Tag Archives: daybreak

sick day.

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I have lots to show you: homemade fire-roasted salsa, Boh being silly, millet “fried rice” from Super Natural Cooking, the ingredients that go into a hot toddy…but tonight, I’ll just stick with these two pictures of the couch. This is what a sick day looks like. (And really, it’s been two.)

I started making a Daybreak shawl last night, but (a) there was counting involved, and the sore throat that had spread to my ears wasn’t having any of it and (b) my handspun singles were not so pleased with having to knit and purl M1L and M1R (or rather, I was anxious about it — the stitches around those increases were tightening, putting stress on a single that isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be everywhere). So I ripped it out and cast on another Simple Things shawl by Mary-Heather Cogar, using the handspun I’d initially set aside for Daybreak: 2 oz. of AVFKW bfl in the Sadia colorway, and what I think is 2 oz. of SCF club fiber in one of the Hades colorways. Today I knit stripes while watching all available episodes of The Voice and three (count ’em) movies on Netflix. I also drank more mugs of hot liquid containing one or all of the following than I can count: black tea, lemon juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, and whiskey. Hoping I’ll be on the mend tomorrow.

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FO: manka’s thicket.

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This is 298 yards of singles from 3 oz. of black bfl in the Manka’s Thicket colorway from AVFKW. (Again, this fiber is gorgeous, with hints of reddish purple throughout the naturally dark wool. My photography skills are seriously lacking when it comes to capturing colors like these.) Using this as the main color for a daybreak shawl, I could make the medium size. I don’t quite have enough of the Sadia bfl for this size, but I have enough similarly colored fiber that I could spin an extra 4o yards of that if and when I run out. I am excited about this project — this might be the first time I’ve spun with a specific pattern in mind. I’m also really pleased about the relative consistency of my singles — I got 203 yards of singles out of 2 oz. of the Sadia bfl, and 298 yards out of 3 oz. of the Manka’s Thicket black bfl, which says to me that on the whole, these skeins are relatively similar in weight/thickness. Hooray! Grey and rainy here today, which is good for my farm share, right?

thickets.

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This wonderfully subtle colorway from AVFKW is called Manka’s Thicket. (Thicket: what a great word.) The fiber is black bfl, and then there are these subtle hints of reddish purples throughout. I’m imagining that this will be the main color of a daybreak shawl, with the Sadia bfl I just finished as the contrasting color…so long as I am able to get enough yardage out of the pair. This stuff spins like a dream, and is practically flying through my fingers. Here are my singles on the bobbin so far:

Hoping to spend some more time at the wheel today. Also, I just emailed myself a few photos from my (too smart) phone:

Boh’s best friend, Coltrane, after a long frolic that ended in a pond and a thicket. I love the way he leans his head against the side of the couch.

And Boh on my lap, mid-belly rub. Happy weekend!

FO: sadia.

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This is  2 oz. of BFL from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the Sadia colorway — my very first purchase from Verb. I wrestled with these singles a bit, but I’m quite pleased with the way these turned out, and I now have 203 yards of this stuff! (Also, singles dry so quickly! Thank you, warm weather.) I think I’m going to spin up 3 oz. of black bfl from Verb and then see if I will have enough yardage for a handspun daybreak shawl. My singles might not be plump enough to sub for fingering weight, as the pattern calls for, so I’m going to have to wait and see how my gauge compares.

It feels great to be back at the wheel. Also, I photographed this skein on top of an open cookbook in the kitchen. Yesterday I baked some banana bread, but failed to actually look at how hot an oven the recipe called for…which means the loaf was slightly charred around the edges. Still good, but man! I think my brain is officially on vacation. I’ll allow it for today, but soon it will be time to get into a summer mode of productivity.

Happy Wednesday!