After a little break from dyeing, due to waiting on another shipment of undyed yarn, I was back at it this week end.  This seemed to be one of those times that everything I had planned in my head came out entirely different.  Frustrating for sure.  But in the end I was happy enough with the results.  I wanted to get cherry red from madder by adding soda and it came close but not quite a hit.  I did get my teal once again and a nice mossy green.  The mint dyed up the nicest in a light chartreuse with just a hint of color.  My scotch broom was a bust.  I needed much more of the raw material, but with a bit of coffee dumped in I ended up with the loveliest tan.  For the grey I used some of my left over dye from the last go round.  I played with two new bases; mohair and a non super wash merino worsted weight.  Non super wash is always a guess when dyeing as it does not absorb color as readily.  The mohair dyed quite easily, however, I believe I will save it for chemical dyeing with lots of speckling.

I signed up for a natural yarn trade through IG.  It is so fun to see what others dye up.  This is a lovely rusty color in a worsted weight.  Not sure what it will become but I will tuck it away until I find the perfect project.

Since I got the blocking kit a month back, I have been wanting to block out this gorgeous doily knit by my maternal grandmother.  My Grandma Starks was the most accomplished knitter and designed numerous patterns.  Many of her hand knits are still being used by great great grandchildren.  Her skill has been realized once again through my youngest, Becca.

This piece is just so exquisite.  I will probably frame it as I treasure it dearly.

Knitting and knitting and knitting on the Jujuy shawl by Joli.  I finally finished the second lace section and am on the last color and the edging.  It is going to be enormous!  I am knitting this for a natural dyed KAL hosted by Lindsey of A Wooden Nest.  This is being knit with my own natural dyed yarns using madder, logwood, and juniper dyes.

I finished one of my June socks for the boxosocks kal hosted by Kristin of Voolenvine yarns.  I wanted another pair of the roller socks.  I love how this yarn is knitting up.  It is 2 ply sw merino and dyed with cochineal.  But what amazes me most is that this is my 7th pair of socks this year!  I never thought I could knit socks that quickly, but it amazing what one can do when ones mind is set to it.

That is all the knitting I have gotten in this week.  It may not seem like much, but the shawl is around 500 stitches at this point so each row takes what seems like forever.  I get in a lot of mindless movie watching.

It was a pretty sad week end for sales.  I did hit a good half dozen and found a few bits and bobs.  My biggest score was this frame for $2.  It held a rose painting that just wasn’t my cuppa.  I plan on painting and antiquing it and making another chalkboard.  I just cannot decide upon the color…ivory or do I want a bit of a punch…perhaps a robins egg blue?  Decisions….

The weather has been perfect!  Not too hot, holding in the mid 60s to 70s.  To me that is absolutely perfect in every way!  It means I spend a lot of my evenings out on the porch with my knitting.  I find that I struggle with drinking enough water so when my middle Erica told me about this new IDLife product…well I had to have some.  It is just right…not too sweet and just a hint of flavor.  My favorite IDLife drink remains Energy….I only wish I could drink it all day…but one drink a day is the recommended amount.  It is beyond delish!!  Notice all my thriving plants in the background.  Soon I’ll be harvesting that lettuce and radishes in that first bed!

My dearest friend, Mia, has long been wanting to relocate further south and just accepted a job offer with a start date in just a short 3 weeks!  I am so happy for her, but so very sad to see her leaving.  In packing up her home she gifted me this beautiful gentleman’s chair.  I love it and will treasure it as it holds so many precious memories of our time together.  She was my work partner, yard/estate sale buddy, and bargain queen who introduced me to QVC and Dooney, my partner in crime and confidant and the most beautiful and stylish woman I have ever had the honor to call my friend.   She will take a part of my heart with her.  It is so rare to find true friends and Mia is one so precious and dear.

I have been trying to get in a bit of reading and am slowly making my way through these three books.  I am participating in a book club on ravelry for the book A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield.  It is a very interesting read about the quest for the perfect red.

Since turning 60 I have been trying to focus on living mindfully and savoring every moment.  When I saw a copy of May Sarton’s book At Seventy; A Journal I could not resist.  I have read other books by May and found them thought provoking.  She embraces life at every age and 70 was certainly no different for her.  I love this quote,

“What is it like to be seventy? If someone had lived so long and could remember things sixty years ago with great clarity, she would seem very old to me.  But I do not feel old at all, not as much a survivor as a person still on her way.  I  suppose real old age begins when one looks backward rather than forward, but I look forward with joy to the years ahead and especially to the surprises each day may bring.”

What could be more inspiring and better advice than that?!

And finally a Barbara Kingsolver that I have had tucked in my to read pile for well over several years.  Animal, Vegetable, and Miracle; A Year of Food Life is just a perfect fit for my own dietary changes I have made in the past year.  I love how her daughter contributes excerpts throughout.  It is a lovely book.

These are all wonderful reads and the type of books you read slowly; savoring and pondering each passage.

And now back to knitting away on the shawl….

Blissfully,

Patricia