New Projects

Hello. The sun shines this morning making my spirit lighter. I love the deep gray blue of a bright winter sky. The blue jay with a peanut in his mouth is a flashy character, especially in the sunlight. For the first time ever, a black squirrel just scurried around the birch trunk. Squirrels are far from my favorite crittes but I've never seen a black one in our neighborhood. Until now, I've seen them in the older LIncoln neighborhoods but perhaps this neighborhood has edged into older.  We moved into this home in 1991 and like most of our neighbors, planted trees and yards. Watching a neighborhood mature is one way to mark time. I wish I'd paid more attention in the beginning but our kids were young and I was working. Life was busy.

Today is Unraveled Wednesday so I link this post with Kat and the other Unravelers. The day and posting is a good way to document knitting as well as be inspired by others' projects. 

One way I marked Advent was by knitting on the Guernsey Wrap Scarf. I finished the project on December 30th and late last week wove in all 50 ends. Good thing I don't mind weaving in ends. This project was a perfect match of pattern and yarn. I thoroughly enjoyed the knitting. The yarn was a wonderful gift from my children for my 70th birthday. The scarf is very warm. The next time the temperatures drop down to single digits I'll be ready. 

I'm knitting along on this raglan. The first stripe was too close to the neckline so I ripped back, added six more rows of the gray and then began the striping sequence again. I am not sure I have enough handspun to stripe the entire sweater. I also don't want to knit 3/4 of the body and then discover I don't have enough. My plan is to knit stripes in the yoke and then add a narrow stripe around the bottom of the sleeves, maybe the body, and/or the edges or in the ribbing. I am playing as I go and having a great time. The handspun stripe, as per gauge, requires one size bigger needle. The trick, at 9:30 p.m. in the evening, is to remember to switch needles. Don't ask. It's all knitting, right?

Over the weekend I plied the first skein of Bluefaced Leicester singles. If I do say so myself, this yarn is just beautiful. Of course, it's blue which influences my perception. Greenwood Fiberworks has the nicest preparation with their fiber. It's spins like a dream. I have another set of singles ready to ply so I should have enough for a nice project. This yarn feels like a DK weight. 

My reading isn't as interesting this week. I'm rereading Still Life because it is my local book group selection. Often when I reread a book, I find something new but not this time. I am looking forward to the discussion. My current audiobook, The Masterpiece, is about to be abandoned. I checked out the novel because it was set in Grand Central Station in NYC. The history of the building attracted me but the women characters feel predictable. Why do women characters, particularly the young woman who aspires to be an illustrator, have to be involved with a romantic interest? Perhaps it is an accurate reflection of the time period or perhaps I am just old but it feels trite. I'm going to give it a little more time to see if anymore plot evolves before I abandon it. 

The amaryllis, on my Grandmother's old rickety plant stand, is putting on a show of brilliant red. This bulb is sending up another bud and I wonder how many blossoms will come from it. I can see how it would be fun to have different colors at various stages of blooming. Take care and have a good week.