Knitting For A New Kind Of Cold
I absolutely loved all the kind and supportive comments you left after my last post. Thank you so much, especially to those of you that came out of the woodwork and wrote something here for the first time. I don't expect that everyone who visits will stop and say hi but it's really lovely when you do :)
It seems that lots and lots of you still love reading blogs (yay!) and for the majority, Facebook isn't such a biggie. So, I've decided that for now, I'm going to stick with the status quo. I'll post links to my blog posts on Facebook, but not inundate your feeds with my chatter. Later on, if you'd like to see/hear more from Truly Myrtle on Facebook, let me know. In the meantime, if you do want peeks into my daily comings and goings, including cooking, gardening and general life stuff - you can find me on Instagram. I'm there nearly every day.
Anyway, back to business!
I was all set to tell you about my rather delicious stripy socks today. I'm trying new yarn from down here in New Zealand, learning a bunch of new stuff about knitting socks and trying new techiques. But, I'll tell you about all of that interesting stuff later in the week. Right now I've got to tell you about something else that's on my needles, especially in light of the chilly weather we've had here over the weekend.
It feels a little ridiculous to be complaining that it was cold because I think it was only about 17 degrees Celsius, hardly freezing! But it all must be relative because I felt soooo cold. Maybe it was after the long hot summer we've had, maybe because it's a damp sort of cold. Maybe (if you are reading this from the Northern Hemisphere, you might like to sit down before you read this next bit) it's because here in New Zealand we (mostly) have NO CENTRAL HEATING. My poor tender, gentrified bones just can't take it. I am no longer the weather-hardy Kiwi I once was. I am COLD.
Fortunately, I cast on this cardigan a couple of weeks ago. I had a sneaking suspicion that I'd need some more cosy layers and had been keen to make Amy Christoffers snuggly Pomme de pin Cardigan for a long time now. The body is knitted from the bottom up in once piece and the sleeves are knit separately and then seamed into place. To finish it off you knit the button band up and around the neck. If you take a trip through the Ravelry project pages for Pomme de pin (of which there are many) you'll see some really fantastic cardigans made with Amy's pattern. I like to check out project pages for patterns because they give you a good idea of how the cardigan will actually knit up, without all the fabulous styling and photography that usually comes with the pattern photos.
I'm enjoying this knit. The pattern is interesting whilst also satisfyingly simple and I seem to be getting through the body fairly quickly. I've just got up to the armpits and about to separate the fronts and backs. My Ravelry project page for this cardigan is here.
The other thing that's making my cardigan knitting so totally lovely is the yarn. I adore the yarn and I'm pretty chuffed to tell you that I dyed it myself!
I bought six skeins of soft creamy yarn from my lovely LYS in Cambridge, The Sheep Shop, ages and ages ago. It's a non-superwash DK weight British wool, 100% Bluefaced Leicester, spun at the mill of West Yorkshire Spinners Ltd in Yorkshire. The blurb on the label tells me that "the noble features of the tall Bluefaced Leicester sheep with its upright ears and prominent nose is a regular sight on farms across the UK. The wool is hightly valued, being creamy-white, silky and lustrous and providing some of the finest wool available in the UK today". I certainly agree it is silky and lustrous and would add it is wonderfully soft, so far is showing no signs of pilling and has a beautiful halo.
I had every intention of dyeing this yarn when I bought it all that time ago but I've been too nervous to have a go. That changed a month or so ago, after some experimenting with the dye pots (which I'l show you soon) and one day I woke up feeling enthusiastic and went for it. I was after a semi-solid chocolate brown with grey/charcoal undertones and I think I've pretty much got it. The colourway (which remains nameless but should be called something like "Bravery and the Bear") has the depth and range of colour I was after. It'll go with everything. I think it was the final wash in a light grey bath that did it.
Of course, I didn't write anything down. I excitedly swirled, mixed, dipped and twisted without a thought as to how I might make this colour again ... Please don't let me run out before I finish my cardigan! I calculated how much I'd need a bunch of times - it should be enough - but there's still that voice in my head that's watching the balls disappear and crossing her fingers it'll last till the end.
Only time will tell I guess.
See you soon with lots of talk about socks, stripes, toes and heels X