a still be

the quiet astilbe. its fine, feathery flower creates a still spot in the garden that is a little resting spot for the eye an a contrast for the clamoring colors of the nearby lilies. i finally purchased two of these plants after admiring them in other gardens for a few years . . . what took me so long?

after a couple of brilliant days of sun that enabled me to catch up just a little with the weeds and mess in the garden, today it is back to raining. but that’s good too; i planted some new seeds for greens and they need even watering for a while; all-day rain should take care of that.

and it allows me to pass on garden work in favor of knitting. i snuck in a few photos of scarf progress before the rain started in earnest this morning

you know what this means?? big secret project is off the needles and i can move on to something else. late last night i settled in with david to watch the negotiator and worked a couple of repeats on this scarf as promised.

this little nothing will be something of a change of pace from some of the others. while not at all difficult to work, the motif is larger and has a longer row repeat. i felt that it needed at least three repeats across to read beautifully, so it will probably be about twelve inches wide when blocked. but that gives the piece a little substance to anchor it here on earth, because the kaalund enchanté yarn would, i think, otherwise float away—it is that fine and weightless (sigh!). enchanting indeed.

now, i need to find a name for it . . . this is another example of a mesmerizing arabesque, so my thoughts are wandering in that direction. i’m thinking that the arabic word for doorway or portal would be a good start. now, to find it.

meanwhile i got serious on another pretty, and completed several repeats on it in class last night

it is working up a treat in the beautiful merino/tencel blend from fearless fibers. now, this is a good on-the-go project . . . the stitch pattern is truly simple and the heavier yarn knits up quickly, thus providing entertainment for onlookers (a good trait in a take-along project i find).

i’m loving how the pattern looks in an overall fabric—especially the way the solid areas divide and into rivulets and come back together again. when i hold it to the light it seems to have shell structures embedded in it.

after researching the word rivulet a little and finding that it derives from the latin in several forms, all basically referring to that which flows, i decided to name this one rivolo. i like the way it rolls off the tongue.

i’m still debating a little though about the width . . . i really would have liked one more repeat of the pattern across (it seems skimpy to me somehow), but i thought that would make the scarf too wide for the weight of this fiber. now that i have a little more perspective on it—to the tune of 7 or 8 inches i think—i’m really leaning toward ripping it back and adding it anyway. it just seems as if it would be more right. and there is plenty of yarn. hmmm.

so, now that i’m free to start another big project, my eye has turned to this yarn

i have enough yarn to knit a shawl, so swatching some patterns in it shall commence. it’s a sweet colorway in merino laceweight from knitting notions that has subtle variations from almost-ripe green pear to that juicy-sweet overripe yellow pear color, mmm.

i’ve had my eye on another insect motif (or that’s what i see in it anyway), and i’m hoping against hope that this weekend i can pull some vagrant ideas together into a plan of sorts for it. i have to do some chart translating from another language for this one, too, which i am very much looking forward to.
(i’d be looking forward to it more if i could escape to a cabin in the wilderness with books and yarn in hand to work for a week—anywhere away from the drone of lawn equipment. but then again, here with david is fine, too).

oooh, speaking of knitting notions . . . catherine is having a clearance sale on her classic merino worsted, which is the yummy variegated yarn i used to knit the leaflet scarf and mitt set. all the worsted weight yarn is 25% off, while it lasts.

ok, i need to get back to a pattern that rachael is waiting on . . . see you next time.