"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands..."
Laura Ricketts Designs is a personal and business website for Laura Ricketts, hand-knitwear designer, author, teacher, crafter, mother and wife.
...I finished recently, was my Christmas pair from last year.
In plenty of time for this year, so that's okay. The yarn was lovely -- a store brand from Simply Sock Yarn store, called Jollyville, named for Jollyville, Texas. The heel and cuffs were knit from leftover sock yarn scraps in my stash.
Have you started your Christmas crafting yet, or are you finishing up last year's like me??
I have also been having fun with knitting this summer, of course. I will post some of my finished projects this summer. First is a pair of boot socks inspired by Skolt Saami socks from the Sami Museum Siida in Inari, Finland.
I'm teaching an afternoon class on them at Valparaiso's knit store Sheep's Clothing on Saturday, September 16. They were super fun to knit, and, as always, I love to share the history and culture of the Sami as I teach.
They are knit with Berroco's Ultra Wool, a worsted weight superwash yarn, on size 4 (3.5mm) needles at a gauge of 6 sts to the inch. As a result, they are a quick knit (for socks), but machine washable. A perfect pair for the fall!
Please, consider joining us for a fun afternoon.
What's on your needles?
Also this summer, I took my younger sun to Hopkinsville with a friend and her son to view the total eclipse. This was just after returning from taking my elder son to his first year of university (sob!), so the timing couldn't have been better. The four of us packed up and headed to Hopkinsville, Kentucky to the epicenter of the total eclipse of the sun.
Amazing.
Hopefully this isn't a once-in-a-lifetime event! The horizon turned pink and the quality of light around us was ethereal. The planets shone like stars and the corona around the sun was fantastic.
As Hopkinsville was the epicenter of the eclipse, the eclipse lasted longer there than anywhere else -- 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
Where were you during the eclipse?
Today marks the first day of school in many places across the country, including for my niece and also for Michigan where I grew up. Schools in our area have been in session for a month. Amazing!
But, since Labor Day marks the end of summer, I'm planning on posting a few things here that I did this summer. Here's the first:
I've had my eye on this pattern for a long time, but no real reason to knit it. Now that I know some one in the Slytherin house of Harry Potter, though, I let my knitting needles fly. Meet House of Slytherin.
The first three pictures above are taken directly above the scarf. You can clearly see that the scarf is just black and green stripes, but that the stripes vary in terms of knit and purl stitches.
The fourth picture is taken from an angle. Now, you can see that the patterning of purls and knits combines to create an raised image, most visible when seen at an angle. This image is the Sign of the Dark Mark.
One more pic. Here it is with the fringe.
What did YOU do this summer?