Magic Loop Socks - Complete

I made heavy weather of these, but glad I stuck it out now. The yarn is handspun, from a farmer's market in New England and I dyed it myself using turmeric and tea.

Finished Objects and a Return to Spinning

This past weekend saw one completely finished object - the Apple Strudel Cardigan:

Not the greatest pic in the world - I will take a better one when I wear it for the first time - but it is all done and warm and snuggly for those autumn weekends ahead.

I also managed to finish the first Magic Loop sock:

The second is OTK, with the leg complete and the heel turned. One long evening of TV watching (maybe tonight) will finish it off. And I will be relieved - these have been a slog, not because of the technique, but because I always seem to knit them when I'm feeling tired and hence I've made tons of mistakes and had to rip a few times.

I also returned to spinning at the weekend, in my new "spinning studio" - really just our summerhouse, cleared out a bit - and this hank of pure wool, from the raw fleece given to me by our neighbours - is drying out today after a soak in some cold water, ready to be balled up.

This is the first step in my plan to drop spindle and knit enough yarn for the Rocky Coast Cardigan from Coastal Knits. I have swatched up a small square, and the light, lofty yarn this fleece is spinning up as should be perfect. I hope my spinning will improve as I go - it is still very slubby, and I haven't decided what I'll do about plying yet.
But readers - if I achieve this goal, I will reward myself witha wheel!

Apple Strudel Progresses in the Highlands

One of the benefits of living in North Yorshire is the proximity of Scotland for weekends away - and that, readers, is exactly how we spent our August Bank Holiday weekend. Even from this far north, it is still a fair way to travel, and I was looking forward to two long train rides - uninterrupted knitting time, in which I was planning to finish the Magic Loop Socks, and the Apple Strudel Cardigan.

Well. I wasn't feeling quite right on the way up, and got absolutely nowhere with either in six (yes, six) hours! I knitted three rows on the Apple Strudel before finding myself in need of scissors or a yarn cutter (had neither with me) and consequently getting in a tangle. I switched to the socks, but fared little better, as realised quickly I didn't have enough yarn to complete them - halfway through the second sock. I spent the rest of the journey fiddling about with  them, unravelling part, reknitting etc, but kind of knowing it wasn't going to work. In between I watched the beautiful Highlands roll by:

The purple heather is quite subtle in this photo, but everytime I see the heather in bloom, I want to knit a sweater in those greens and purples exactly...

So the following day I took a break from knitting, and we explored the small but perfectly formed town of Dornoch:

Alas no knitting or craft shops here, but there was a lovely display in the local history museum:

telling the story of the Herring Girls, who travelled up and down the country packing the herring fished by the men, and who were known to be great knitters, bringing different stitch patterns to all parts of the UK. The museum's curator was thrilled when I wanted to photograph this display, as the spinner and knitter behind it is his wife, and they keep the shetland sheep these wonderful socks are made from.

Later, I refound my knitting mojo and the Apple Strudel cardigan progressed very well on the train journey home today:

Almost done! And just in time - this weekend is traditionally the end of summer in the UK, and tonight it sure feels like it.