new green

Posted on Posted in Bare Naked Wools, book reviews/events, designing, food and garden

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ahhh, warm weather at last—we have finally shifted into those lovely sunny days of early summer when the air is still cool in the morning and humidity is low. things seem particularly lush this year, despite the lack of winter snow; i guess we’ve had plenty of rain during the spring to make up for that. our surroundings are extravagantly green—except for the sky which is brilliant blue most of the day.

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i think it’s going to be a perfect weekend for the great lakes fiber show (AKA “wooster”) where we will have a booth on saturday and sunday, may 28 and 29. but hey—it looks like we will not be in our usual spot, so please look for us if you visit the show!! we’re not exactly sure yet where we will be placed, but we may end up in the area under the grandstands.

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this is usually a really fun show for us, when we get to see lots of local friends and visit with customers. we will have all of our yarns on show and boxes of patterns, including all of the spring and winter ensemble designs.

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we’ll also be featuring those samples in our displays—if you enjoyed the photos in our spring ensemble look book, come feel the fabrics and see them in person. and of course there will be all manner of other samples available to see up close.

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saw this patch of iris on my run today—BIG bold blooms of bright purple, almost the exact color of my new running shoes (i wasn’t seeking out purple shoes, but when i saw my favorite ones on sale i grabbed them in my size).

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though it rained all day on saturday, we did manage to get ninety percent of the garden in the ground on sunday afternoon when it was cool and perfect. david made the planting mounds again this year, which worked out so well last year. he also opted to lay down this gardening fabric to cut back on weeding, the bane of his summer free time. we need all the help we can get.

we expanded our planting space a bit this year by creating a new tomato bed over by the garage, where our warmest, sunniest spot was pretty much going to waste. this gave us more space inside the garden fence near the house where we managed to get in quite a list of plants—everything from okra to cauliflower to lacinto kale. and there will be green beans—the seeds are soaking on the countertop now; i will likely plant them tomorrow.

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we have already been eating from the garden regularly—remember that random sowing of spinach and chard seeds i threw in at the end of march? those greens are already maturing and the clump of spinach that lived through the winter has offered up several meals so far. it’s beginning to bolt now, but i will keep trimming it until it’s exhausted.

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with a little R&R under my belt and some breathing room (and regular running/thinking time again), my thoughts are turning to what’s next for my needles. aside from secret projects (there is always something afoot in that department) i am, believe it or not, already putting together my contributions to our fall/winter 2017 ensemble. now that the second one is complete, i want to get ahead on the next one, in the hope that we might bring it out a little earlier this time.

and we are terribly excited about the response by fellow designers to our call for submissions this time—we chose a wide array of contributions and i’m super pumped about the variety of fall/winter projects that will be included.

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oh, these swatches are not for that project however, haha. i’m also working on a new group of little nothings scarves—you remember those fun, simple, “potato chip” projects? everyone enjoys them so much (they are still some of our best selling designs); i feel it’s time to freshen up that collection with some new choices. more on that project in the weeks ahead.

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while i have to work on mostly wooly projects over the summer, i will have some time to indulge myself in experimenting. you know by now how very much i love our hempshaugh yarn—the blend of hemp, silk, and a bit of merino is SO comfortable, cool, and dry to wear on the hottest days; i’m completely smitten with it, both in the knitting and especially the wearing.

well—and don’t laugh—i’ve had a bee in my bonnet to make myself a new pair of long shorts with it. i have a couple pair made from linen that i wear almost exclusively once it gets hot, but i could use another couple. and i’d like ones that are a little more dressy—as much as shorts can be. i am a pants person at heart, after all. so i’m going to go for it with our hemshaugh fingering in the kasha color. hopefully i’ll have them finished when the real heats descends on us.

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meanwhile i am rolling along on my illas cíes pullover in that same yarn, this time in the buckwheat shade. i’ve got the back and one sleeve complete.

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and the second sleeve is on the needles. this is a great project for me to knit on the go or when i want to veg out a bit—by now i have it so memorized that it really flies along (and you will too; you’ll see!). i can’t wait to have it finished—i keep dreaming that it might be in time for wooster, but i don’t know if i can pull that off, haha.

right now is the perfect time to have a sweater like this—while the days are warm and sunny enough for t-shirts, i’ve been wanting to pull on a light sweater after dark and this one, with its built in ventilation is just right.

ok, that’s all i have for now—oh wait, one more thing: eric lutz of the sticks + twine podcast is running a fun KAL featuring my the movie night sock design; you might enjoy the fun. it’s a quick knit and there are prizes. click to review the details in episode 18 of sticks + twine.

7 thoughts on “new green

  1. Will look for you Saturday – didn’t see you on the vendors list, glad you’re going to be in Wooster!

  2. I looked up Wooster–it looks charming! knitted shorts? Really? If anyone could pull those off, it would be you!

  3. I love that grouping of grey swatches with one celery-green. An intriguing combination – do you have plans for it?

  4. I’m loving all the texture in your swatches and I can’t wait to see how your shorts turn out! They sound very interesting.

  5. Sounds like you’ve recovered from all the travl excitement just in time for the next show. I’m hoping to get the last sleeve of my Confection Illas Ciés done this week before it gets too hot here. Then I can start the summer one in Ginny!

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