Cornflower

Yarn in the garden, Lewis style

    This is yarn and it was photographed in a 'garden' - well, strictly speaking 14,000 acres of Hebridean wilderness, but who would not use a location like that as a backdrop if they got the chance?

 

    The yarn was an unexpected but greatly appreciated present from a friend. It is all alpaca and was bought at Spring Farm Alpacas (they don't appear to do mail order but are nonetheless a very interesting site - agistment caught my eye, though I think they are a bit too far, sadly!). Anyway, to business and what we have here is white suri 2 ply (100g), brown huacaya 2 ply (100g) and fawn huacaya dk (150g), all wonderfully soft. I don't have yardages but what would you suggest making with it? A lace shawl or scarf, perhaps; maybe a cowl? It deserves to be something special.

All in a good cause - 1

     I love this painting, "Sudden snowfall - Bryanston Square", by Eileen Hogan, and if you like it too you can buy it - or rather its reproduction in card form.

     Eileen is the patron of Mindroom, the learning difficulties charity I've been involved with for some years, and she has kindly donated this image to be used as the first Mindroom Christmas card. On the reverse is a message from another Mindroom supporter, Alexander McCall Smith (click on the picture to enlarge it) -

 

The cards are now for sale through the charity's website where you'll see there are three more designs including another special commission, "Aliens don't know it's Christmas" by Annie Dow.

 

To buy them would be to help a very good cause.

(And for another, related good cause, click here).

Yarn in the garden: branching out and casting on

    I finished making a scarf yesterday, but while it was blocking and awaiting its eventual model I took a work-in-progress outside for a picture amidst the pinky red leaves and branches of a dogwood.

It is the Branching Out Scarf (though I call this one Fondant Fancies) and I see it's almost a year since I cast on. Tut tut.

 
     But speaking of casting on, Clem asked (in a comment) for suggestions of patterns for men's fingerless gloves suitable for a beginner to tackle. I immediately thought of the hand/wrist warmers in Last Minute Knitted Gifts; I've made the women's ones and they were very quick and simple, but the men's version looks even more straightforward. 

Any other ideas?

Yarn in the garden: red

     Red is a colour seldom seen on these pages, and I hesitate to enlarge the picture as when I did so in draft it seemed slightly out of place! But you can click to make it bigger, and you'll see the fuchsia and the chocolate cosmos alongside the traffic light/pillarbox/Guardsman's tunic scarlet yarn.

Visiting the writer Mary Hoffman's site the other day I read that she dislikes blue "except in the sea, the sky and flowers". My whole life would be dressed in shades of blue if I didn't consciously pull myself away from it to look at other colours and include them - which I do. I even wear this shade of red sometimes!

Yarn in the garden: 5

Last one - for now!! Posh Daisy (merino/bamboo) with the first of the Blush Noisette roses and an unidentified azalea.

Yarn in the garden: 4

Fibre in the garden: Yarn Yard Bluefaced Leicester blending beautifully with the aquilegia and green alkanet.

Yarn in the garden: 3

Posh Charlotte (merino/silk) "April Showers", shaded from the warm May sun by the lady's mantle.

Yarn in the garden: 2

Posh Eva (cashmere/silk) "Portal" among the ferns and 'mind-your-own-business' - how did soleirolia ever get that name?

Yarn in the garden: 1

 

 
Posh Yarn Claudia (100% alpaca) "February"; equally at home amid the senecio in May.