Water Mark

Long time, no blogging... Doesn't mean no knitting has happened; I've been knocking up samples for the Cottenham course the week after next, and writing notes... But enough of that; I'll do a post on that next, along with yesterday's return trip to Stash. But first, as Mary deB has gone home and used to specialise in these, a pretty picture of the river in Cambridge from last weekend, when Sue and Stewart and I went and saw some beautiful metalwork and pottery at Cambridge Open Studios.


The main FO last week (I finished a sock, but may as well finish the second one before posting the picture) is a bag made of this stuff: gorgeous Fiesta Water Mark, a present from an American friend. 60% mohair and 40% wool...


The pattern has really cool mitred corners and finishes with a three-needle bind-off on the base.

This yarn felts so thoroughly that I had to sit with a scalpel for half an hour and tease the inside layers apart, because pulling with hands wasn't adequate! It started off about 21" long and 17" wide, and ended up the size of a large one-volume French dictionary. I imagine it will felt progressively when I wash it, but at the moment I like how it looks after one wash, and it's sturdy enough that it stands up on its own...

In other news my feet are on Anne's blog! (I'm the one in the red socks...) This sock pattern is really very nice; and although there's grafting involved, it isn't where you'd think on the toe of the socks, but under the toe part... Anyway, it's a great pattern, proof-knitted by Katie and me; and available free as a PDF from Anne's blog...

L'invitation au Voyage

Gill and I both liked the idea of the Baudelaire Socks in this time's Knitty, and are hoping to start knitting them on August 7th. Anyone with us?

In other footwear news, did the second set of felting on the felt slippers I made with yarn from Stash - and they're looking good. Apart from the heels; which I can't see in wear, but are still annoying me; need to work out how to make them look less crude...
The pattern is from Knit One, Felt Too, adapted because I didn't want to use three solid colours. First time using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted and I can see why all those people across the pond like it for felting. The variegated yarn is Colinette Graffiti. Felted them once at 60 degrees C, and they shrank alarmingly in length, but not in width, which meant they felt like small rowing boats. Then today felted them again at 50 and they've lost a little more in length but a surprising amount in width.

I am currently wearing them until they dry; the only residual problem is that they're a bit high up on my ankles. They'll cut down though because they're very well-felted - I'll do that before I wash them "normally" (I'm assuming that I'll be able to machine-wash them at my usual 30 or so in wear, to clean them and tighten them up somewhat...) I have various bright ideas on how to correct all this stuff now; need to go back to Stash for some more Brown Sheep...

Fair and Flowers

I'm attempting to subvert Blogger's desire not to let me add any photos to these posts by making multiple posts... Let's see if that works. Main reason why I haven't been blogging as often... Yay. It worked.

Last Wednesday night, friends Pete and Helen arrived (armed, unexpectedly, with a large tin of duck confit and some Maille mustard in the glasses I collect) and we drove out for a walk on the Devil's Dyke; it was lovely. It'd been hot, humid and generally unbearable all day, but it had cooled down by then, and Pete had seen lizard orchids near there the previous year. Most of them had already gone over, but there were some still around. Fantastic things: here's the general view:



and in knitterly fashion, here's the detail.

While we were looking for flora, we also found fauna. Or at least, the caterpillar of Saturnia Pavonia, or the Emperor Moth... Who says we don't get exotic species in the UK...

An additional interesting factor has been the Fair. View from bedroom window...

I am not one of those people who chooses to live by a village green and then complains endlessly about the stuff which happens on it. I am enthralled by most of the very loud post-midnight conversations/boy-girl arguments; I am continually reassured by the fact that at any time during daylight hours there will be someone moving about outside the window. I'm also very grateful that my front garden is composed of beautiful lime trees, grass and squirrels, none of which are maintained by me... Over 12 years, I've also been intrigued by the Fair because all of a sudden there are 50-60 people sleeping silently in a space which is usually completely empty.

My only, only request - and it's a modest one given the major decibels a few feet from the windows, is that they get a tape next year which is longer than 30 minutes before it all starts again. I know it does this because on the first evening there was a bad cover version of the BeeGees' Tragedy which played 8 times, followed by Kylie. Also on the second evening. This evening, I fled the village for the climes of Littleport; good company, nice chicken and Battlestar Galactica.

Diamond Fantasy Shawl #2

... is finished and blocked. I've been very loosely following the KAL at Sivia Harding's Yahoo group although I've not been a good contributor... I've wittered about the yarn choice, and guilt, before but this Kaalund Expressions mohair, blocked, is the most beautiful thing; it's almost not there - I have a 2.10m (76") by 1m (39") shawl which weighs just less than 100g... Feels like a completely different shawl to the previous scarf-size version I knitted last year in Wildefoote sock yarn, which I also love... Here it is blocking - 'severely' as per instructions; which is actually pretty easy because the I-cord cast-off Sivia specifies makes the top edge incredibly stable and you know exactly how far it'll go...

Here's the lace detail shot - it's lovely lace to work because there are no complicated stitches to work at all. The only temptation is to put in extra yarn-overs in either side of central stitches; but you can get away with dropping those discreetly once you've realised what you've done, and they come out in the blocking...

As I was heading back into the house, having taken the obligatory 'draped-over-a-bush' shot for the Photos section of the Yahoo files (if I get brave on Tuesday night and the weather's OK, I'll persuade someone to take a pic of me actually wearing the thing at the Cambridge KTog - it's really that nice...) I spotted the Tranquil Face, which is currently bereft of plants, and thought 'why not'...

Otherwise, it's all been a bit weird. Matilda (aka Tild, aka Pig, aka Unwonted-Attention-to-Visitors-up-to-and-including-Trouser-Ruination-Cat) had a fairly major operation on Monday (Medically: middle ear and bulla removal, half her head shaved, uncounted numbers of stitches, polyp sent off to the lab. Financially: think of the French Lieutenant's Woman's cloak. Now think of it knitted in Koigu. Yes.) so I have the Continuing Fun of Antibiotics followed by the frisson of keeping her indoors while allowing the other (pedigree-but-feral) cat some sort of a life. It's not working, folks. But hey. The litter tray has turned into some kind of conquest zone - although small cat doesn't have to use it, she does it to mark territory, and then we're off to the races...