News from Abroad

The other member of our Global Knit-along has sent a picture of her Clapotis. I love the yarn choice and the color - much more versatile and elegant than mine.
If you take a close look at the edge, you will see that Elke has changed the pattern a little and has slipped the first stitch, creating a more finished edge. Lovely shawl, Elke !
I like the color so much that I may start a copycat Clapotis - seems to me there's some oatmeal handspun in the stash somewhere.

Clapotis

It's almost finished ! I 've loved knitting this scarf and can't wait to wear it. Last night the temperature was barely above freezing - surely a record for this time of year. It's almost June , after all. I'm hoping this strange cold snap may give me a chance to wear my soft and cozy wrap in the evenings for a few days at least.

And now let's hear from our knit-alongers - how is your Clapotis doing ?

It's official !

The Clapotis Knit-along has gone Global !

A warm welcome is extended to Elke, the European representative. Elke is a knitter and spinner extraordinaire and I can't wait to see what she will come up with to make her Clapotis .

My own Clapotis was started last night and knit while watching an old black and white British movie. I'm really happy with my yarn choice - the fabric is soft and drapey and will feel really good to snuggle into when I start to shiver in one of those super- air-conditioned places this summer.

Clapotis anyone ?

I'm starting to attack my Sheep & Wool stash - first up, SOLO from Brooks Farm Yarn, a lovely, soft singles yarn made of Fine Wool according to the label, perfect for a Clapotis.
Are last week's knitting buddies still interested in a knit-along ? We probably carry the distinction of being the last three human beings to knit this popular pattern. Makes me feel slightly outdated, sort of like a dinosaur.



I love the way the swatch for it turned out. This is going to be a fun knit !



The only thing I'm not crazy about are the little bumps on the side. They are made by the increases in the last stitch on each side. I tried reknitting these increases in different ways to achieve a prettier, smoother border, but couldn't really figure out another way. Any ideas, fellow knit-alongers ?

Congratulations

Our " Little Brown " salutes the fabulous Big Brown on his outstanding Preakness win !

Clearly, watching that race has exhausted Little Brown and some serious refueling is going on here.

What's Cooking ?

It's a great big pot of green cotton ! One whole pound , to be exact.

I spun it on my favorite Akha spindle, plied it and now it is simmering to deepen the color. When it is dry, it will turn into this.

As to all these rocks I have been digging up the last few days, I had two aha ! moments while digging. The first was when I realized I was excavating the site of a former stone wall. There's a reason this farm is called Stonewall Farm !

The second was when I said bitterly to myself " I could build a house with all these rocks." Second Aha ! moment : I think I'll build the base for my clay breadbaking oven out of them. I always wanted to try building with field stone the way Scott and Helen Nearing did.

And the moral is : When life gives you lemons - uhm, I mean rocks, - - - make walls.

You've got to be kidding me...

Today I tried to plant the small apple tree you see in the background. Its trunk has the diameter of my index finger and the root ball is not very large either. It needed a modest hole and I couldn't believe it when I started digging - check out the mountain of rocks that came out of that small hole ! Somebody ought to invent a rock radar - like the radar on a boat that shows what's under the water - so you know where not to dig.

Other than that it was a beautiful day here in the country .