Clandestine Socks

I'm not sure if it is the name that I like so much or the sock itself, both are intriguing. Another Cookie A. design and very enjoyable to knit; I have to say I have grown accustomed to knitting stitches in the back loop. The dark blue of the yarn, which is Stahl Wool's Socka Tweed 4fach, color # 653 or 658, (can't quite make out the last digit) made it a little difficult to make out the pattern, especially since I was working them on my favorite size 2 ebony sock double points. However I persevered and am very happy with the outcome.

The first photo is truer to the actual color than the second which was photographed on a light colored wood sock blocker to try to show off the lacy bits. This pair of socks has a definite right and left sock due to the distribution of the pattern; I hope this won't be problematical for the person I made them for. I suppose it won't make a big difference, but as they were designed this way they should be worn this way, n'est pas?

Et, voilá, the pair. One on sock blocker the other not. I wonder if I would have the patience to make a pair of these for myself? Or have I fallen into the "too many patterns, so little time" trap and only knit something I haven't done before?

Besides which there is more spinning to be done, and then some pattern searching for the new yarns and then....

It is all good.

Bird Bath

Managed to get a few nice pictures at the bird bath, though one is a little fuzzy.
This little cardinal was enjoying sipping some fresh water before taking her bath.
She seems to be part of a large family of cardinals, perhaps several families, all of whom appear to want to feed and bathe at about the same time. The males make such a brilliant flash of color, they are a joy to behold, and yet there is something so sweet about the females. I love to watch them.






This thrasher had been dashing about the yard, hopping and stabbing at the ground, (digging for worms?) and then swooped up to take a few swallows. I really like his coloring, his speckled breast. And watching him moving so quickly about the yard. Fleeting views as then he moves on.






The woodpecker picture is a bit fuzzy due to the fact I took the shot from the screened porch and for some reason my camera wanted to focus on the screen. By the time I got the setting about right I only had time for this shot. Too bad I didn't catch him in the bath!

Pretend its a foggy day!

Process...

I have been wanting to get back to handpainting roving and was shocked when I realized that it has been a year (!) since my last effort. I did do some natural dyeing this spring, but I wanted to get to that serendipitous feeling of painting rovings, playing with color and then seeing what happens when the now colored fibers are spun. Let me tell you it is always one surprise after another, especially when the colors don't turn out the way one thinks. Here, side by side, are the latest. Falkland fiber on the left, Merino Seacell on the right. Same color dyes, applied in different methods. With the Falkland I used longer lengths of color, with the Merino seacell shorter. It continues to delight the way the different fibers take the colors. All along I planned on plying the two together, to get a lace or fingering weight.

So here we see the transformation of the Falkland into a singles on the bobbin. A bit subdued, as color merged into color and yet the longer lengths of color are evident. I started out with approximately 4.5 oz of each fiber, and when I split each roving in half vertically I ended up with a 2 oz piece and a 2.5ish piece. The 2 oz. half of the Falkland got spun up first, then the Merino Seacell; as you see I still have the joy of spinning the other half of the roving, another skein to go.

As I watched colors blending in the plying I let my imagination follow their lead and I kept imaging a carved jade screen on an old chinese garden...I wonder if I can find a pattern that could bring that out, I do remember seeing something on Ravelry recently, oh if I can find it again!
If I counted correctly I was able to 4oo yds out of the 4 oz of fiber. Not quite lace, but it will do.

Pleasant Porch

After a bit of neglect in which we let bird feeders get down to nothing and the bird bath go dry, bird seed supply dwindle, we finally got into the feed store and DH got out in the yard and cleaned and topped up everything. One of the reasons was that we were becoming alarmed at the number of pigeons we were attracting; also alarmed when we noticed some Mississippi Kites hovering nearby watching and sometimes chasing and probably catching some of the smaller birds. Thankfully not within my range of vision!

Our plan worked, but the result was that we missed out seeing our smaller birds feeding too, and that was the whole point of having the feeders. One large hopper with a ring all around it for perching, two thinner tubes with six individual perches each and what we nicknamed the 'Deli', a cedar box with plexiglass sides and narrow perches on two sides, all suspended from a wrought iron pole with four arching hooks. Plenty of room, plenty of food.

It took a couple of days for them to catch on that food was back, but we have been rewarded big time with the return of families of cardinals and black capped chickadees and titmice and finches and sparrows and blackbirds, thrashers have even come into the yard, and, yes, doves and pigeons have returned. We also filled two hummingbird feeders and have enjoyed watching them feed, and enjoy the little noises they make.

Two days ago I was alerted by splishing and splashing sounds that someone was in the bird bath. When I went to my window I was surprised to see two or three little blue feathered birds with rusty bibs and bright white bottoms enjoying their bath. Rushing for Sibley's guide to Birds I discovered that I had finally seen Eastern Bluebirds. They are beautifully colored and fun to watch. I have been waiting for them to come back, but, alas, not yet.

However, when I went out to the porch to get a closer look at them, stupidly sans camera, I got another surprise. A red bellied woodpecker came down to the bath and gently sipped some water while I watched, and then got in to enjoy his own bath! I called out gently for my husband to come enjoy the fruit of his labor but by the time he got to the back porch 'Woody' was gone. He is one that has his home in some one of the big trees around here, so hopefully he will return one of these days. In the meantime we enjoy sitting out on our screened in porch in the shade of the trees whose leaves have yet to totally abandon them, enjoying my mother-in-law's plants and watching out for any other new (perhaps migrating) birdlife that wish to join the year round visitors to our yard.

the Dianna shawl

Dianna shawl is finished and fulfills my expressed desires of over a year ago when I finished spinning this yarn. I had said the colorway reminds me of autumn leaves and that perhaps I could find something with a leaf motif to show it off. Hah!
I was cruising through Ravelry when I came across the Dianna shawl in the favorites photos on the people page. What a great page that is! This is the Dianna shawl by Jane Araúj0 and is a free pattern. Isn't that amazing! Ravelry is one amazing feature after another because when I tried to start the pattern I kept getting stumped by the way it was written. Lo and behold a forum was available that helped clarify the author's point of view and made working the pattern so much easier and understandable. (Jane works her entrelac rectangles without turning the work so everything is done from the right side).




So, out came the yarn, which by the way is from Martie Moreno's Sunflower Too shop on etsy and is part of her Free Fall series of handpainted rovings. This was FF 128, Falkland top and I was able to get 678 yards out of 3.8 ounces, two ply, which I would consider definitely a lace weight.
It took me a while to finish it, having started it the end of July, it came off the needles and was blocked about two weeks ago, end of summer. Perfect timing. Here Marsha models for me at our knitting group at the Mockingbird Café.


And we finally got some cooler evenings and mornings so I got to wear it last night and it felt wonderful. This one is a keeper! All the others have found new homes with caring people leaving me room to make more!

I am ready to order more dyes and do some more spinning. Other than some demonstrations I haven't done any spinning all summer. Now that Fall is here I hope to change that and get back to it. Also looking forward to seeing what Martie will come up with once her etsy shop is back up and running. She continues to amaze and inspire with her wonderful color sense!

In the meantime I am working on Cookie A's Clandestine socks. I really like them, so much so that I have already started the second sock. Yea! These will be for a special loved one and I hope she likes them as much as I do!

So, back to work...