the dust is settling

our cranesbill plants, which have spread throughout the perennials beds to blanket any bare space available, have burst into bloom in the last few days, producing the most luxurious pools of flowers. many of these are in their fifth or sixth year here and they just get better and better—a great investment of a few dollars in the original plants. this particular one, which snakes throughout the dye bed, has such delicate color, almost like cherry blossoms. i don’t remember which variety it is (not being one to keep a garden journal), but it’s a beauty.

the climbing hydrangea is also covered with blooms finally (it’s been growing happily for six years, but not bloomed heavily til now). i thought it would have flowers like the big hydrangea shrubs, but these are different and quite interesting—more like dillweed, of all things.

each tiny bud produces a little spray of thingies (sorry, i don’t know the scientific name, or if they are actually petals), and each “bunch” produces just a few of those large white petaled flowers you think of as hydrangea.

and look how green everything is right now—it’s gotten very hot and humid (but no rain, which we sorely need), so the foliage all around is a lush, unearthly green. it will fade as summer progresses, but for now it’s kinda magic.

what a week—between the fiber show, getting the garden in place, and having the opportunity to spend time with old friends, i feel like a visitor in my own life today, now that things have settled down. my friend luci left yesterday afternoon, ending our mini vacation together. she was so impressed with all the different ways that the knitting community (i.e., YOU) shares information, communicates, and supports each other—she went away with a lot to think about (especially when i told her about sock summit and how knitters can crash a huge server with enthusiasm—that really is a striking example of our strength). we are in similar circumstances in that we each have our own business and are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to share what we do with others, while trying to support ourselves. it was exciting to have this time together and if not much knitting got done, well, my jaw certainly got a good workout.

thank you all SO so very much for your positive comments on the ondulé sweater and your enthusiasm for its release. i can’t really put into words how much it means to me when you write, not just to tell me you like the way something looks, but to offer encouragement and your absolutely unmatchable enthusiasm for new patterns. it is more than touching, more than supportive—you are a constant inspirational force for me.

why, you deserve flowers—how about poppies and sage?

speaking of ondulé, chris at briar rose fibers wants me to pass along that she is always willing to take custom orders for yarn; if you see a color on her site but not in the quantity you need, simply contact her and she will dye it for you. if you see something that you’d like toned-down or changed a bit, she is happy to do that too.

although not a LOT of knitting was accomplished this week, there was some . . . besides starting a fairly large secret project, i also got a bit of knitting done here and there while we watched late-night movies.

the second roger sock is gaining in length—the pattern is all set to go; anne marie has finished her test knit and given it her blessing.

yesterday i got back to work a little bit on some pattern writing and final edits. i suddenly have several patterns ready to release over the next couple of weeks, after a bit of a dry spell. seems like they all get to the same point at the same time right now (hillflowers, fernfrost, david sock, roger sock, gnarled oakwoods) so that i am either flush with them or i have lots of projects just getting started and no patterns to release. i need to get things back on a staggered schedule, heh.

i put a few rows on the nightingale stole the other night but really, you can hardly see the difference. this one is going to take a while, but it will be worth the wait. it should be done by the time it gets truly hot, when you wouldn’t want much more than this on your shoulders.

i’ve also been working a bit on the gold maze sweater

i got past the split in the body and have organized the stitches for the shoulder/armhole parts, but stopped there. i might pick this one back up tonight when i have some quiet time—i need to start the cable and pattern in the new stitch count and that takes some concentration for a few rows (i haven’t had any of that to spare in the last few days, ay).

a new arrival on my doorstep the other day was this combination of beautiful yarn and needles sent from cathy at signature needle arts and beth at lorna’s laces. cathy had a great idea about producing kits with yarn, needles and patterns, so she is approaching designers to work with herself and beth on putting kits together. these are the yarns for my sock

the blue is a little less intense in real life—i love both these colorway and can’t wait to start. and since i’m down to having just one sock on the needles, i think i can do that now (yippeee).

i’m very excited about the needles too; coincidentally, i was grandly surprised to be gifted a set last week by my good friend jocelyn, so cathy graciously coordinated that order with what we talked about me needing (all done without blowing the surprise) and i ended up with a set each of 2.25 mm and 2.0 mm—the perfect combination of needles for this yarn (i like to use the 2.0 mms on the heels with thinner yarns). yay.

i also need to think about the last sock in the men’s series—the nate sock—that i’m doing with grandma’s blessing. chris gave me some awesomely beautiful colorways to work with.

ooops, i see i have an appointment in just a little while, so i’m going to end here—sorry for the abrupt finish; it just came up so suddenly (time flies and all that). next time, an update on the vegetable garden and hopefully, lots more knitting.