I've got a lot to do today. And, I shouldn't. I really shouldn't be plotting a new knit.
But this Cashmere is calling me. It's Elliebelly Coventry Cashmere. The colorway is Lady Mary and its calling to me like a siren's song.
Resistance is futile. I'm going to try and get a little work done, but then I'll be back with the project I'm plotting for this irresistible yarn.
I’m still plugging and plugging along, knit Stitch after knit Stitch, with no apparent progress. I see the balls of yarn (I’m alternating skeins) decreasing, but honestly, I can’t detect any growth in my scarf.
A friend suggested putting a locking stitch marker in the stitch I start with every morning and I’m going to try that as soon as I get home and can get my hands on one. Until then, it’s the neverending garter stitch project for me.
This is not to complain, though. It’s cashmere! It’s a joy to knit every stitch. But, although I’m usually a process knitter, this is for me and it has a sort of spectacular finish coming. I can’t wait to be able to wear it!
It’s dry, hot and still in the ’80s in Alabama. But the mornings are cool and despite the drought, there are lots of pretties in my garden to draw my interest while I sit on the porch and knit.
Fortunately, my 21 color slouch hat is a project that requires little attention, so I’ve been checking out what’s still blooming and getting some colors in mind for dyeing.
I love my Echinacea. It’s so pretty. This is the last of it and I’m especially intrigued by the yellow over brown over green in the cones. That blue-pink is a knockout too!
Tomatoes. They are little gems! Ina Garten’s new book, Cooking For Jeffrey, has a great recipe for roasting them while still on the vine.
I adore my Pineapple Sage. It smells great and makes a lovely tea. Although most of my garden is based on drought-resistant plants, this sage requires some water while it’s getting established, but my big established stand of this herb is almost 5 feet tall and coming through the drought in great shape.
I grow Mexican Bush Sage (Tagetes) because Tarragon doesn’t grow well in hot, humid southern summers, but this herb offers the same licorice flavor for chicken salad and soups. And it has the added plus of its flowers.
This explosion of color make me want to hit the dye pots this weekend to come up with yarn for my own version of the 21 color slouch hat, in hues from my garden.
This week has been a family week for me, with a long overdue trip to DC with my second son. I really enjoyed the old photos of Presidents' wives knitting in the early 1900s at the Newseum. And all of the beautiful views in the city.
Not much knitting happened although I did get far enough along with the Two Track sweater to experience it's interesting construction, adding in the front left and front back simultaneously with an exposed side seam and knitting the ribbed lower edge of the sleeve.
The directions were confusing to me so I followed them literally and it seemed to work out. I've started the second sleeve so I can repeat the process for the right side before I forget how I did it the first time.
After this, it's just me and miles of stockinette for a long time so this should be a great counterpoint to my fairisle sweater.
I ripped out five rows, late last night, because I neglected to insert yarn in the color “highlighter” in this one little row. But it makes all the difference! It was painful, but I’m glad I did it.
I'm on the way home from The Plucky Knitter's "Glamping with Plucky" retreat. It was great fun and I've got lots to share with you.
On the way home I'll be working on this complicated looking, but simple to knit hat from Feralknitter on Ravelry. It was a great class!
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Postscript: Shortly after taking the picture, above, I realized I had been knitting for three rounds with the wrong background colors (so much for knitting fairisle while chitchatting on the ferry with everyone leaving the retreat). After lots of wasted time tinking back, I've reknit to where I was before, introducing the correct change in background color. It's rather hard to see in the photo at the moment, but this is a traditional fairisle piece, knit in only two colors per row, with the background color changing to create a three dimensional effect.
Sjølingstadkofta in progress.
I love the little flecks of contrast in the yoke. It reminds me of the LL Bean sweaters we wore in college.
Hiya Hiya Sharps are perfect needles for managing the yoke increases in this fingering weight yarn. I was surprised by how easy it was to get through this section.
I'm looking forward to finishing this one and moving onto the first chart, which is a roses pattern.