Good Morning Everyone!
Nothing like getting first tracks up Hard'ack. Bernie and I had a wonderful trek through the newly fallen snow, well sleet really. We ran into Sandra who was trailblazing through on her snowshoes, we acknowledged just how lucky we were to have such a beautiful little forest right in our backyards to explore. I was so spoiled living out in Colorado at the base of Buffalo Mountain, with miles of trails heading in every direction possible. I literally had to walk half a block to the trailhead and could be gone for hours without seeing a soul, those were the days...It's a bit of a challenge feeling that sense of "one with nature" on a little hill in St. Albans, but if you get out there early enough it's like having the entire place to yourself. Well almost, I had a gorgeous barred owl fly over my head yesterday morning, it was a spectacular sight. Then there are the squirrels that chatter at Bernie and fly tree to tree and the woodpecker who adds to the chorus of the forest. Really not a bad way to start the day despite trudging through the freshly fallen snow, feels good to sweat. Feels even better to get back and have a big mug of coffee.
Days like today make me happy that I got some housework done yesterday, including the grocery shopping. All I want to do is make more granola, a big pot of soup and definitely knit. I've been juggling my two sweaters, I'm getting so close to completing my Il Grande Favorito I can barely stand it. It's the perfect project to knit while watching Netflix, I've recently discovered Firefly Lane. The sheer satisfaction of knitting bulky yarn on 10.5 needles is a welcome change from the tedious colorwork of my Birkin knit with fingering weight on size 6 needles. I posted a picture of my Favorito yesterday, pictures never do it justice but many of you could certainly appreciate just how lovely it is. Several of you have shared pictures with me of your finished or almost finished projects, I can't wait to see them in person! So far, Stephanie, Peggy, Pauline and maybe Shari have finished, anyone else?? I would love to take a picture of all of us in our sweaters when they are finished so keep those needles clicking ladies!!
I've finally found my rhythm in knitting my Birkin. Mind you, it only took getting halfway up the chart to get into it, but I've got my groove. There's definitely a method to the madness when you're trying to keep your yarn from becoming a tangled mess as you work your way around the yoke. Negotiating the twisting and carrying of the floats requires a precise system, especially when dealing with 3 or more colors. I was complaining about it Friday night as I was Zooming with Wanda and Kathleen. Wanda reminded me that it's the perfect practice piece before starting my Foxthoughts which has 16 colors in the yoke. I do recognize that my life could have been so much easier if I'd just used bobbins around the yoke, but knitting is so much more fun with a little drama.
I really need to have my colorwork skills honed if I want to start tackling the INCREDIBLE sock designs featured in Happily Knitting Socks, OMG!!! I've seen and own a lot of sock books, this one takes the cake. First of all, it was written by two men, and their story of just how it came to be is fantastic, I won't spoil it. Secondly, they take you through the entire process, cuff to toe with such attention to detail, it puts YouTube tutorials to shame. Thirdly, the designs...I'm just smitten by the level of creativity and sheer beauty of them, I would make every single pair, twice. Andra graciously picked out 6 colors of Lang's Jawoll sock yarn to get me started with some of the designs. I will need to order more book I'm guessing because I'm down to 1 of the 5 I got in last Friday. Socks are the perfect project year round, they are transportable, and small enough to work on in the middle of summer at the beach. I've always loved making them, and if you've never been interested, I think this book will change your mind.
We've been having lots of fun on Wednesday evenings Zooming, thank-you so much for joining me, I've truly missed seeing everyone together. I'll be sending out the reminder either today or tomorrow, let me know if you need an invitation. Make it a great day and I hope to see you soon!
Katy