a simple yarn

Today is the day we do all the final signing of papers for the new house in the US. But it was yesterday when I found my ‘new home.’

It took no more than 14 hours after the Kiddies and I landed on US soil before the family walked by this shop in Old Town Alexandria.

Knit Happens

As you can imagine, the gravitational pull was overwhelming, and shamelessly leaving the others to find their own amusement, I dashed in. Okay, I say ‘dash,’ but it was more like a leisurely stroll, for who could zip in and out of this fine establishment without taking time to appreciate its ambiance, right?

Doing a poor job of controlling saliva glands, I tried to look like the Well-Traveled-Just-Arrived-From-Europe-and-Other-World-Destinations knitter, but I think they saw through that façade. In mere moments, though, I learned of their knitting night, community outreaches, drop-in-and-knit opportunities and (gasp) the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show going on this weekend with the Ravelry gang in attendance! Hey, don’t I live near Maryland now?

Well, it probably won’t happen for me this weekend (sigh), but there’s always next year…plenty of time for my Irish friends to plan a fibre field trip, eh?

Lace project is still waiting, but before I put away the cotton yarn, it’s time for one more go on an impromptu baby hat.

Been knitting for a few years now.
Have indulged in intarsia.
Have copped onto cables.
Have dabbled in design.
Am fearful of Fair Isle.
That is, until now.

The thought of Fair Isle has scared me, to be honest. All those strands of yarn thwoinging themselves into a shameless tangle, maintaining order only by my feeble attempts at manual dexterity. Ack! Had the same feeling when subduing the intarsia beast.

But something small was an ideal way to overcome my irrational fear. Right, so taking a simple design from a Debbie Bliss bootie pattern and adapting it to another pattern-free cotton baby hat, the result is, well, a fairly passable imitation of Fair Isle. Kinda wishing I’d put a couple of rows of ‘checker boarding’ above and below the main design, though. Looks a little plain, I think. But, something to consider for next time. And I have to say that I’m liking the ‘SKP’ rather than ‘K2TOG’ decreases on the top of this hat, creating a cute swirl on the crown, although the photo makes the hat look a little wonky…needs a cute little baby head in it!

And now that I have a few babies among my acquaintance, the opportunities for experimenting with various designs will be plentiful, I’d say.

Well I thought that by this time I would be busy.
Really busy.
Extremely busy.
But we’ve decided to let the professionals come in and pack up all our worldly goods.
It will take them about 2 days to pack up and load the container.
Self packing would entail about 4 weeks of chaotic upheaval.
So let them do it.
Nice and easy.
Costly, but easy.

So, what do I do with all this time not spent packing boxes?
Deciding what will fit into the limited space, sorting, organizing, giving away, throwing away…

…and the odd bit of furniture-restoration-style-crafting. See that china cupboard?

A lovely old primitive piece, filled with wood worm and destined for the burn pile. Can’t envision that, but thanks to the generosity of Lucy-Of-The-Lodge, I can now envision it holding cones and skeins of yarn in my new fibre workroom (studio would be too lofty a term, I think).

So, time to roll up the sleeves and de-bug it before the movers come. A few coats of bug-killer and oil should do the trick before it’s loaded into the container. And here’s hoping that the bug’s life in this case is a very short one.

Yep, a nice little souvenir from Ireland.

In the midst of moving our family to the US after six years in Ireland, I ought to be up to my eyeballs in boxes, right?

Need to pack up the house.
Need to switch the utilities and forward the post.
So what shall I do today?
Pick up my needles and knit.

Need to finish the lace bolero.
Need that jacket for upcoming summer weddings.
So what shall I do today?
Knit a baby hat.

Spoiler Warning for Sharon, Cathal and Baby Rohan:
Not a lot of knitting going on these days and am desperate for a fibre post, so if you continue reading, please be forewarned that the package coming to you welcoming Baby Rohan into the world won’t be a surprise.

Where was I? Oh right, baby knitting.

Now I realise that in recent months, I’ve been suffering from a disease…well, more of a knitting disability. I can’t seem to knit a pattern as it’s written. A tweak here. An adjustment there. I seem incapable of knitting something without an alteration—and the simple baby hat also falls victim to my malady.

What I love about baby knitting is that it uses small quantities of yarn—bits and bobs of cotton—to become lovely little wearables. But what shall I knit?

Love this hat, but have done it a few times before. Yawn.

Candy Cane Hats by Penney Kolb, from this book compiled by Melanie Falick…

Love this hat, but not sized for babies. Sigh.

Jesse’s Topknot Hat, from this book by Andrea and Gayle Shackleton…

So, taking the baby measurements, rolled edge and knotted top of the first hat and marrying it to the two-row stripe and basic shape of the second hat, fiddling around and making adjustments as I go and presto, a new one-of-a-kind baby hat.

Well, he’ll have to grow a bit, as I certainly didn’t do any gauge swatches after all the diversions, but hopefully he won’t mind. Matched with a pair of baby mittens and there ya go…welcome to the world, Rohan.

While other places are throwing back their blankets of winter white to reveal the good brown earth again, a stroll around the garden shows the blush of springtime in Ireland.

I do believe that pink is my favourite colour of flower.

And it’s a good thing, too, for ‘the pinks’ are in abundance these days.

Many US states boast the rhododendron as its official flower, yet I confess that I have never seen such gigantic tree-sized specimens until I came here.

And such is the sight that regularly greets me. In due time, the bits of pink and fuchsia and coral will blend into one continuous rosy wall. Really…it’s true! Why, look at an archived photo dug up from last year…

Not to be outdone, other blossoming trees also herald the coming of warmer temperatures and the brightness of longer days.

Take one part organic chocolate, add a bit of Fairtrade, throw in a free recipe book… I’d say that’s a pretty sweet deal!

Many people love Green & Black’s chocolate.
I have not been one of them.
Tried their dark chocolate and hmm…too dark?  too bitter?  Don’t know.  Couldn’t put my finger on it, but never really jumped on the G&B bandwagon.  Funny how a bit of incentive can change perspective.

Walked into the local Centra (read ‘mini-mart’) for…um, can’t remember what I went in there for originally…but saw the display for a free recipe book.  What’s this?  Buy 3 bars of Green & Black’s chocolate and get a recipe book…FREE.  Not an inky, dinky pamphlet with a few half-hearted recipes.  Nope, a substantial, real-honest-to-goodness-192-page-suggested-retail-price-of-£14.99-book of chocolate recipes!  With categories claiming to be ‘mystical’ and ‘wicked’ I certainly couldn’t leave the shop without one… and surely no one would fault my temptation to buy merely 3 chocolate bars to get it, would they?

So I did.

Was willing to give the dark chocolate another go, but none to be had and contented myself with 2 milk and 1 white.  Must say that the milk chocolate has an unusual but smooth taste.  Perhaps that’s what ‘organic’ tastes like?  So, when occasion calls for milk chocolate, it’s a lovely choice.

Have to say I’m sufficiently chuffed over my impulse buy and am looking forward to creating some chocolate delicacies from what is claimed to be the ‘best chocolate book in the world.’  Wow, that’s sweet.

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” -John Donne, English Poet, (1572-1631)

Okay, so it’s a bit ominous sounding…since he’s talking about death and all…but still appropriate in its theme that we are all connected to one another regardless of where we are physically…or geographically, for that matter.

And why am I quoting old English poets?

Simply put, the bell has tolled for our family, so to speak, and our time at The Bell House is coming to an end.

Since June of last year, Husband-Will has been commuting between our home in Dublin and his work in Washington, DC. That’s a lot of air miles and time zones and jet lag and carbon footprinting. So, we’re packing up so we can live together in one country on one continent. Fair enough.

Understandably, creative energies will play a supporting role to more pressing, non-creative things…like cardboard boxes…for the next couple of months. Yep, a bit of dejá vu from, say, just last autumn…

And so, the New Year’s photo is rather prophetic,

for we have taken a different fork in the path and stand ready to see what this newest bend in the road will hold for us.

It would follow logically that if I post Saturday baking on Sunday, then I would post Monday knitting on Wednesday, right?

Addendum (If you can put a postscript in at the beginning of a post after the fact, this is it…) Have had a few enquiries regarding the the patterns below. Here’s where they’re from:

Socks—Over the Knee Socks designed by Cindy Taylor, published in Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick.

Lace Cardigan—No. 22 in Vogue Knitting Holiday 2005.

Back to the original post…
So, I’m still a bit off sync, but look for more orderly postings next week. Anyway…
While on our mini break in Cork, I did indeed finish a little knitting project. The second of the over-the-knee-lace-cabled socks is complete and I’m quite happy with the result.

I realize, though, that it would be difficult to wear these socks without the added help of the sewn-in elastic. I had yet to put in the elastic before taking the photo, and found the sock drooping below the knee. The elasticized one stayed up like a dream. Well, it was either that or resort to a garter…scary thought, I know.

What is more noteworthy is that winter knitting is finally done and it’s now on to spring-ier things. First up, a lace cardigan. Another VK pattern. Never content to leave well enough alone, this one is going to be shortened to bolero length and worn over a sleeveless summer dress. Never having had occasion to use Rowan’s Kid Silk Haze, it’s obviously the yarn of choice, but wait…

…uh oh, after knitting the gauge swatch, US10/6mm needles are called for. Hmm…I pull out the Denise Needles, but after a few rows, it’s gonna be tough going as the needle points aren’t sharp enough and I’ve already made a mistake after only 4 rows. Grr…

Oh well, will just have to rationalize an emergency purchase of Addi Lace Turbos. Er…am I correct or do they stop making them at US9? I…can’t…find…any…US10…argh…Not to be diverted from my mission (recognized by steely glint in eye), certainly there must be another way.

Aha, the solution…simple enough!
Take one set of unused cheap wooden needles.
Take one household pencil sharpener.
Insert needle into sharpener.
Rotate handle until any friction from paring is complete.
Take out needle and presto!
One (questionably turbo) lace needle.
A little light sanding to reduce any snags and hopefully I’m in the lace business.

So, IF this works, THEN I’ll be happy!