Verchères en violet

This has been a long time in the making, I bought the yarn for this (Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk, 85% merino, 15% mulberry silk)  in July 2013 and started working on a pattern in the Amy Herzog book "Knit to Flatter". However, by the second sleeve, I knew that I wasn't in love with that sweater (though I learned a lot about sweater construction and how to custom fit for me so it certainly can't be considered a waste of time). This is the sweater that is on the cover of the Winter 2014 Interweave Knits - Verchères Pullover.

Since I had a sweater's worth of yarn in a colour I liked, I didn't even try to get the suggested yarn. However, my gauge was different enough that I had to recalculate all the stitch counts. I consider it a small mercy that my row gauge was exactly the same.

I also discovered the zen of sewing seams. Because this texture or pattern is horizontal, it is very unforgiving of any errors in the side seams, or under the sleeves. The pattern must match at the seams exactly, or else errors would be highly visible.

The other thing I discovered is I'm really not as young as I like to think I am and I had to wait for a sunny day when I was at home in order to do this work. The dark yarn was too hard to see at night - even with a good light. I also learned the value of basting in the sleeves to set the location and then sewing properly after. What this gives me is a sweater that moves with me, and doesn't bunch up under the arms even though it has about an inch of negative ease.

In the Meantime

There has been no progress on the sweater because I'm having trouble finding buttons. More specifically, I have an idea in my head of what kind of buttons I want and I'm having trouble finding those. And to be perfectly honest it's too flippin' cold to go shopping for something as mundane as buttons. The fact that I need the sweater now, when it's cold isn't lost on me though - I may have to settle for "interim" buttons until I find what I really want.

So in the meantime, I've been working on something else. I've had this yarn for about two years now and have been wondering what to do with it.

This is Camelspin by Handmaiden and is 70% silk and 30% camel.  I'm not sure of the colourway (because it is never marked on the tag) but I think it might be Nova Scotia.  While I was working on the sweater I got to a point where I needed to do a lot of counting and to really pay attention to what I was doing and decided (after I ripped out three inches of a sleeve for the second time) that perhaps it was no longer suitable for TV knitting.  So I started a scarf.

Curiously, knitting a lace pattern in front of the TV was easier than what was essentially knit 1 row, purl 1 row and increasing two stitches every 4 pattern repeats.  The scarf is about 48" long now - the plan is to knit until I run out of yarn.

One in Five...

I wasn't sure I was going to post about this but then at the last minute I decided to go ahead and do it.  I feel I owe you all an explanation for where I've been, and where all the knitting is.

I've been here since last spring which was the last time I was posting regularly but I haven't done much knitting. Or spinning. In fact, I haven't been doing much of anything. I'm not talking or participating in online forums (not even reading many of them anymore); I didn't take care of my garden last year after planting it so had a poor harvest (except onions - I had great onions). I'm not participating in much of anything anymore. Except sleeping - and even that has been of poor quality.

So it was with mixed feelings that I received a diagnosis today of severe depression and anxiety. Mixed because nobody wants to be ill or hear that there is something wrong with them, but now that I know what the problem is, I can do something about it.  And that is a powerful place to be - at least that is what I'm telling myself.

As for the knitting, I made socks for people for Christmas this year and a hat for my son for Yule.  And once all the obligatory gift knitting was done, I stood back and looked at what I had for myself.  If you recall, I had been working on Flutter by Amy Herzog.  I was finding the pattern to be a bit of a slog but I pushed through and was halfway through the second sleeve when I accepted that deep in my heart of hearts, I wasn't in love with the sweater (though I adore how it is constructed).  And then I received the latest issue of Interweave Knits and categorically had to have the Verchères Pullover on the cover.  So I took Flutter off the needles, unravelled the half sleeve and cast on for the new sweater.

And it's almost done.  I need a few buttons so I can place the buttonholes on the placket and then put the neckband in place. This feels like a bit of a milestone - the first thing in a long long time that I've cared about enough to finish.

From Lots of Nothing to a Little Something

I don't need to tell you that it's been pretty quiet around here.  There's been no spinning happening, not much knitting...not much of anything really.  My knitting mojo has been M.I.A since the late spring.  There's been a few pairs of socks, but nothing to really say much about.

So imagine my surprise when I realized that I've finished two items in two days.

Naturally, there is a pair of socks here.

I can't tell you anything about the yarn because I found it in my stash, neatly wound into a cake with no tags. I suspect it's Cascade 220 Superwash Sport Multi in either "Blues" or "Teals"...but I could easily be wrong on that.

The other item was knit up in a flash. I started this last night in the hopes that I'd have something different, something other than socks to knit.  And it was finished in less than 24 hours - guess I needed the break from socks!  I'm always surprised at just how fast hats are - truly instant gratification.

This was knit in a worsted weight yarn from Windblest Farms here in Lanark.  The hat pattern came with the wool and I'm really pleased with it!  It's a deep enough hat that it comes down over my ears and well down the back of my neck.  Not to mention the lovely eyelet pattern.  This too is a gift, but I think I might have to make a few more - plus one for me.

And these my friends, are gifts which officially marks the start of the Christmas knitting frenzy.

How Did That Happen

So I got up this morning, got Ian out the door for school and logged into my computer to go to work. It's Tuesday which means it is a work-from-home-day. As I was waiting for the remote systems to come up I scanned through my personal email, Facebook, and Ravelry - just to see what was going on.

Today I had a note from a friend asking if I was OK because I hadn't posted anything on the blog in so long and that it was really unlike me and that she was quite concerned for my welfare.

She's right of course - it is out of character. So I'll share with all of you the dirty little secret of my absence.

Pinterest.

A colleague told me about it - urged me to give it a try. So I did. And honestly, I think it is more addictive than crack. I tell myself that I'm going upstairs to send a few emails and do the banking. A few hours later when Chuck comes up the stairs to tell me its time for bed, the emails aren't written and the bills are unpaid but I've pinned things. Am I going to use these things? Not sure. I've found two household tips that work well but apart from that, not much. Certainly not enough to justify the hours I've spent staring at the screen.

Add to that the fact that when I'm pinning "pretty-things-that-I-won't-use", I'm not knitting. Neither am I spinning. So I have almost nothing to show you. Almost.

This is the sock I was knitting in Winnipeg. Not the second sock. The sock. I've knit about 2.5 inches of the ribbing for the second sock.

This is another pair I started. Why did I start another pair instead of finishing the first pair? Good question. I have no idea.

This sock is knit with Fleece Artist "Trail Socks" in Blomidon

I also managed to almost finish this. This is about 40g of a merino/cashmere blend  (80/20). I got this as part of the Spring Canadian Fibre Box from Ottawa Valley Fibre Arts. I don't know who the producer is, other than it came from a small mill in Ontario. I spun it into about 200 yards of two ply laceweight. It still needs to be finished (i.e. soaked and set) but I'm quite pleased with it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I apparently have some banking I've neglected.

I'm Back

So.  I didn't mean to be away for so long but my planned vacation to Winnipeg for my cousin's wedding ended up being a technology vacation as well. Apart from my phone, which was usually turned off to avoid being gouged by roaming fees, I had no tech toys with me at all. No computer, no tablet, nothing. Not even an MP3 player.  OK - I had an e-Reader too but I treated that as just a book.

And you know what? By removing all the time-wasters such as Facebook, Pinterest and a few other choice sites that I spend far too much time on, I had a few extra hours. Every day. Time to spend with my family, friends and people I don't see often. It was a revelation, to realize just how much time I spend staring at a screen so I might try to get away on a more regular basis.

But anyway, Winnipeg. My father's family comes from there so there is considerable family history in a few areas. It's been almost twenty years since I was there last and there have been some major changes to the city. We all (in Canada anyway) hear about the crime and racial tension issues, but its become a very attractive city - more so than I remember - with some extraordinary architecture and wonderful public spaces.

This is the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights in a walking district called 'The Forks' which is where the Red River meets the Assiniboine River.  This area is notorious for flooding in the spring so I confess to being surprised that it was built in this district.

This is standing on the shores of Lake Manitoba at Twin Beaches Lake, about an hour from Winnipeg.  The family had a cottage here until just recently and I spent many summers swimming here.

Meindl park surprised me.  I am Herr Meindl's great-granddaughter which makes Ian his great-great-grandson. I had no idea that he had a park named after him. It isn't much as parks go - a parking area with public access to the beach but I made Chuck stop so we could get a picture.  Why the shotgun?  The cottage was originally built as a hunting lodge and I've been told that he put the original road in.  I've also heard that he won the land in a poker game!

And while I was there, I even managed to squeeze in some knitting.  This is Flutter.  The body is now done and I've started working on the sleeves.  And yes, it has a layer of dog hair.  Apparently my Lab didn't like that I was gone so he took this and slept with it.

And this is the current sock made with the mystery yarn I found in the stash.  You'll also notice the fantastic varigated colouring...something I have been trying to achieve for years.  

Pity I have no idea what yarn this is.

Too Much?

Today was a day of excess:  I drove home in torrential rain, saw a magnificent rainbow, realized exactly how much animal hair is blanketing my house and found some yarn.  The theme here - too much of everything.

I'm not going to say much about the drive except that it was mostly spent in a downpour and frankly, I didn't have a good time.  It could have been worse, I was in a car and not walking. But the rainbow - wow.  I don't think I've ever seen one this bright and vibrant.  The photo doesn't quite capture the intensity of colour but you can actually see the second rainbow behind it.

Flutter is coming along slowly.  There is about 12 inches of the body worked now so just a little more and then it will be split into two halves and worked front and back separately.  The cable pattern runs up the sides of the sweater ending under the arms.  The more I work on this, the more I like it so I'm quite excited about it and looking forward to wearing it - provided I did the math correctly and it fits!

So about the yarn I "found".  I spent the past weekend at the cottage and during the preparations to go, I opened one of my boxes of stash yarn (yes, I have more than one...) and found this.

If you overlook the rich coating of dog hair, it's pretty enough as sock yarns go but here's the thing:  I have absolutely no recollection of buying this. None. At. All. Total blank.  Normally I can at least tell you where I bought something. Not this one. Usually I have at least a clue what the yarn might be. Not this time. But clearly I had plans for it at one time because it was already in a cake in the box and I before you ask, no - I didn't so something clever like stuff the tag in the middle of the ball - I've already looked

My husband graciously didn't say anything about "too much yarn" when I told him about finding mystery yarn. I'm guessing by the weight that it is sock yarn so I'm really hoping that it has nylon in it.  I guess I'll find out soon enough.