The Castle of Elanor and her Prisoners of Yarn

My bedroom--the one ounce of space I have left to me, personally, in my little world and in which I jealously guard my favorite books and yarn skeins--is arranged so as to be the most restful place I can manage to construct for myself, and for my cat.

This last clause means that in addition to my bed (my great grandmother’s wedding present from my great grandfather) and little rocking chair (thrift store!), my antique cupboard and ancient glass-front bookshelves (saved from garage sales and garbage dumps), there are always yarn balls that have mysteriously escaped from their basket and gone running across the room. Frayed and slightly gummed bits of ribbon and string lay gasping their last on the hardwood. Sometimes feathers find their way in, again very mysteriously, and float about the room with the draft. And there is usually a fuzzy ball of warm affection waiting to curl up on my lap, or sit on my shoulder, or settle herself very compactly in a balancing act on top of my feet.

Here are some pictures of knitted socks.

In the recent past, my hobbies have centered around homemaking activities; mostly cooking, household maintenance and craftwork. My work day begins an hour or two before the evening meal and lasts until about 4 a.m.--an odd schedule, but it seems to work out alright as we have people working at home who like quiet mornings, and leaving the dishes till morning is not really something to be done in a small kitchen where people make themselves breakfast and pack themselves lunches (if I don’t get around to them the night before). Everything else revolves around my work in the kitchen but usually I knit in between batches/loaf-risings/laundry loads. And my favorite things to knit are socks. These are my last few finished objects.

Socks knit up fairly quickly, especially thick socks, like these. Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ (BMFA) heavyweight Socks That Rock (machine washable merino wool) is my current favorite, but I’m about to knit through Nancy Bush’s ‘Knitting Vintage Socks’, which will involve much finer work. The first pattern I shall knit is simple and I’ll use BMFA’s cotton blend ‘Sock Candy’.

These socks are also a superwash merino, but not from BMFA. I knitted them for my mother; thick heel, plain ribbing, and a wide toe. She is fond of them but does not like to wear thick socks with her shoes (mostly very tight-fitting and professional). And I thought I ordered another skein of orange, but it turned out to be hot pink. That is why the colors change. No, I don’t want to talk about it.


And my most recent conquests! Usually I knit on 1.25 mm needles (US size 1) but these I had to work on size 0s to keep the gauge. They are also my first pair of toe-up socks: I usually knit socks from the cuff down and finish by sewing up the toe with a magic invisible stitch. By knitting this I’ve discovered that I really like the top-down style. And not the toe-up style. The toe-up style caused me much frustration and called down a lot of brimstone and hellfire. But the socks are beautiful and I get lots of compliments on them.

I shall try to post pictures as I finish projects, but my life has mostly gravitated away from my computer these days; my days go quickly and leave me tired. I think, though, that whatever it was in me that was so exhausted in California and Italy and Ireland is now growing back a little. Perhaps I need/ed the time alone. Anyway, knitting helps.

A conspiracy of snickerdoodles.

I am still within the first five months of being back in the United States of America after a long absence and find the ease of communication (I love the English language) refreshing, yet once I move beyond that in conversation I find little to which I feel kinship. I must have left some part of my mind behind. There are skills required to communicate in this culture which I have not retained. Instead I have replaced them with . . . something. I have a lot of memories, have stored them up for my adventures’ winter.

There is on my kitchen table a Pokémon card in an Italian edition. I believe a young visitor to our house left it by accident and it may take some doing before I find to whom it belongs. I was waiting for the loaves of bread I baked this evening (buttermilk & honey with course oatmeal for crunch). It struck me that, beyond being a forgotten toy, it seemed the remnant of some destroyed civilization. One day a time traveler will frame it and take pride in its pretty runes (which look to me like Lucida Grand). Everything around it in my mind is so very far away from my present life.

I just watched 'Reclaiming The Blade' for the first time.

Dishes done and porridge on the stove. It has been an air-conditioned day of celebration and general enjoyment in the social sphere (including the ubiquitous American mall) and I am now home. There is always a lot to do here, and I am content with it even though it sometimes feels overwhelming.

My sister and I watched ‘Reclaiming The Blade’ tonight, which we won in a give-away on Twitter, and I bit off all my fingernails watching people spar. I must recommend it to you, if you’ve access to it! I’m surprised at the community of people who are interested in swords and who use them, who make them and revere them. It is somehow comforting. I’m not at all the type to want to be a shieldmaiden or roguish fighter; I’m the type to be content to make banners and cook food and prepare places and hearts to come back to. And yet I feel a keen interest in swords! Curiouser and curiouser.

The Homemaker at Midnight, or 0300. Whatever.

So today was a bit of a lazy day, but I still made my Monday evening worth the breath: the dishes are done, there is porridge on the stove for breakfast tomorrow; I made syrup (a simple syrup we use for lots of things, but mainly in iced tea and coffee drinks in the summer), and have also put a batch of yoghurt in the warmer (in preparation for making an Indian sweet cheese for dinner on Friday). All this while juggling laundry loads and keeping an eye on the back door for errant felines (a chipmunk, two bunnies, and an assortment of rather sordidly unidentifiable furry creatures have been praised as a result of my dragons' nocturnal forays). I know that is a bit of a parenthetical overload but indulge me.

For my birthday I used a gift certificate to buy some bone knitting needles and am getting ready to use them for an as yet undecided project soon. With them I bought a bone lucet which I am not quite sure how to use. I believe it is for finer work than I normally do but am determined to learn. I am sure I can manage a half-hour of work on my latest pair of knitted socks before I am absolutely exhausted. Tomorrow I'll wake up nearer 11 than 10 (which is a barely decent amount of sleep if one goes to bed at 0400), just in time to do a few things before dinner.

Did you know brass cleaner contains ammonia but that most silver cleaners don't? Some people don't know that. Like me, before today.

And for some reason I have little social life...

Two Good Things About Wisconsin

1. Penzey’s Spices

This is a company that sells the best quality fresh spices and dried herbs as well as soup bases and basic tools for grinding spices, as well as keeping up a recipe book and magazine whatsit; I am most interested in the soup bases and unmixed spices.

2. Civil War Re-enactors’ Merchants

William Booth sells knitting needles and sewing accoutrements of which I am enamored. A beautiful doom and a gift certificate for my birthday later, I now anticipate a package at my door . Soon.

(Sorry I haven't been around. I know your lives have been poorer in my absence. Compy just now fixed and slew of guests arriving soon.)

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Ok, so I moved back to the USA in March of this year, and have been having trouble keeping my blogs ever since: first it was little or no wifi, then it was household work (painting, sanding, heavy cleaning, yard work) and finally my computer started having problems charging and staying awake.

In the mean time, you might be surprised to know how little my life has changed from one country to another. I am still baking and knitting and cleaning quite madly and, thanks to the crummy economic situation, will probably continue this way for a little while. But I won't lie to you; I'm enjoying myself.

I am taking my computer to the Wizard tomorrow. Perhaps it needs a new heart. However, some spoilers:

1. I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in early May.

2. Before we left Venice, I met the last turner with a workshop there.

3. My sister is, as a present for my upcoming birthday, going to teach me how to use a drop spindle. (SO EXCITED.)

4. Since my last entry I have knitted 3 pairs and two half-pairs of socks.

5. We have a real, honest-to-goodness garden at this new house. Soon we will plant vegetables there.