Retirement
My friend, Sharon P of Knitknacks, retired yesterday. You can read about her take on that, on her blog.
I was honored to be her first after-retirement lunch date. We went to Shulers Books, which has food and a nice outdoor sitting area. We knit and talked and met someone sitting at the next table (it turns out I know her parents, her mom plays banjo and both her parents know my Mom). We tried to figure out knitting. Figure out how to make things succeed, how to know if they won’t before finishing them and trying them on. We talked about yarn we have bought or wanted to buy. We talked about traveling and all sorts of things I can’t even remember. We drank a lot of tea. We ate good salads. We spent about 2.5 hours and it felt like that just flew by.
Here Comes the Sun
Funny, we both wore our Ethiopian wraps (I bought them on my trip and gave one to Sharon as a gift). They are very fine white cotton gauze, handspun and handwoven, with beautiful colored edgings. These are worn in hot weather to deflect hot sun off the head, and in cool winds they are often worn instead of a windbreaker to keep warm. I wear mine a lot and it’s perfect against too-cold air conditioning.
Mine is a double layer, Sharon’s is one. This time, hers was the better choice as it was humid enough (major storms came through later in the day) that my wrap felt a little too warm and I tossed it aside. Wrong move! I got a sunburn.
I spent time today making sure Sharon wouldn’t be in the sun so she wouldn’t burn. I didn’t even realize I was in the sun myself. I don’t burn much, but that is because my favorite outdoor experience is sitting on the porch, preferably in the hammock. I haven’t done that recently, which is a shame… but I just don’t typically get out in the sun. So this little girl of Norwegian Extraction sure got herself some red shoulders today! It’s sort of amusing if it didn’t itch so much. Worse things can happen and I’ll feel better soon, but that’s the drama-queen moment of the day.
Sharon’s camera ran out of batteries and we forgot to use mine, so you’ll have to believe us that we had a nice visit. Such fun!
Socks #117 Mostly Completed
Oh, I finished the knitting part of my sock pair #117 yesterday. I have a lot of ends to finish, but the knitting is complete. I thought I’d work ends in when talking to Sharon but I opted instead to knit a gauge swatch.
Plans for New Project
I’m dreaming of knitting Arial, a T-shirt adapted from a vintage 1940’s pattern, adaptation by Joan McGowan-Michael of White Lies Designs. She’s the one who designed the Shapely Tee/Shapely Tank (both free patterns on the internet, sized for larger women for the most part, and shaped at the bust and waist. Very flattering).
This pattern (Arial, that is) was in the Spring 2003 Cast On magazine (and is also available for a fee on Joan’s site). I didn’t notice it when I got that magazine, because it’s lace and I just do not like to wear lace. However, I joined the PatternsOfThePast email list on Yahoo, and folks are talking about a knit-along for this one. It is a well-shaped short-sleeved top. Something I could wear reasonably often.
I surprised myself last night by actually finding this old magazine fairly easily. I’m not very organized in general but I found that mag pretty quickly. The pattern for Arial follows an article on reworking vintage patterns for modern fit standards. Very interesting stuff, and since I have many vintage patterns (mostly 1940-1969) I am surprised I didn’t read it then. I think I was still only doing socks at that time.
Truthfully, I’m not much on knitting other people’s patterns, and I’m not much for knit alongs. But I have this DK weight wool that is variegated, that I got at the Guild “garage sale” in May 2004. I have enough for a short sleeved top. The yarn would look really good in a wide rib. The lace pattern for Arial is a stitch pattern with 4 purls followed by 7 stitches of lace. Basically a textured rib. So I asked Joan if she thought wool would work on this pattern and if she thought it would convert well to just a rib. She thought it would.
I pulled out the yarn (it’s an ironstone “sock” yarn, wool/nylon DK weight in plum, magenta, dark tealish-blue and a soft blue). I knit a swatch. I’m really close to gauge, to where I’d like the fit as it stands. But now I can see that the yarn is far too blue for me. I like most colors, but I do not like blue, especially soft blues. I can live with dark greenish-teal or hot cobalt. This is powdery, like the color of a chambray workshirt. A color that makes my skin turn yellowish when I wear it. That’s probably why I don’t like that color… who could love a color that made them look jaundiced?
Soooo… I’ll have to skein up the yarn and overdye it (probably with magenta to make the whole thing multiple purples). It’s only three large balls, that won’t take too much time. And “in my spare time” knitting, I’ll plan to dive in and knit Arial. In rib and in wool, both changes from the original (which was lace and cotton).
New Dyeing Plans
I’m also preparing to dye some wool for sale again. Finally. I don’t dye yarn when I’m busy teaching, but my classes are not filling now that the weather is so hot. The basement studio is nice and cool in hot weather, so the timing is good.
I will be doing a family camping trip for a few days sometime soon but other than that I am going to plan on some new yarns in the next few weeks. I wish I had full days free to do it, but I don’t, so I’ll have to fit in little bits in half days when I have them.
Keep eyes peeled. I hope to have a surprise for you. Haven’t tried my cool new idea yet but I’m partway to the first prototype. I’ll clue you in more if it actually works.
Meanwhile, congratulations once more to my friend Sharon! Happy very long summer vacation!
Photos today: 1)My friend Dick’s garden (he has a fence to keep critters out, it’s mostly a food garden, photo taken around midnight in pitch black); 2)Purple Victorian house in Lake Orion, Michigan, about 2 blocks from Heritage Spinning, which sponsored the Lucy Neatby workshop.