it's not finished yet ...

this lofty, Italian yarn is scrumptuously soft.
it's like a dreamy pillow.
When you see the skein you just have to touch it.

and it's being turned into a very dense
Mitten . yes, that might be a bit over the top
for such a luxe yarn ... but it's for a good cause.
I want the recipient to have something
functional, that fits,
that is created by hand,
of a luxurious wool.

I'm not sure if i'm going to
have Enough of the dreamy yarn to finish
both mittens yet.
think it's time to go out & get another skein
just to be sure.





Mitten number one, in progress, above.

socks of the future ~~

Thanks, Mom.


Socks of the future ! The near future i hope!
mountain colour (color!)
Bearfoot yarn.
this wool makes the most divine socks.
wool and a bit of Mohair, blended together
to make a scrumptious cushy soft fabric.

This new colour is called Pheasant.
i can't wait to start knitting them.








happy Christmas Eve.

mittens

i have just finished a pair of mittens.
they're made with Rowan's Cork.
i used two strands of wool at a time, to make them
more dense and warm.
I've yet to take them out for a test run.
These aren't gift-mittens, they're for me.
I wanted to make sure that i had good method
going before i made some for anyone else.

the next
Mittens are being knit with
araucania wool.

this is a Slightly verigated
brown/green shade, often dipping over to the darkness of charcoal.
This is my first time to knit with this wool and i really like it. It has
a great woolly texture.
This will definitely be for gift-mittens.
No, not Christmas gifts, not that kind of a deadline.
here's what i've got so far....




i had several mitten centimetres knit up yesterday,
but in spite of my carelful calculations
the cuff turned out to be too small.
So small that i had to take them apart. argh.
so this is the new start of the mittens.

Winter Solstice

Yesterday we celebrated the Winter solstice.
The shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
On the magical Island of Orkney, Scotland,
you can see the path of the winter sun move along, Inside the tomb of Maeshowe.

Maeshowe in Orkney, Scotland
is built to receive the sun as it comes to the Winter solstice.

Keeping time differences in mind,
you can see the live feed of the tomb Here.


from the Charles Tait site:

About Maeshowe
A Spectacular Neolithic Chambered Cairn built 5,000 years ago

Maeshowe (HY315128), considered to be one of the
finest architectural achievements of prehistoric Europe,
is across the road from Tormiston Mill (HY319126).
The mound, 35m in diameter and 7m high, consists
mostly of packed stones and clay, with an inner layer of stones
around the chamber itself. This chambered cairn was constructed
with great care, the large dressed slabs being carefully
set together and finished. The chamber is 4.5m square
and about the same in height. A tapered orthostat faces
each corner buttress giving an impression of space
and strength. The whole impression is of majesty
and the idea of a "Neolithic cathedral" comes to mind.

Maeshowe was built on a levelled area of ground with a surrounding bank
and ditch, peat from the bottom of which has been dated at 2750 BC,
which makes it contemporary with the Ring of Brodgar,
The Standing Stones of Stenness and Skara Brae.
Since no artefacts were found when this impressive tomb
was opened in 1861, little can be deduced about its usage.
The fact that the surrounding bank may have been
rebuilt in Norse times gives a tantalizing suggestion of
reuse in the 9th century. The Vikings entered the mound
during the 12th century and have left one of
the largest collections of runes anywhere, as well
as carvings of a dragon, a serpent and a walrus.

Several other sites have associations with the winter solstice
and in this case the setting sun shines directly down the passage of Maeshowe,
illuminating the back wall and passage in a dramatic fashion for a few minutes.
The sun sets directly over the Barnhouse Stone (HY313122) on the shortest day.
The discovery of a socket for a standing stone between the mound
and the ditch suggests that what we see today is only a part of
what was originally there, further adding to the enigma of purpose and use.

thanks

I want to say Thank you
to everyone who's
left a comment.

Thank you all, for your good wishes.

i'm missing my knitting guild's meeting tonight.
(still can't breath enough to get out)
It's a christmas party more than any kind of "meeting".
grrr. grrr. am missing a fun time.


Some good news today.
or should i say Dangerous news. (!!)
Julie, of the
Needle Emporium called
to say that they've just received a whole new
batch of Mountain Colour bearfoot yarn.
ooooh.

As Deawn would say,
this is akin to have your dealer make you a house call.

You can guess what the outcome was.


Today is the Last official Day of Autumn.
You wouldn't know it looking outside right now.
Everything is white with snow.

Do what you love. Love what you do.

the Lasting effects
of alpaca-induced asthma
are still an annoying
and major factor today.
i'm able to knit now, and walk around the house,
but not well enough to be out & doing things
& having normal life. Still can't lift anything or carry.

(yes, this is whiney, i know.)
there's a lot to
be done this week... and it's just not getting done.

In the meantime ...
there are some completed socks to share with you.

the first pair,
100% merino wool by fleece artist.
I've just put them on for the first time now.
i can vouch for Karine's testament to this yarn:
it keeps getting softer every time you wear them.
My first pair of fleece artist merino socks are astoundingly
soft & they're a month old at best.



i really enjoyed working with the colourway of this wool.
I found the colours of the forest very soothing to work with.


also newly finished and not
yet worn:
a bright & colourful pair of Regia socks.
this is my second time with this colourway of Regia.
I liked the first socks so much i wanted another pair.
they're very cheerful.






Now, a quote to leave you with:

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
"Work lovingly done, is the secret of all order and all happiness."

Mittens

as K. mentioned in her blog recently:
Mittens are fun to knit. and with thick wool, it's
really fun to knit with 6 mm needles to make something
ultra soft and cuddly.

Cuddly and Necessary.

Quebec's climate leads one to think that mittens
are a necessity of winter life, not just a fashion statement,
or an alternative to gloves.
Gloves just don't keep your hands as warm as Mittens.

I've been looking forward to some mitten-knittin,
and now with winter officially here as of Wednesday (Winter solstice).

I have started a pair of mittens.

i started out last week with beautiful alpaca.
(now known as THE alpaca)
That turned out to be disasterous.
I'm allergic to alpaca but didn't know until i'd gotten as
far as the first mitten cuff. i was out of service for four days.
so out-of-service that i couldn't even knit.
Suffice to say, that mitten isn't going anywhere. it's sealed
up in a bag. Still. It needs a new home.

Live & learn, i'm sticking to wool mittens from now on.

the first mittens will be for me. I think its
better that the "first draft" not go out as a gift.
I have some Mitten-recipients in mind,
but need to practice first.

If you have any mitten advice,
mitten comments or mitten Words Of Wisdom,
i would love to hear from you.

Time to share a great quote

i thought this was a timely quote in case you're trying to work for deadlines:


"Besides the noble art of getting things done,
there is the noble art of leaving things undone.
The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials."
Lin Yutang