see the silk!

See the beauty! Today, after a long and somewhat challenging day, I arrived home to find an intriguing envelope on my doorstep! Oh, how welcome that sight was! Inside was such a kind note from Julie and tea: Chocolate Mint Rooibos and Crème Brule Rooibos, and this:



This is silk yarn that is spun from recycled Indian saris!! Isn't that amazing!?!? The colours are so complex and vibrant. The yarn itself feels soft and silky, but sturdy. See how the various strands of silk intertwine:



There must be a hundred colours in here!

I don't know yet what I'll make with this. I'm thinking of pairing it with a skein of green linen I have and making a kimono-style top. But there's the Simple Bodice pattern by Stitch Diva (http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SDS-026 ) and this yarn would be beautiful as the waist detail lace... Or I could use it on its own as a belt, purse, hat, scarf, even fingerless gloves! You know, I will have so much fun just mulling this over for days and days.... "spinning" out the anticipation (so to speak).

The latest finished knit object is a cotton angora sleeping hat (night cap) for my friend Rose. When you live in the frozen North (sort of), like I do, flannel sheets and flannel nightgowns aren't enough. Yep. We wear sleeping socks. And, some people wear hats. Okay, so it's just me who wears a sleeping hat! But I can tell you it makes all the difference! And its good for staying up late to write or read, kind of like Jo's cap in Little Women. Yes, a sleeping hat is a good thing and I have many designs for these in my head.



cotton angora. soft. warm. sigh....

Another Noro!

I enjoyed making the top-down Noro Silk Garden hat so much I made another one! This one has a picot edge and no ribbing. Its about to go out in the mail today and I hope its new owner will like it!

Oh, Yeah! Hat!

Here it is, my beautiful new hat:



and here's a close-up, so you can see the gorgeous colour changes here:



This took less than one skein of Noro Silk Garden and is knit top-down. I knit for several hours yesterday, but all in all it was done in two days. Its my own design, so I'll write up the pattern soon.

I love it and can't wait to wear it today!

winter in fact

I would send you pictures of snow, but you've seen that before, so instead I'll send you the images that winter's cold imposes - warm toasty slippers and cosy wool hats! On the left are the Butterfly Slippers and on the right, the beginnings of my hat from Noro Silk Garden. (Yes, I'm using a top-down pattern so I can use every bit of this beautiful yarn!)


The dishes haven't been done, the driveway hasn't been shoveled, the house hasn't been cleaned, but I've done some knitting and that's productive enough for a winter's weekend!

...and that's all there is to it!

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Warm Hands and Feet

Here is my latest project...I call them Butterfly Slippers, because they're for my internet friend, Mingbutterfly. This is from a vintage pattern, that I modified to be higher around the ankles (for warmth). The yarn is Balzac washable wool. I love it. Its study and soft - perfect for slippers! (PS - I only tried it on for one second on a Very clean foot.)



My project before this was for Julie. These are from Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, and only used one skein. The pattern is from the Louisa Harding Winter Landscapes book.



I'm not very sure about the pooling of the colour on the palms, but the the variegated yarn looks great on the lace part. Here is a close-up of the lace:



I have a beautiful skein of Noro Silk Garden in deep blues that Julie sent me and my next project will be a hat for myself! It is freezing here and I have no hat! What's that saying about the cobbler's children going without shoes???

our little bit of snow

...We had Snow!

The air is thick with swirls of fallen flakes, so that the scene out my window looks like fog is enveloping the house. The sun is rising slowly, and seems cold and distant. I am happy to curl up on the couch in the front room, where I can be warm and look at these scenes through the lace curtains over the bow windows:

A little bit of stray snow....



just enough to leave footprints...




A Winter Surprise
~Solveig Russel

Last night while I was sleeping
The snow came softly down
And slipped on all the shrubbery
A shining snowflake gown

I guess that every little bush
Felt startled with surprise,
To find itself a cotton plant
On opening its eyes.


Snowfall
~Margaret Hillert

Someone in the sky last night
Had an awful pillow fight,
And when I woke today I found
All the feathers on the ground.

Today is going to be a knitting day...after winding yarn and stocking my stash in my new bookcase, my boyfriend will knock on the door, and I'll make tea. Later, a friend is coming over and we'll gather up our current knitting projects and my ancient and vintage booklets and head for the yarn shop. Dee is working today, so we'll talk yarn and vintage patterns and plan a display of antique knitting. My friend will spend the gift certificate I gave her on yarn and beads. I'll try to resist buying yarn. We'll come back, have tea and gingerbread cake, and knit and watch Project Runway videos. Then I'll make a warm, cosy dinner (that will involve baked potatoes).

That's my plan anyway, for this snowy Sunday...