knitting lately

 I am not going to be spamming you with daily posts. I am just trying to figure out how to navigate the substack world and if what I post is actually reaching anyone. I hope those of you who wanted to keep in touch are here, please say hi! And I hope this post came to your email inbox as substack said it would.

This is most definitely a platform that works best from the computer, which is kind of nice cause then I need to sit down and organize my thoughts and pick the photos. I think quite a few of us used to blog back in the day. I used both blogger and typepad, and substack seems like something similar? At least I think I am going to use it as such, and then also be part of the community that seems to be quite nice. Once I figure out all the buttons and settings and what not.

Anyway, I thought I would be sharing the latest knits that I do not think I have shared. This beautiful shawl above is knit with lichen dyed yarn, Xanthoria parietina (messinglav in norwegian, sunburst lichen in english what a beautiful name!). This lichen dyes the yarn a bright pink which turns blue in direct sunlight. You can se a little hint of a purpleish/pinkish shade at some spots, but it is barely there. It is pure witchcraft! The lighter shade is the second bath. I apologize for the gory bad indoor lighting but we have to roll with what we have!

I want to explore the world of dying with lichen this year. I hope to participate in some dying workshops this autumn. It is a lot of fun. The pattern is the interisland shawl by Donna Smith, a super fun knit as one first knits the entire border back and forth over 14-18 stitches and the knit the body of the shawl. I am currently knitting the exact same shawl in some icelandic yarn, it is quite a repetitive pattern which I can easily pick up.

Another one of my latest achievements was completing the Avena sweater by Jennifer Steingass. This project has been on the needles for three years. No particular reason for me not to complete it, but I finally got to finish it last December. It is knit in norwegian yarn, Finull by Rauma, in the most amazing mustard color. I had to modify the yoke slightly as my gauge was smaller that called for (the yarn I used is thinner than recommended).

And finally my Houlland shawl, also by Donna Smith. Can you tell yellow is my favorite color? The yarn is lace weight from Faroese sheep I bought when visiting the Faroe Islands two years ago. The pattern is simple to follow albeit looking complicated. The border is knitted first as a long strip and then the body of the shawl. I love knitting lace, it brings me so much joy.

I hope to share some spinning in not too long. I have not been doing any spinning basically since November and it makes me sad. Working with my hands and having projects is where I want to be, but sometimes it gets pushed all the way to the back. My hope is that leaving social media will make me more conscious about how I use my time. I will admit to getting sucked into the spiraling addiction of just scrolling whenever I had some downtime. Now I am reading instead, and I hope to get back to the kitchen and get going with my crafting.

I love keeping quotes. I also keep a journal which I try to keep up to date with simple entries most days. Sometimes a few sentences, sometimes quotes from the book I am reading, sometimes longer thoughts. I just know my kids are going to have so much fun when I am not here any more, and they have to go through all my ramblings on my journals.

I thought I could post some of my favorite quotes here. I recently found one which is I needed to hear.

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This, my dear is the greatest challenge to being alive: to witness injustice in the world and to not allow it to consume our light ~ Thich Nhat Hahn

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Keep aiming for the light, we will get through the darkness together. There is still a lot of good in the world.

Until next time, take care.