sockbundles

tis a fine thing
when the infants take an interest in the construction of things
especially when those things are warm and comfy
and are given to me

my Wild Rose [aka the Eldest of the Three] who has a B.Sc Hons and was recently awarded her wool classer's stencil
is not content with being able to do clever things with statistics and fling fleeces on tables
and [thanks to instruction by great-grandmother] churn out exquisite tatted lace at machine speed
has now turned her hand to knitting
and discovered a passion for socks.
- unlike me she can actually make two objects that are exactly alike.
 
the first pair went to her beloved.
i scored the second lot.

so of course
i bundled them up with some eucalyptus leaves

i love my socks

and was tempted to sling them in here as well

but i was firmly restrained.
they said enough was enough.
sigh.

guess i shall be wearing contrasting socks.

more intimate secrets

yesterday i shared an image of my early morning
view-from-the-bed
today i'm offering a little more
this early morning picture of the little person who shares my comforts




















and this one
of something that keeps us both warm

a queen size blanket knitted by my mother
from English Leicester wool
harvested from some of the fluffy poppets who
potter about the farm that i live on

have been looking at the calendar 

[because i was doing housekeeping on my website]

finding a little space over the [southern] summer

open to suggestions as to where it might be useful

to offer a workshop...

did somebody mention that good things come in threes?

third time lucky, again.

i'm really beginning to enjoy collecting the mail.

the presence of windowed bills and suchlike

is being mitigated by much more interesting things

today i found a parcel from Aotearoa

which contained

sox in a box

knitted by the amazing Jo Kinross

who not only organised the workshops in Nelson

[in May this year]

but also gave me the hemp dress that has become my

'daily drive'

now with a small 'boro' patch

and wearing its second layer of dye

solidago canadensis + eucalyptus crenulata

and the sox even came with their very own repair kit!

colder than a polar bear's nose

it's absolutely freezing here - a pleasant change from steamy Ohio - reminding me of the words of Mark Twain [aka Samuel Langhorne Clements] when he memorably said that one of the coldest winters he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco

outside in the [nearly] full moon the magpies are warbling just to keep warm

but in here my feet are lovely and toasty, thanks to my delightful friend Jo whose parcel arrived today all the way from Nelson NZ

inside the parcel were a pair of absolutely gorgeous hand-knitted socks in exactly my hoof size.

 

i suspect they may be staying on overnight...

guerilla in the jacaranda

here's one especially for that grrrl who knits

there i was quietly directing my elephant [ie normous grey wheeled trunk-like suitcase] down South First Street in San Jose when i was confronted by the sight of what appeared to be a cat-in-the-hat sock

and then it dawned on me [in the absence of the Cat] that it was another one of the guerilla knitsisters up to more public malarky

wonder how long it will last with those cute squirrels romping on it

wish my legs looked as good in stripy socks

have cauldron, will travel

the alchemist has taken to the skies again...last seen at sunset gathering windfall leaves on Russian Hill at the corner of Larkin and Greenwich. sadly the wee cauldron is struggling a bit on the reduced diet of 110 volts!

but in the meantime there are bouquets to bestow...firstly on Qantas who surprised me with an upgrade to bizclass on check-in. thanks, oh giant flying Skippy. it was lovely.

and then another bouquet to the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco who also gave me an upgrade - meaning i'm spending the next three nights in a king-size bed in a spacious room on the eleventh floor with a lovely corner balcony and windows that open AND a delumpshous Japanese soaking bath [in which i am about to immerse myself]

on the way across the Big Blue Pond i felt obliged to test if knitting is permitted again. 

it is. photographic evidence below.  

what bemused me on arrival though is the endearing optimism of the local border guard. i won't put the image here for fear of being flung out of the country on my ear but do they really think that 

those people who are actually drug addicts or [and this is as it's printed on the form] perpetrators of "gross moral turpitude" or espionage agents are actually going to tick the "yes" box on the wee green incoming passenger form?

and while we're on the subject of green, here's the obligatory 'view from the hotel window' - an illuminated garden from the point of view of a passing pigeon

 

visibly risible

here's an amusing sign. i'll agree that suffolk are an excellent meat breed, and i'd happily stuff mattresses with their resilient and springy wool...but lingerie? we're getting into Billy Connolly's Auntie Agnes' territory here. particularly hilarious given Aotearoa's fame in the merino department (second only to the bigger southland a little to the west in terms of quality and itchlessness). suffolk wool is best suited to making socks for trampers and wayfarers (preferably worn with a merino or cotton sock on the inside) as it is inherently resistant to felting as well as being extremely durable.

the thought of it knitted into knickers leaves my knees knocking.