Run of the Mill

As an opening blog, today was going to be all about the garden: what we have growing, what is growing but really shouldn’t be, and plans for tackling our overgrown paradise. 

The weather has put paid to that, though. It has drizzled relentlessly all day, with the grey, leaden skies from this morning’s image becoming heavier with rain and ever darker as the day has progressed.

I have approached the promise of this shiny, new blog with the same glee an artist must feel as they open a new set of paints, or a chef with a bagful of fresh, exotic ingredients. This has been tempered only slightly by the fact that in the most British way possibly, rain has stopped play.

So, I have retreated indoors and will instead share a knitting project that I have had on my needles for a couple of weeks. I adore the yarn – it is a beautiful lambswool and kid mohair blend from Rowan and is delightful to work with. It feels luxurious and decadent and I can already tell that it will keep me toasty warm when the garment is complete. 

The shade of the yarn is ‘candyfloss’ and this perfectly describes the appeal and exuberance of the appearance and texture of the wool. 

I am working in herringbone stitch, new to me and specially learned for this project. It is fiddly at first but is easily mastered with a bit of practice and well worth the effort for the intriguing texture created. It is basically a modified stocking stitch which involves knitting through the back of stitches and purling through the front on their respective rows. The herringbone effect is achieved by working the second stitch along and keeping the stitch on the needle before working the first stitch. The result is highly effective and enjoyable, producing a texture quite unlike anything else I have knitted before. 

The name of the pattern is Herringbone by Tiam Safari and is part of The Bloggers Edit collection by Mode at Rowan.

I had always imagined that this project would be put on the back-burner over the summer months, but given the recent pattern of rain every day, it could well be completed in no time!