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When we moved into our flat, there was a strange carpet in the hall. Each time I vaccumed it I got zapped through the vaccum cleaner. Only the vaccum cleaner got charged, it was totally weird and rather unpleasant. I told this to some of my friends and one year they pooled together for my birthday and presented me with a new floor, laminate and all, fitting inclusive. I was so happy I actually cried.
And I am still happy. But since my octogenarian dog (he's 16) doesn't dig as much as he did in the past his claws are longer than they used to be. Not as much that I should put him through the torture of clipping them but long enough to click and clack on this very laminate. And since elderly people don't sleep through the night any longer, he wanders. From living room to "library" (we do have about 2/3 of our 4000+ books in this room but it is only 12 square meters so library might sound a bit grand) and back. With a little tap dance in front of our bedroom to see if I might wake up to relieve him from his boredom. And so it called for a dampener or in other words: a rug.
A while ago I inherited some cones of carpet wool (some local sheep, I suppose they grey is Pommersches Landschaf) which I wanted to use for weaving at first. But I need my sleep, short as it is, and so I decided for the much faster method of knitting in garter stitch. (It still takes me too long to warp the countermarch)
So far it works. He can still roam the flat freely only without waking me at unholy hours.
Ramses, our younger one, may wander as well, I don't know. His nails are so short from digging for mice that they don't touch the floor.
Lusekoften is finished. Just right on time on Monday Dec 30th last year.
Gosh, and another year. Annoyed by all the fireworks in the neighbourhood and being a lark at all days and nights of the year, I try to ignore it. But the date creeps in nevertheless. I never saw any significance in the turn of the year. In the long run, it doesn't make any differences.
This New Moon was extremely dark (I usually don't use a torch in the mordnings when I'm out with the dogs but the last mornings were extraordinary dark) and we still have rather warm weather for January. Though several media assured us that our notion of a White Christmas is only a recent invention. Up until 1836 there werde no Christmas postcards in Western Middle Europe with snow on them. European Santas (called Nikolaus and Christkind) climbed over snowless roofs and beautiful, autum like forests twinkled only illuminated by the stars with no snow refelctions. Only in the mid 19th century images of Vermont's snow filled forests arose and with them the image of a White Christmas. Supported by Hohoho chubby red Santas in reindeer driven sleighs and by some rather cold decembers between 1939 and 1970, we got the idea imprinted in our collective memory. Though I can recall that Christmas was more often than not a rather dullish, greenish, brown, rainy thing. And I'm not that old.
Anyway, it was what seems to be a typical Western Middle European Christmas, with rain and some sunshine and between 4 and 10 (or even more) degrees. And at least this week is about to stay this way. I don't complain, it will get colder soon enough. Though I wouldn't mind living in Norway in the cold and snow and the dark. But that's just me.
Which is why it doesn't really matter that my sweater is not exatcly finished yet. As the saying goes in weaving: It's not finished until it's wet finished. I haven't washed it yet. But it is finished enough to show you a nice picture.
Those bumps in the weld are from the needles that keep it straight. As long as the sweater's not washed, the weld will stick up and it looks ridiculous ;o)
As I wrote before, it is totally local and I love it.
And since it used not even 450g of yarn and I still have loads left, there is another one in the making already. Though I will have to cast on again today. I cast on yesterday already but there are way too many stitches. I'm of a good stocky build like all of my rustic ancestors but I'm not that round. Ease is all very well but le sac is not exactly my style. Next one's going to be more Fana style. I am a sucker for checkerboard patterns. I get my inspiration from one of the best sweater books there is: Priscilla Gibson Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way.
I wish you all a good new year. Be it as good as you wish. And full of wool and yarn and cloth and ideas that keep you warm and happy.
I try to find local options for whatever I do. Which is not easy and sometimes downright impossible. The greater the joy if I find one.
While I was looking for suitable yarn to knit a new everyday cold weather sweater, I came across a local wool mill which spins only local wool. (Actually, local means about 150 km from here, which is impressingly close) I got some yarn as a sample and when november came and all my business duties finally went quieter (and my computer sadly died) I ordered 1 kg white yarn and 1 kg brown yarn from them. The white yarn was actually still in processing and is a bit off white since they had some Coburger Fuchs mixed in the Milchschaf, which suits perfectly and I do so much love Coburger Fuchsschaf. Both sheep races have rather robust wool with a lot of crimp and are good for a lot of wear and tear.
Getting not always what you might want is one of the perceived drawbacks of ordering local. The samples though did convince me of the quality of their spinning and that they do produce the yarn I need. And honestly, I don't really care if my yarn is totally white, off-white or has some foxy reddish in it from Coburger Fuchs. On the contrary, and the foxy reddish goes very well with the dark brown from their Zwartbleswolle.
For a x-man present I choose another local source, though this one is known to me for a very long time now. Mohar from a friend with a long standing flock of mohair goats. She lets is spin at another local wool mill (not all mills are prepared for spinning mohair and other long staple wool) and dyes it herself. This one's kid mohair with silk (not local unfortunately *g*) and rather fluffy. The scarf is in a bath now and awaits fulling.
We'll see how it will look like after fulling.