First thing I picked up was that sock heel I turned Wednesday while mulling repairs. When I looked at it last thing yesterday evening, I found to my chagrin, that the foot was too short. And it was such a nice heel turn too. A pull back of the turn is in order.
And done. That's better. Stash Dash is having a serious impact on the state of sock completion around here.
I knit on the sleeve of Pole. It is actually coming along quite nicely now and is about a three quarter length as it stands.
I'm debating what to do next. My yarn is going to be close and Pole has these interesting long sleeves with tucks at the end of them.
Copyright Joji Locatelli
I really want to knit the cuffs this way, but I worry about running out of yarn. When do I not though. I think I am going to put this sleeve on waste yarn, just in case and knit the other sleeve to this same length so that I can assess how much yarn remains. I'd like to do this technique but not if it means I have to buy another hank of yarn.
The second bobbin was plyed on the S51 and it needs a little work. I am going to run it through again and give it more ply twist.
It is the background skein here. Looks good from afar, yes? But trust me, it needs work. Still, I was pretty pleased. For a first go with a new to me wheel, I think it is good enough.
But I wasn't ready to stop spinning. I looked at other knitting projects and couldn't settle to them, so I tried the wheel out on it's own, spinning singles. I have this very large bag of alpaca fibres that the previous owner included in the deal. I wanted to see what I could get out of that too. So I did this.
Spun long draw from a very large single batt. Once it was pre-drafted, things went along nicely, but I think I am going to give this fibre a turn on my carder to see if I can give it a bit more loft to the batt and to see if I can then spin it more finely. To knit it as is, it would make nice sport weight mittens, but the spinning is a bit firm. It is a very large bag of fibre, and if I am going to spend the time to spin it all up, I think, particularly for this fibre, that I want a loftier end yarn. It's just not quite what I am looking for out if it yet. If I can't get that with what few skills I have, then the fibre, lovely though it is, will go to a new home.
But I didn't ever feel like I settled on a single thing yesterday. I did laundry, I cleaned floors, I swept but not in any sensible fashion and not in a way that led to a completed anything. I did make one small firm decision that led to another firm decision.
All winter I thought about getting to some of the Alberta fibre festivals. The Edmonton Fibre Frolic was out because it happened while I was babysitting. I needed sleep more than the adventure or the yarn. So I looked forward to Olds Fibre Week. I really, really wanted to go to the market there today and to soak in the atmosphere but yesterday, through all of the above dithering, I decided not to go. Because this:
I made a firm decision to have a different adventure. Mr. Needles and I planned way back in 2008 or 2009, and driving all the way to the Maritimes. It didn't happen then because of work and wanting to take at least 6 weeks to do it right. But also, he wanted something different from a relaxing vacation. He wanted warm in winter. He was the guy who loved sunny beach travel. I enjoyed it because he enjoyed it. As a real vacation, a get away, I much preferred the drives to high mountain camping or camping in weird little parks and places by prairie lakes. I enjoyed breathing in the air and seeing how the land lay, what the skies looked like, watching for wildlife (which I never spotted first). I loved driving down the open road with my windows open and sitting in the evenings hearing the wind and the birds.
And then there is that thing about stuff you dream of when you are young and how that dream remains a thing all your life? I love the history in my country, the story of many peoples who came from far, long ago, voyaging from their homes into uncharted territory. I want to be the places where the first nations formed alliances and struggled with early French and British settlers, to see where Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Trail survived and thrived, to see the places that featured in all the stories I read as a girl of who we are. And I always wanted to go to L'Anse aux Meadows where Europeans first touched our shores (that we know of to date.)
I still want that vacation.
I've been waffling about my plans, feeling maybe I am not quite ready, but honestly, if I don't go now, I will never go. And if I wait any longer, my car will be too old to safely go so far from home. So, I am going now. I am car camping to make it as affordable a dream as I can make it, even if I end up not liking car camping. I trust that I will learn to like it by the end of 6 or 8 weeks. If not, well...
So, if by chance you are reading this blog, and you live somewhere off Highway 1 and know of cool stuff to see and do within a two to three hours drive off that general route, drop me a line. The route stays Canadian because I don't have a passport at the moment. I'm generally avoiding really big cities except for historic site stops and museum stops (maybe I am not avoiding big cities at all). Or if any of the lovely people who used to pop in and read this blog still read, and you wouldn't mind a visit from a far off friend, drop me a line. Canadianneedles at yahoo. ca
And yarn stops. There will be yarn stops. Lots and lots of yarn stops. Have car, will travel. Have yarn, will knit. This summer's motto.
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