After feeling super busy for ages, I actually felt a little bored yesterday. (I couldn't believe it either!) Don't get me wrong, I had lots of things that I could do....but very little that was pressing. Plus, I woke up early (a quarter after 7), so there was plenty of "day" for me to fill.
I was finishing off the tidying, and I was getting tired to seeing the same pile of wool stacked up on the sideboard. I've been assemling a stack of commercially dyed colours for some time now (at least since last year's Annual) to marbleize "one day". I was about to relocate said pile to the closet....when I had a brainwave. Why not just marbleize today? The pile fell to the floor and I started stacking and rolling and tying. A few minutes later, the wool was on the stove...
A short while later, the wool was hanging on the drying rack. 8 yards of wool transformed from drab to fab...and the only thing that I can't explain is why I procrastinated for so long...
If you have commercially dyed wool that keeps getting neglected because it's too boring, maybe now is the time to whip up some marbleizing of your own?
Some of the effects are quite subtle...and that's a-okay with me. Truth be told, I have a difficult time using wool that's too variegated.
Once the dyeing was done, I decided to start some new knitting. My favourite local yarn store, Sheepstrings, is closing her doors. Shortly after hearing the sad news, I hoped in my car and drove out to Dorset to pick up some final wool purchases. My purchases included some balls of Noro sock yarn (which, IMHO yields the most comfortable handknit socks I have ever worn). I'd forgotten about it, but several months ago I saw a picture of a simple striped shawl knit out of this yarn. After finally remembering where I'd seen it, I found the pattern here.
I've given up on trying to master hooking the yarn with my index finger, so I have to take my hand off the needle to wrap the yarn for every stitch....I don't like to admit that it might slow me down. I'm far too stubborn for that! Although it's fine wool on thin 3.5mm needles, the constantly changing colour combinations make me want to keep knitting into the wee hours - just to see what it's going to look like.
I imagine that it will take me a while before I'll be able to wear my newest shawl, since I need to put it aside for a while and get back to hooking a couple of new purses. Luckily, I have a drawer full of shawls so I don't need to worry about being cold! ;-)
