good progress on the Trellis scarf.  This morning I hung it up by the needles and gave it a quick steaming.  Amazing what kind of additional length can be gained with a bit of steam.  The project had gotten to the endless state until I realized that I could actually end it, really close.  Tonight, I'll do a few more repeats.  What's another day or so.  Six inches more, that 'll do it.

Curiousity got the better of me Sunday morning.  I had one skein of my hand dyed sock yarn left and uncharicteristically, I hadn't made anything from it before starting to offer it for sale.  I wanted to try it and I wanted to make a pair of socks with a picot edge.  Claudia, thanks for the easy directions...piece o'cake.  I like the result.  Here's hoping that they will stay up.  I also like working with the yarn as much as dyeing it.  I've got a 64 st sock going on a #2 bamboo circular, the kind that WEBS sells with the swiveling band.

The size seems right.  I'll scale it down a bit for the foot by using a smaller needle for the sole.   There a few circular needles on there way from Knitpicks for me.  Something else I've been thinking about trying.   

finding beauty

a winter garden...

or perhaps the inspiration for a fantastic textile pattern..