(flower of the day, hosta)
i’ve never seen so many hosta flowers as we have this year, and so big and hardy, too. because they were always sorta straggly, i never cared for them much. but this year, i am bewitched . . . they all bend in the same direction (northeasterly) no matter where they are in the yard—don’t know if that’s a rule, or what.
swaying with each breeze in wide, fancy leaf-skirts, they are my own backyard corps de ballet.
since i can’t dance my way over hot coals, i do it vicariously through them.
can i just say? this hosta garden was the best idea we had yet for that space. i have enjoyed it with every passing week this summer.
(just needs a toe, and tomorrow’s the day)
let’s get a little news buzz out of the way: the bee shawl pattern is done; i just need to go through it with a fine-toothed comb and we need to do a photo shoot. vanessa the wonder knitter has completed her test knit and pronounces the project good to go [UPDATE: and reports to me today that she's "lonely, and misses the bee". how cute is that??]. you can see a photo on her blog. lilith is hard at work on hers, and that second pair of eyes is my secret weapon.
i’ll have patterns for sale here as standalone items and anne (we know. it’s confusing—she’s anne, i’m anne—it’s serendipity, we swear.) is getting kits ready, which will sell for—sit down, i know you won’t believe this—$32, with two options of colorway. contact her to pre-order.
all that ramp-up to say that we are expecting a release date earlier than predicted, hopefully next weekend (believe it or not, it sorta hinges on whether the oversized document sleeves arrive promptly. no, i’m not kidding). so keep your eyes peeled . . .
ok, i know—knitting. that’s what you want to see. and i have it.
let’s kick off with a shot that features the beautiful 100% merino sock yarn from twisted meg so i can extoll on it’s beauty and quality.
this is the longEST color repeat of the three variations she sent me. the color variations, mixings, and pixelations it are heart melting. i can stare at them for hours. and the quality of the yarn is stupendous. it knits up a treat, then rips and reknits exactly the same. i mean you can see just how beautiful the stitch definition is, how even the tension. that’s good yarn at work.
the texture is very nice—not so highly-twisted that’s it’s nubbly like koigu, but enough that it produces a firm, smooth fabric with some heft. i’m using size 2.25 mm needles, but i could easily use 2.5 or 2.75, i think if i needed a bit more room in my sock. i highly recommend this yarn for quality, and well, it doesn’t need ME to recommend it’s beauty.
here i have two socks begun, each in a different color repeat, because i couldn’t decide about the design placement. the one on the left is longER and the one on the right (which is the one i am going with for the final design) is longEST. i like the one best because it has more mottling and watercolor-effect between shades.
on one sock i have started adding the lace pattern in a little at a time and the leafy vine pattern will build up from the arch of the foot to eventually spiral up the ankle and leg.
since i really don’t know how that’s going to pan out, with the pattern twisting the sock just at that point, i started another sock where the pattern will begin just below the ankle and at the center (hence, it is just a stockinette tube for now, but still entertaining).
i want to make completely clear that my troubles with getting the design started were ALL ME, and had nothing to do with this lovely yarn atall. and mostly, i offer those design sagas for your entertainment, and to try to relate some of the inner stumblings of my (cough, cough) process.
for everyone who wanted to, but didn’t ask, this yarn (and my pattern to go with it) will be available as the october sock club kit from yarn4socks. you can get all the information about ordering it there, and i know there is a list forming. you will also be able to purchase the pattern on its own from me.
wow. i didn’t even KNOW i had that much to say about those socks. hehe.
well, and then there is this design which is still percolating (you probably would have guessed that on your own)
i absolutely HEART this yarn. it’s dicentra designs alpaca/merino sock. it’s a bit heftier and will make a cozy, warm winter sock. it feels luscious and cushy—a real treat for your toes. and with alpaca, i’m sure it will wear like iron.
teyani sent it to me to make a sock design, and i’m so afraid of not doing it justice that all i’ve done so far is make one swatch i didn’t like, and tear apart my stitch books searching for ideas (well, ok—they are already in pieces).
but then—when i wasn’t thinking about knitting at all (yeah, it happens . . .)—i remembered i had already thought up a great design for it, and somehow, when i was sick, i lost track of that thread. so tonight i’m going to tackle that one. now i’m pumped.
but now here’s something i’ve been looking forward to starting for some time, and just have not had room in my days for. i am always thrilled to work with anything from my friend deb at fearless fibers.
the orchid lace mitts have begun. i am really pumped about this project. i have had to put it off, but now that i’ve started, i’m sure it won’t take long to see something really pretty. the motifs will be the same as those in the orchid lace scarf, but on a slightly smaller scale. i’m knitting them with the same merino laceweight yarn in the same colorway, miracle (get it? its a set.).
have i mentioned that deb’s yarns are among my favorites? they are the premium-quality kind you only see when someone takes a lot of time to handpick, and test, their own products. i look to her dye palette over and over when researching yarns for a project—she has beautifully complex colorways in a wide ranges of hues. her subtlety is unsurpassed. and all of it at a price point that is purposely easy on the wallet. so check her out.
i have to pause a moment to say something important here. deb and i go back a ways—when my blog was just getting started, deb contacted me and said she knew i had something here, and that she really liked my work, and for her, my writing set knitspot apart from a lot of others. she wanted to support it by offering a yarn prize in a drawing i could hold to attract readers. i was SO touched and encouraged by her belief that i could take it to another level, and still am—she is continually supportive of all kinds of efforts at knitspot. you just can’t do this without friends like deb.
and there are so many others, too—chris, teyani, anne, all the generous people who have given prizes for drawings, advice, and supplies for designs—the little enterprise that knitspot has become is the product of a community, and one that i feel a great loyalty to, and thankfulness for.
ok, hallmark moment over (but i really meant all that!).
i have one last wonderful photo that perfectly sums up the abundance of this week (and made a liar of me to boot!)
(fairy-tale eggplant, for real)
