a simple yarn

I am neither a spinner nor a dyer, but I play one in real life.

Last summer I had a notion of trying my hand at spinning. So, on a borrowed wheel in a borrowed holiday home with a recently purchased, self-processed and hand-dyed Galway Cross fleece, I had a go at spinning, fancying myself having a real ‘Ma Ingalls’ moment. Much like any beginner, the yarn was unintentionally thick and thin by turns, but it was the product, however wonky, of my own two hands.

And so it sat in my cupboard gathering dust and wool moths.

But now, the Guild has determined parameters for our exhibition at the Dublin Knitting & Stitching Show this autumn. Aha! Reds, oranges and yellows with a Samhain theme…Gaelic word for November. Righty-o!

Thus, my wonkily hand-spun yarn has now become…

Kiddie Fetchings

Lest you think this is a brilliantly inspired investment in the younger knitwear lover, let me confess that Plan B* (see below for Plan A) began as adult-sized Fetchings, however as the knitting continued they looked huge, fit for a meaty-pawed woman. So, out went a few sets of ribbing. Erm, a few sets too many. And now, I am unabashedly targeting them for the younger Fetching wearer! Need to finish the retro ‘idiot-mitten’ string tying them together, give ‘em a wash to fuzzy them up and we’ll be all set!

*Warning: Felted Fleeces Faux Pax
Plan A for this Guild project had the wool originally destined as a cool pair of felted slippers, but did you know that not all virgin wool is feltable, fullable or otherwise shrinkable? I didn’t either. Though having done a significant number of felted knitting projects, there are some breeds that won’t shrink. And yep, the Galway Cross seems to be one of ‘em!

Change is the watchword around our house these days.

Warning: Definitional Diversion Ahead
Synonym:  alter, become different, adjust, adapt, amend, modify, revise, refine, refashion, redesign, restyle, revamp, rework, remodel, reorganise, reorder, vary, transform, transfigure, transmute, metamorphose, evolve, tweak, rejig
Antonym:  stay the same

Some people like change in small steps. Reflecting upon the face of change in our family finds it usually coming in great strides…

Do you know that moment when someone asks you a question and you have to make a split-second decision whether to be entirely honest or politely vague? Perhaps next time I’ll choose vague…

Preface: I met up with Isobel on Tuesday for a coffee, a catch-up chat and to wish her happy birthday (which is tomorrow by the way). Never did we dream, upon entering Starbucks, that we would exit with a deeper, fuller knowledge of the word ‘bitter’. You can get her perspective on her blog, Tea and Cakes.

So, we’re having our drinks. Mine is lukewarm and to be truthful, I like it hot. Not lukewarmish enough to get up and complain about, mind you. Just so-so. But the Starbucks-Barista-Guy comes over asking how our drinks are. Of course you have guessed that I say, ‘Well, it could stand to be a little hotter, actually.’ Much to my delight he eagerly volunteers to get me a fresh cup. Wow, that’s service with a smile! And into my hand goes a new, piping-hot cup of cappuccino.

Not only that…I also have thrust into my possession a voucher for a free cup at a future date. Again, ya gotta love good customer service! Now, if it had just ended there…

The aforementioned Starbucks-Barista-Guy-Who-Also-Happens-To-Be-The-Manager comes by again asking about our coffee experience. I should have left well enough alone, but out of my mouth I heard,
‘Erm, to be honest, I’ve never been a huge Starbucks fan.’
(A glint creeps into the corner of his eye.)
‘While the cappuccinos are nice,’ I continued, ‘I find the regular coffee to be a bit bitter.’
He took the news quite well, I thought.

I must mention that at Starbucks-Coffee-Training-University they seem to arm their employees with vast amounts of knowledge. Most of it I am sure is for their own enrichment, for the customer will rarely want or need to know it.

Barista-Manager-Guy instantly enrolls us in his personal Starbucks-Coffee-Taste-Testing-University-Distance-Course. Out comes a tray of samples and with a faint nod to a wine-tasting event, we are told to smell the aroma, slurp in a portion, swirl it around and analyse what our mouths are telling us. No buckets to spit into, though.

Following the lengthy lecture on tasting zones in an average mouth, bean blends, word pictures that accompany tastes, roasting times, acidity levels and how that differs from bitterness, my conclusion is…there’s no such thing as a ‘free’ cup of coffee.

Feels like a schoolyard game of tag these days.

Catching up on my blog reading, and I am inadvertantly learning many randomy bits of information about others. There is the ‘7 Random Pieces of Information’ version and the ‘8 Random…..’ version floating out there. Have found that I, too, have been tagged by Teresa and so will give you the ‘7.5 Random Pieces of Information’ about myself…which I suppose ought to be different than the ‘Weird Things About Me’ meme…

1. I have studied Russian language on and off for about 8 years (more off than on, I’d say). As my kids are Russian in their heritage, I thought it would be a cool multi-cultural thing to do. They couldn’t care less. I think it’s quite fascinating. Can’t really get past childish grammar structure, but I can get around St Petersburg.

2. I am constantly told by people I meet that I look like someone they know…a neighbour, a school chum, a cousin, etc. Must have an everyday, ordinary type of face or else should work as a spy.

3. The only piece of furniture we brought to Ireland was an antique trunk, given to me by Husband-Will. We had been dating for 6 months and that was my birthday present. Knew he was a keeper after that!

4. I’m not much of a water person. I grew up near creeks and rivers, but never had a great urge to jump in ‘em. Maybe it was the camp counselor whitewater rafting summer that scared it out of me. Am more of a woodsy girl. Love to walk along the beach though, but again, no urge to jump into the sea.

5. My personal library is filled with antique copies of North American classic children’s literature. When I feel out of sorts, I will pull LM Montgomery or Louisa May Alcott off the shelf and be reminded of a simpler time.

6. I do not like ballpoint pens. Nor rollerballs. I can’t seem to keep control of them. My handwriting looks limp and wimpy. Need a thicker flow of ink, so I generally use a fountain pen with a medium nib. Wish I did more handwritten correspondence…

7. My husband is notoriously un-fond of cats. Me? I quite like them. Guess I am a true knitter then.

7.5. One of my deepest secrets is…well, as I can only tell you half of this one, guess I ought to stop there.

Right, all done. As I received grumblings from the last people I tagged on the ‘weird’ meme, I think to preserve my friendships, I ought to leave it at that. And also ought to get back to posting photos. Fairly text-heavy posts of late…

One year, 14 days and I don’t know how many hours, minutes and seconds ago, I began posting in this space.

Objectively, there have been-

264 posts
More than some, less than others. Not quite as prolific as I once was. The living of life taking precedence over the blogging of it…

791 comments
Yes, I realise heavy-hitting-bloggers reap this with one post…but have to admit I’d rather have one meaningful comment than a myriad of blatherings.

14 categories
Not much to say there. It is what it is.

54 intercepted spam comments
Gotta love Akismet.

Subjectively, it has been-

A wonderful experiment in becoming part of a virtual community. What began as a way to get to know Isobel, Sara, Sharon and the other Dublin knitters has quickly expanded to a lovely network of internet pen-pal-ness and I like that!

So, many thanks to you for making me a part of your virtual neighbourhood and for being a meaningful part of mine.

The lights have just gone off.

I love it when the power goes out. Of course, knowing that the meat is slowly defrosting in the freezer and the milk is quickly rising to room temperature in the frig isn’t that great. But other than that, I love the idea of temporarily going without electricity…the soft glow of a candle…the freedom of a gadget-less moment…

…she thought as she tapped away on her battery-powered computer…

I will never knit lace.

I am a mess of contradictions…and have been heard to say…

‘I do not eat scones.’ (feels like I need ‘Sam-I-am’…)
Rationalisation: Met Isobel, Holly and Sara at Keogh’s Café in a state of semi-starvation. Not much else to pick from, so eat a scone or pass out from hunger.

‘I do not like intarsia.’
Rationalisation: Well, it was all that twisting-the-yarn talk that put me off. So, like it or not, I have done it as the wonky square cushion cover will prove. But will I do it again? That’s the question…

‘I’m not jumping on the sock bandwagon.’
Rationalisation: Got swept up in the excitement of last year’s Birmingham Knitting & Stitching Show. It was the Get Knitted stand that did it. The other girls were buying yarn. I have no will power. So 2 skeins of self-striping sock yarn in my possession, and despite turning-of-the-heel-phobia, ended up doing socks.

‘I don’t do swaps.’
Rationalisation: Secret Pals seemed too much of a commitment. Am I a commit-o-phobe? Don’t know. But when Tea and Cakes and Tangelled Angel did the one-off Knitter’s Treat Exchange, ah sure, why not help out friends, they’ve gone to so much trouble. I think I can manage one. And who doesn’t like getting stuff in the post?

‘I’m not a spinner.’
Still not, by all intents and purposes, but I get the basic mechanics of it. Do I have an intense desire to spin my own yarn? Nope. Just enough interest to dabble in it. Risking Jack-Of-All-Trades-Master-Of-None syndrome.

‘I’m not interested in learning to felt.’
Well, maybe that’s one statement that I’ll not waiver on! Why felt when Holly does it so beautifully? It gives me the opportunity to be the recipient of cool gifts! Not gonna change that! Oops, there I go again…

And the lace?
Rationalisation: The Christmas project I had in mind for the one skein of Lion & Lamb didn’t work out, so what’s a girl to do? Gotta make the most of what I’ve got. So, the thought of the finished project was enough to get me over the ‘do-not-knit-lace’ voice in my head and Branching Out it is! Doesn’t look very light and lacy in the pic, but I’m hoping blocking will improve the view. Might have to do another one…wait, what am I saying?!?

So, am I making these statements as a ‘throwing-down-the-gauntlet’ to see if I can actually master a new skill? Gosh, wish I’d stop as there are way too many skills yet to learn! Hmm….wonder what other definitive statements I’ve made that I need to rationalise…

The day started out much like any other, until the doorbell rang…

Standing at my door was a lady dressed in blue uniform. No, not a policewoman. The other blue uniform. An Post. And into my hands she thrust…

Yippee! Knitter’s Treat Exchange goodies for me. I realise it’s past the 5th of May but my treater told me it had a long way to travel. Yep, all the way from Down Under! So, waiting only long enough to take the initial photo, I ripped open the padded envelope and…

Wow! Lots of goodies compressed into a small space.

So, waiting only long enough to take a second photo I, with-excitement-likened-to-a-10-year-old-girl-at-her-birthday-party, began to open each yummy parcel.

Treats for the hands and eyes—
hand-dyed sock yarn, a book, and beautiful stitch markers

Treats for the tastebuds—
coffee, fairtrade dark chocolate, and a unique Aussie herb (with recipe for using it!)

Treats for the kids— (yes, I’ll share)
Cadbury dairy milk chocolates

And all those treats came from Donyale at Indulging My Inner Knitter. Many thanks for putting together a very lovely package to start my week off right!

“There but for the grace of God go I.”  -John Bradford (1510-1555)

Was going to post about knitting.
Seems superfluous now.
That can wait for another day.
This cannot.

Thanks to Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits for the reminder, the button to share, and the link.

…but Lace rhymes with place.

And on Thursday, the place was This Is Knit for their grand opening featuring a day of chat with Debbie Bliss. Yes, Ms Bliss herself was in town…wonderfully unassuming.

With superhuman effort, I made quite sensible purchases…yes, I know I have a moratorium on yarn purchases this year…these being Christmas gift supplies not to be found in my stash.

Sensible Purchase Number 1

Lorna’s Laces Lion and Lamb, No. 27 Black Purl. Pristine in its just purchased skein.

Sensible Purchase Number 2

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, No. 102 Mineshaft. A ball shabbily and hastily hand-wound. Oops, forgot that the ball winder is packed already!

‘I do like a road, because you can be always wondering what is at the end of it. The Story Girl said that once upon a time.’ —The Story Girl, LM Montgomery

Our ‘road’ has a bit of a bend in it, an unexpected turn, and I’m wondering what’s at the end of it.

At summer’s end, we will take ourselves, our children, all our worldly goods and head to the Dublin Mountains, to begin what I consider to be an intriguing life experiment. After all my blathering about eco-friendliness and dabbling with organic veg and wanting to reduce the negative-impact-that-we-have-on-this-earth-otherwise-known-as-our-carbon-footprint, we have now had the opportunity handed to us on a silver platter…or perhaps I should say ‘a metal spade.’ And so, the rubber (or insert other recyclable product here) will definitely meet the road!

And I’ve gotta admit that mingled with the excitement is a healthy measure of uncertainty. Not about going there, but more about being able to work out in reality what is currently just a thought…a desire…a vision. While my hands itch to get into the dirt, my joints aches at the thought of it!

And so justification and rationalisation being what they are, I’ve concluded that I need to beef up the self-sufficiency part of our library with the ordering of-

And maybe my research should include a re-read of-

…in pink, perhaps?

These are felted slippers.

They are a birthday gift.

They are to remind Steve that I have forgiven him for the wisecrack he made about Husband-Will’s felted slippers a year or so ago and after sufficient penance and numerous requests for his own, I am finally giving him a pair. Wear them well and be thankful they aren’t pink and fluffy!

Project Details
Pattern: Fibre Trends Felted Clog
Yarn: Twilley’s Freedom Wool
Needles: US13/9mm circulars

Note: Freedom Wool shrinks at a very high rate, so I knit one shoe size larger and yes, they shrank quite small. Worked out fine, but take note if you’re using this wool.