well it’s a little early yet for violets, it’s true, but by april, when the sock club ships, we’ll all be looking for them right?
and that’s exactly what this yarn reminds me of . . . pretty purple violets making themselves known and dotting the still-winter-green lawn.
i love this stitch pattern and have been wanting to use it for some time . . . doesn’t it look like green shoots pushing up underground and trying to unfold?
ok, maybe it’s just me.
the yarn is smooshy and alive-feeling, and knits up into deep textures
the palette is watercolor-ey, leaving ghosts of itself in some areas and solid spots of deep color in others. it is a wonderful expression of the rainy imprint of spring.
the palette also gets me thinking about certain types of pottery glazes used in arts and crafts ceramics and even found sometimes in majolica.
my mom has an old ceramic umbrella stand, that may have stood in grandpa’s barber shop, which has such a glaze—sheer veils of golds, browns, and greens cascading down the outside of the cylinder, which is molded with organic plant motifs. it perfectly captures the feeling of a drizzly day, with rain sliding down the shop windows.
i have a couple of pieces myself with the same fascinating glazes, and i could stare at them endlessly. i tend to get lost in my daydreams while gazing at the shifting transitions between the colors.
back to the socks, it feels to me as if the yarn itself is replicating these beautiful glazes and the effect is enhanced by the soft sheen in its smooth surface.
i decided on a slip-stitch heel and i’m glad i did . . . again, the texture of it is completely supported by the colors in the yarn. on the second sock i may try the eye of the partridge heel to see if i like it even more.
i’m past the heel now and working on the gusset—soon i will be able to try it on ad take some photos that show of the complete design a little better.
i’ve been working on that very late at night, after putting in a good many hours on the snow shawl.
i worked on the shawl all day yesterday and got completely through the blizzard section. then i hit a sort of a snag when i started my tree border charts. last night it was back to the drawing board to look at some realignment, and hopefully now i have something worked out that is more to my liking.
in the meantime, a whole bunch of this arrived on my doorstep.
i’ve been asked to design an afghan square to contribute to a piece which will be raffled off to benefit the Hope Lodge. since my buddy chris (AKA briar rose) is involved, i happily obliged. and this is the yarn . . . ain’t it purty?
well the day is brilliant but the winds howls madly and temperature is dropping like a stone outside—from 43 yesterday to now 12 degrees (and falling). beckie is coming over to knit and it looks like this might be the order of the afternoon
gale indeed.
30 thoughts on “violets rising”
I just made a pot of organic, home roasted, hand ground and hand filtered coffee and thought ” maybe she has posted by now “and after checking four times since 6:30 am….. here you are.
I think on this beautiful Sunday with clear blue sky and 70 F I just wanted to let you know how much I have come to appreciate your blog and with that all you share.
I first knew you when your Bee shawls came out, but was waylayed by a break-in to my home & office, where everything with street value was stolen ( and with that a brand new computer ) as well as a back operation and since just before Christmas have re-dicovered your blog.
I love your knitting, the food you cook ( my style; simple but of the best quality availbale ) I love that you share of yourselves without gory details, that you do all this in good English and I appreciate that you answer your comments….even though it is not always necessary considering how busy you are.
Thank you…….and a very belated Happy Birthday !
Yesterday the Year of the Rat began…..may it be a very special one for you..
Angelika
Mexico City
It’s not just you! That first yarn reminds me of the little purple crocuses that poke their heads up in my flowerbeds each spring. 🙂
What a wonderful comment from Angelika.
Yes, violets.
I would send my grandson Conor out to eat violet blossoms when he was a wee bitty lad, he’s 10 and still looks forward to Spring and the violet feast.
There’s a green tea ice cream that tastes the way violets smell. Love the violets. Happy knitting!
Wowie kazowie! That yarn is beautiful and fascinating. And with the winds a whuppin’, that springlike feeling is most welcome!
We have had every kind of weather here (Boston area) today. Talk about volatile ! So it is a great pleasure to see those violets in action.
Not only do we get the yarn pron, but we get the household object pron. 😉
Kathleen
I love the way that stitch pattern is turning out in that yarn – it’s a perfect combination! It reminds me of the douglas irises that come up in little wet valleys in the hills around here right around this time of year.
Violets indeed! I really like the sock. Somehow it goes with the snow shawl in my mind. Violets don’t mind the snow….
I like that style of pottery. I used to glaze/stain ceramics as a kid and always loved that effect. I don’t know how yours was done, but I did it with little pea-sized crystals gooped into the glaze – in the kiln they’d explode and run like the edges of that leaf dish. Sigh. I wonder what my dad did with all those dishes I made?
Well, I just love that stitch pattern! I sure wish the pattern could be made available to the rest of us who are not in the club. I agree with the spring flower comparison. Violets. Violas. Crocus. Ahhh!
We have a huge snow storm raging outside, right now, and the sock is a great trip into what lies ahead!
The snow shawl looks GREAT.
those socks – that yarn – are very pretty. springlike. it’s that time of year when i start to want to see spring colors again – i wound my yarn for the bee shawl the other night and will cast on as soon as irtfa’a is finished (maybe this week?). of course, at the same time, i’m loving watching the progress of the snow shawl! i guess i just like my snow better warm than cold…
Anne….the pattern IS beautiful…you really are a master of design! Majolica is one of my MOST favorite types of pottery and glaze…I just love that you see that in my yarn!
Cool stitch pattern! I love staring at glazes too. I have a small vase in my bathroom that I use as a toothbrush holder (hey, I wanted it out where I would see it every day!), and I could stare at that thing for hours.
Boy those socks sure are tempting. They really do seem to be saying “spring” don’t they?
I really enjoyed reading what you wrote about the sock you are designing, and the yarn you are using: it was beautifully written, and expressed really well (and quite poetically) what I could see in the pictures. Thanks for sharing your beautiful writing and gorgeous socks! I think I need these socks…
Oh…that leaf bowl is stunning.
I wish we had that much snow outside. 🙂
Love, love, love the socks!
I love the sock and you described it perfectly, I really can see spring shoots and violets. It’s lovely. Oh, I am gonna be shopping in your store again soon. They did ver well this wekend at the Pittsburgh Knit and crotchet Festival. The Cluaranach was a hit!
oooooo, sorry for the spelling errors, ack!
What a lovely post. You see beauty everywhere and you share it. the socks are a divine colour, the yarn for the afghan square is great too! The ceramics, well I think I could look at them endlessly too. I love your work!
lovely violets.
amazing yarn.
and the snow shawl… ahhhhhh
Crocuses are starting to bloom here ! It was almost like spring this weekend and the sockyarn so feels like it too !
question…when you are designing a shawl and you decide that it isn’t working, do you rip it out, undo the knitting back to where you don’t like, or what? just curious. i think that would be such a pain and a huge set back with a shawl that size.
This is going to be another stunning sock. I see curving lines (cables?), sweet little eyelets, and something trellis-like?… And the color is just right for early spring (if it ever gets here–I know better than to look for it up here before April.)
Such poetic musings on the sock–I enjoyed just reading about it.
That lovely, autumnal wool ought to make for an interesting break from all the white lace!
Those socks are just beautiful! And you are so right, they really remind me of spring. Crocuses & violets, even tulips & daffodils. I’m so ready for spring to come.
Any idea if there’ll be a way to order the sock kit separate from the sock club? Or can a person just sign up for the club for that particular sock? 🙂
OOOOOOOOOH I love that sock. And I’m not a sock knitter at all, but that pattern’s changing my mind. I would buy that pattern in a heartbeat. Not to mention I’m a sucker for purple and green together.
Anne……..how lovely!!!!!!!!!!! The sock is perfect and the colors are true inspiration…….as a novice, I’ve not yet ventured beyond the endless scarves that now don nearly every family member!
With deep respect for your amazing skills!
The yarn and the sock go together so well. What a glorious, subtle colorway. (I’m another sucker for purple and green together!) The ceramics brought back memories; one of my aunts had tons of platters and big serving dishes with that glaze and they were always put to good use at big family dinners.
That sock yarn is very Monet-like … reminiscent of ‘Garden in Giverny’ … lovely! I’m especially enamoured with the yarn you’re going to do your afghan block with … what is it?
I love how the sock and the ceramic glaze seem to mirror each other. My grandmother used to do ceramics too and I have a few of her pieces and I love the handiwork that went into them.
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