good thing there are so many great jobs to do indoors today, because it is yet another drizzly
mess outside. of course, that means i can’t ride my bike to classes this afternoon, but i can go
to the library . . .
but then, these purple crocus bloomed yesterday, so that’s saying something for the weather. it has been, after all, consistently in the upper 50s and 60s all week. i can also see daffodil buds across the yard from the window in front of my desk.
that reminds me—we listened to a couple of good books in our travels last week and the week before. the first one was called My Year of Meats by ruth l. ozecki, and narrrated by anna fields.
in it, a woman is hired to help produce a TV show for japanese television which is aimed at presenting their audience with an idealized view of american housewives and their favorite beef recipes. jane quickly begins to rebel against the silly and unrealistic vision of the show’s sponsors, and then, even more importantly, begins to uncover some scandalous information about the product (beef) itself and how it is produced for the mass market.
all arguments for or against meat-eating aside, this book is a worthy read, as its exploration under the surface of many issues provides good food for thought (no pun intended). why not look a little deeper into the things we take for granted? does it really hurt to delve into the parts of everyday life that might not be so pretty underneath? or does exploring actually show us that problems are there, but that solutions are possible—even some that require little effort but a simple change of habit?
the second book we started and have not finished yet is called Broken for You, by stephanie kallos and again, narrated by anna fields.
this is story some rather isolated people who end up, one by one, entering each other’s force fields, so to speak, and affecting forever the way that they negotiate life as they have been leading it. we’re only about two-thirds through it, but it is engrossing enough that david made sure i would not finish it without him (that’s saying something, trust me . . .).
while i wait for the shawl to dry (it’s a little humid and the heat has been off, so drying times have slowed), i reviewed my socks-on-the-needles inventory. and i only had two pair going—not at all enough—these ragg socks i started a few weeks ago
i finished the first one last night while we watched the prologue for the paris-nice (cycling) tour last night. and started the second one too.
the other ones i have going are the austermann step socks that saved my sanity during the blizzard last weekend
almost done with this first one.
now, you might be thinking . . . “what happened to that hemp pair she dragged out and showed us the other day??” there is just one word for those.
r-i-i-i-p-p-p
ok, not a word, but really. the only reason any pair of socks sits unknit for nearly a year around here is that i hate the yarn and can truly not bear to have it in my hands. or at least, truly not bear to be knitting it on tiny needles. out they came. i might attempt a scarf with the yarn at some point.
or, i may just give it away. the thing is, i loved the idea of this yarn—wool and hemp. what could be more groovy? uhh—turns out, almost everything.
so i decided to go back and resuscitate another postponed sock project, this one put aside last fall when i just couldn’t decide what stitch to use.
i know—i get wa-a-ay too caught up in that—who even cares what stitch i should use??
anyway, this was a sock project i talked about here with great enthusiasm, and then proceeded to get all wound up to the point where i just couldn’t make a decision. so i put them aside.
after i ripped out the hemp sock, i got the tree-scum-colored yarn (no, i’m not kidding—just look at the stuff) out again, went back to the first stitch i envisioned for it, and cast on happily, with nary a second glance at any other stitches.
i think they’ll be just right, evoking tree bark and algae appropriately-well to get my message across.
some things just take time and relaxation to come to fruition i guess. and no snide remarks from YOU about messages in tree scum, please . . .
so, now i’m feeling more well-rounded with three pair of socks on the needles.
but i need to remedy the fact that i have no shawl on the needles at present (though i DO have a pattern to produce). can you believe it? i already feel at a loss without a lace shawl to knit.
but never fear—i have several projects to start, the first one up in Briar Rose Fibers yarn; a shawl in two weights that will be pretty in two very different fiber offerings from this wonderful dyer. i also have two other shawl projects queued-up to follow, so it’s gonna be a busy couple of months for me, with exciting things in the works.
23 thoughts on “on the after-knitting”
Yay for busy times when they’re filled with exciting things!
Ah! Someone else who knows the beauty of Briar Rose. I discovered them several years ago when the only place I could get their fiber was when visiting my family in Michigan’s little finger peninsula at a lovely little store called Innish Knits. I have a shawl out of their Sea Pearl currently on the needles – the trinity stich shawl from VLK. I only have about two inches but already the colors sing! what pattern did you have in mind?
Tree Scum? How about Peeper? It kinda looks like a spring peeper in an early spring tree. OK. I’m a romantic,but tree scum?
Hey! I got a great shawl pattern you could do. It is super fun, and very beautiful. It’s called….. Casino!!!! hahaha
Tree scum. Hmmmmm. Somehow with the photo of the tree following the photo of the yarn, you made “tree scum” almost sound poetic. (I said “almost”!)
I can’t wait to see the starlight shawl when it’s done blocking, and the new ones to come of course!!
I agree that the green does look like tree moss. 🙂 It is going to make some interestingly lovely socks that is for sure.
The other socks are soo pretty too. I only have 2 pair going at the moment and I think I need to cast on for more. 🙂
Oh! I read “My Year of Meats” several years ago and I am still telling people about it. In book format, the style is interesting too – emails, postcards, etc. It is definitely a book that had an impact on me. I look at meat in the grocery store quite skeptically now.
That is NOT the Tree Scum colourway! That’s Moss and Lichens. It is SO! Can’t you tell the difference? It’s all about soft hidden mossy glades and old old quiet trees with lacelike lichens on their trunks… an’, an’ you wear the socks when you go dance in the woods at night, an’, an’ – but you KNOW all this, don’t you? Anne, will you get down out of that tree and LISTEN to me?
*laughing!* Tree scum! I love it! Perhaps when they are cozy socks they will earn a new (more flattering) name, but that should keep them from giving you any trouble in progress…
Looks more like the moss growing in our yard. I love moss. And tree scum. What is the scum yarn anyway?
I know that no-lace feeling, it’s odd.
Anne, guess what? I finished my first sock the other night! I loved knitting it. I can’t believe I put off knitting socks for so long, it’s so satisfying. I love all your socks you have going right now, but then again I always do. You’re the one who inspired me to join in all the sock knitting fun anyhow!
Oh Anne…. even God rested. :p
Ooooooh, I’m totally infatuated with “tree scum”. Love yarn color, love pattern…knit fast so I can see some more!!!
I loved “Broken for You”, which I read last year. The characters are drawn with such delicacy. I admit bias since I grew up in the Seattle area and lived on Queen Anne when I was a student…
Loved LaurieM’s comment– you ARE busy!
Hee! tree scum…apparently that yarn is also the color of fence scum, too, if you look at your picture, LOL! Either way, I think it’s a fun color. Is that the Seaweed stitch I spy?
I like the tree scum color-something I could only wear on my feet,though!
New shawls! Yay! Can’t wait!
I love the tree moss yarn. I can’t wait to see the final product! Too bad about the ripping though!
Gonna check out those book- love finding new authors. 🙂
Bet those projects would look great in your project notebook, you know where. (Ack, sorry, I couldn’t help it.)
I actually like the green yarn- looks kinda like spring to me. Okay, anything green looks good to me right now, instead of winter gray or white.
Just caught up with your posts. Just love the new shawl…..utterly stunning. Always nice to catch up with what you’re listening to. Thinking of you.
Always, always, always wanted to live somewhere where I could have crocus in the ground, and not have to dig them up and stick them in the freezer every winter. Like that’s going to happen. Not. Love the flowers, doll. 🙂
I always did like the colors of a mossy-barked tree. The socks will be wonderful.
Too funny. Tree scum. Yeah.
Is the hemp/wool from Dzined? It’s a tough knit. That is the yarn I’m doing a vest in, and it is Unforgiving.
busy busy! and lots of socks! the new green ones are quite organic looking…..
I think the tree scum socks should be renamed. I happen to like the name another person suggested, Lichen. Sounds like a good name for me. That cracks me up about your socks on the needles and needing at least 3, but I can certainly understand the need/desire for more socks. I’m knitting on some old Opal yarn that I don’t necessarily love, but don’t hate either, so I keep knitting on it. I’ve been acquiring more handpainted sock yarns and I’m really anxious to knit with some of them. I may have to get a new pair of socks on the needle soon. A/b the hemp socks, I remember when you cast on for those. Obviously if you hate working with the yarn, regardless of how much you wanted to like it, it has to be ripped.
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