The Great Divide

My knitting activity has picked up recently due to an unfortunate amount of time being spent on the couch with sick kids.  Our youngest is suffering from a very bad case of chicken pox and won't let me out of sight.  Occasionally he gives the knitting a swift kick, but he's grudgingly accepting it as an extension of his mother's arms.  

A red ruffled poppy flower

I've been making real progress on two different projects.  Both of them are "Wool People" patterns in differing weights of Brooklyn Tweed yarns.

Hops leaves and wild flowers

  "Levenwick" is a top down raglan cardigan with a Shetland lace border and a wee little pocket.  I know this looks like a sad pile of shapeless green knitting, so you'll have to trust me when I say it's lovely.  The yarn is "Shelter".  The colorway is called "Button Jar".  It's exactly the color of old dark green glass. 

"Levenwick"

My parents sent me the yarns and patterns for my birthday.   I'm glad that they picked out the colors.  I spent a good half an hour looking at the color samples.  I like every single color that they offer.  This is, in theory, a good thing.  In reality, it is a very deep hole for me to fall into.

Campanula flower

  I had a rough start with the yoke.  The pattern is very well written, but I wasn't paying attention.  I had two ripping sessions before I got the message and re-read the pattern. 

Horseradish leaves

  Now I'm past the great divide (a.k.a the point where you divide the body stitches and the sleeve stitches) and am racing towards the hem.  I get pretty excited about the divide.  It's always a tipping point.  I draw great comfort from the knowledge that the number of stitches in a round will always be less from that point on.  There's something so satisfying about seeing the stitches for the sleeves waiting patiently on bright scraps of yarn from old projects.  It's as if pieces from those completed projects are cheering me on towards the finish line.

Chickpea shoot with turnips and lettuces

 "Winnowing" is a shawl.  The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed's "Loft", colorway "Fauna".  I can't decide whether this color is yellow, green or brown.  It looks yellow in the photo, but is darker in person.  I think it's best described as an "old gold" color.  It was a great choice for this pattern as it is reminiscent of fields of grain.

"Winnowing"

  I'm not a big shawl knitter, but this pattern caught my attention for a couple of reasons.  It's both modern and rustic.  Unlike most of the frilly lace triangles I see being knitted, it actually looks wearable.  I have the feeling that draping a big lace shawl across my broad shoulders might make me look like a sofa or a piano.  That's not a look I want to cultivate.

One of my favorite roses

My project photos are pretty uninspired so I've tried add visual interest to this post with some shots from my garden.  I find myself standing in my garden as the sun goes down wondering if these are the best days of my life.  It's so unbearably beautiful.  The roses, the asparagus fronds studded with tiny yellow star shaped blossoms, the black dirt against the large marbled leaves of the squashes; it's a pastoral dream scape.  I want to curl up in the warm earth, pull the long silver velvet leaves of the cardoon over me and take a nap.
I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately.  Maybe you can tell.