a simple yarn

They’re orange-ish, they’re small, they’re sweet…what else would I call them?

Not so long ago…baby drought. Now…babies everywhere. Family, friends, children of friends all having babies. So I gratefully set aside the never-ending-jumper and not-yet-cast-on second stocking and knit some baby accessories.

Pattern: Fat Baby Booties, by Beverly Galeskas, published in Interweave Special Edition Felt Magazine, Summer 2007

Time to Knit: A couple of unhurried afternoons

Yarn: Hmm…

The yarn comes from soft Blue Faced Leister roving or ‘top,’ as it’s called here. Bits and pieces were dyed with Kool-Aid at the kids’ primary school Art Day last spring. Not being a proper feltmaker, what was I going to do with all those remnants of brightly coloured roving? My eyes came to rest on the usually-unused-and-gathering-dust spinning wheel sitting in the corner. Ahem, think I ought to spin up some yarn…

Warning: Quick Explanatory Narrative Ahead
Now, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool hack when it comes to spinning. Whether overspun or underspun, I can’t quite get the knack of a consistently proper twist. And you want to know the truth? I don’t exactly have the desire or the mental capacity to learn another skill. Think the few rapidly aging brain cells are quite busy enough at the moment. So, my spun yarn is really only good for a knit-and-felt project, meaning this mini diversion into felted baby booties is perfect!

While these little gems are cute, I’m undecided whether I’ll make another pair…admittedly, the buttons and elastic are a bit fiddly and there are certainly many lovely baby patterns yet to be tried…

Thing to do today: supermarket, errands, collect kids, dodge sheep in the road…

While modern Dubliners seemingly want to shift away from the stereotypical imagery of ‘The Quiet Man,’ leprechauns and old gents in tweedy flat caps, I seem to bump into them with regularity.

Why, just last week I found myself swinging the car into a side lane to accommodate a farmer and his herd. Like a scene from ‘Babe,’ he came sauntering down the narrow lane with its towering hedgerows on either side. In front of him ran the group of woolly wonders, while he ambled behind—stick in hand, tweedy flat cap on head, faithful sheepdog alongside.

Kicking myself for leaving the camera at home.

But not to worry, sheep in the road are rather a common sight these days. Surely then, the leprechauns are lurking nearby…