Textures

Dear Alice,

Oftentimes I don't take a walk through our "little boring woods" at Lake Ann and therein lies part of the problem. A change in thinking is needed. Following are several of the lovely things I saw last weekend, scenes that inspire textural ideas in weaving, color ideas in knitting.






































































































Please click on the photos for an enlarged view, and especially so you can actually see the Loon in the last photo!

How are those naps going?
Nancy

Postcard from LA

Dear Alice,



Just returned from Lake Ann (here's Saturday morning's sunrise shot) so there are few photos of weaving or knitting, though there has been a bit of progress on those fronts. The current knitting project is top secret, so instead I will show you the socks I knitted several years ago that always get worn on the LA Winter Adventure. This year, however, they were wet much of the time. The snow was impossibly deep, and my boots were impossibly short. We experienced more snow there than we have in all of our 22 years of winter trips to the cottage. It is a wonderful get-away, and though our winter trip does not take us to the land of sunshine and shorts, this trip always restores my soul, and I find a way to make it through the rest of winter.









Chelsea had a blast!



Now that I am back I will try to get more photos of the warp to fill you in.

Also, I did finish spinning the second 25 gms. of buffalo down last week before we left. Remarkably, it was 210 yards, whereas the first 25 gms. measured 208 yards. What a pleasant surprise!

'Til tomorrow,
Nancy

p.s. Mom's Valentine socks arrived on Valentine's day!

More Wool Sox!

Dear Alice,

First I overslept this morning (though it was a good morning for that!) I had really wanted to finish this pair of socks since DH and I are going to LA this weekend, and I will need layers of wool! After all the little morning chores to be done, and preparation of my tea to steep, I got busy, persevered, and finished the last 2.5 inches of Nancy Bush's Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road.

I started these last August on the deck at the edge of Ann Lake.
The decorative rib at the top was the fun part. From there on, it was mindless, but also nit-picky, since I had to keep track of the fact that I continued the rib all the way down to the toe. On sock #2 I had a bit of ripping to do since I picked it up after several months (and knitting other socks) and began knitting merrily on my way to the heel. Imagine my shock when I went to show someone sock #1 and found that the darn rib was still going! Sigh. Mary has taught me that ripping is a good thing.

They are a lovely taupe color, and when you look at the yarn in sunlight, it is filled with reds and blues and yellows, a beautiful warm, glowing mix. The yarn is Patons Kroy, 85% washable wool, 15% nylon, 262 yards/240 metres. Fawn is the color; it may have been discontinued years ago. I want to see how they hold up, especially since I went through the heels on two pairs of socks this month. It may be time to take care of Nancy's feet for a change. ;)

It is very hard to see the interesting rib at the top, and then the Vickel braid (that might be better in a contrasting color in order to appreciate it fully). Nonetheless, here they are so that you will truly believe I have finished yet another UFO.



I started putting yarns on spools this afternoon for the next weaving project, a fabric for a spring jacket. One step at a time.

I hope your basement has been cleared of the flooding. Keep your spirits up!

Nancy