yarn along: april 2023

I started this post on Saturday, typing between the District Oratorical Festival, moving the wash to the dryer, and preparing for Sunday's parade and reception.  Oof.  The day was gorgeous: a foretaste of spring weather arriving all too soon, a reminder that our time in this house, with our friends here, is limited.  

Pressing forward, SOCKS! In my dreams, yarn waiting on the shelf, and half of one on my needles. (edited: 3/4 of one on the needles!)  I've thrown away five pairs of socks in the last week.  Those holey heels, darn it!  Yarn with nylon content is a must.  I've gone a little crazy ordering sock yarn, my hoarding gene compensating for all the purging we're doing for our move.  

Recently bound off (above): Rye Light socks by Tin Can Knits in John Arbon Exmoor Sock, color Bibble Bug.  The jury is still out on the yarn.  Pros: Woolly wool, nylon content, non-superwash.  Cons: Not super plush or springy, splitty, pills.  I reinforced the heel flap and short rows with slipped stitches.  Fingers crossed.

I'm currently knitting the Garia pattern in Viola Sock, color Eclipse 1.  Viola Sock may just be my favorite sock yarn ever.  EVER.  The pair I knit last year using minis has worn well, survived an accidental trip through the washing machine, and is all-around amazing.  I don't prefer the pattern's heel construction, so a mash up of these two tutorials will work up to one I like.

Next up:  

For me, a pair of First Snowfall Socks in Lichen and Lace Sock, colors Silver Fox, Sage, and possibly Linen?  They're replacing a pair I made with non-nylon yarn in early 2021.  I'm excited about some low-contrast colorwork.  

For a sister-in-law, some vanilla socks in Opal KFS in Sakura.  I ordered a second skein of the Lichen and Lace Sock from a new-to-me shop, Knitters Without Borders, and threw in a few more skeins of sock yarns, including the Opal KFS, to avoid paying shipping.  The yarn arrived so quickly, and was packaged so beautifully that I'll be ordering from the shop again!

I'm still reading the same things as last month, making slow progress.  Below is an example of the ideas pinging around my brain.  How I wish I had a book group with which to discuss The Ethics of Beauty! 

But if a spiritual guide lacks mildness, the soul of even the person with only very small sins to confess will become more self-reliant and harder.  The shame* that we experience in confession must be directed toward eros for Christ, not toward increased self-reliance and self-obsessed moral effort.  It should be shame that leads gently upward and outward to worship, not inward and downward to despair.

 The Ethics of Beauty by Timothy Patitsas, p. 117

*Dr. Patitsas differentiates between healthy shame, the kind that leads us to love only good things and act in ways that are good, and unhealthy shame, which is a passion that attacks and overwhelms us.