Where Have All the Bloggers Gone? September 2014

Once upon a time, part of my daily ritual was a cup of coffee at 10-ish and time spent with my favorite on-line knitters.  It made sense to check in every day, because pretty much everyone had something new to say. Someone would write something that reminded me of a story or an event or a project I wanted to make and I would be off to the races,  inspired to make my own contribution, to add to the conversation.  Now?  Now I go weeks without checking my blogging roll.

It's been busy here at Chez WoolGathering.  We had company from Across the Atlantic, which meant summer was pretty much non-stop and the place hasn't looked this good since the last time it looked this good. Every cabinet and drawer in the kitchen got cleared out and lined with new shelf liner.  The linen closet, the credenza, the bookshelves -- all gone through. Fibber McGee's Closet no longer lives up to its name. I think Their Father was on a first -name basis with the people at Salvation Army by the time we finished. (Someday I'll write about the bathroom renovation.  Someday I will, by all that's holy, understand why it took a month to take out the old tub, sink and toilet in the front bath and install the new - a whole month.)

It was an astonishing 10 days in August with Our Company and they got to set foot in two states besides ours (Iowa and Indiana) and saw the Mississippi. They've been gone almost a week now and the apartment stills feel empty without them.

The part you're probably interested in though, is the part where I got yarn.  They brought me yarn.  From England.  Beautiful, beautiful merino-silk handspun from the real Worstead (you know, like worsted yarn?)

I've been playing with patterns and projects.   At first glance the yarn may present as tweedy green, plain and simple, but that merino-silk blend has bits of blue and a yellowish, springy green that pop up when you're not looking. It's soft and elegant feeling and I want to knit something that will show off the yarn, not something with a lot of pattern stitches.  I need something simple but classy.  Something that would showcase the yarn. Which led me to Churchmouse Yarns patterns.

As it happens, neither the Before and After Scarf nor the Beaded Mohair Scarf were willing to adapt to handspun.  I thought that the Shoulder Cozy might work. It didn't.

I'll keep searching. I've never knit a cowl for myself.  Maybe it's time to think about that. 

Maybe I should go read a few blogs and see what they're doing.