Stitching and Daydreaming

Sometimes I wonder how I spend

The lonely night

Dreaming of a song...

--from Stardust, by Hoagy Carmichael, sung by Nat King Cole 

I had an extra week off work this week. I think I really needed it because I've spent a lot of it sleeping. I go to bed at the normal time and wake up nine to ten hours later. That is a miracle for me because most of the time I find myself wide awake at four o'clock in the morning worrying about life, the universe, and everything. I go back to work tomorrow so that very well may change, but I've enjoyed the feeling of being rested. I hope it continues.

I spent the majority of the week finishing off my Foraging Badger embroidery project. I found it meditative and satisfying and I am very proud of the result:

And I think I might have finally figured out how to do French knots properly:

The kit came with a spare piece of calico so that you could convert it into a little doll. I debated whether or not I'd get the sewing machine out for it, but I decided just to stitch it by hand:

And while I think I stitched it a little too close to the edge of the pattern, I am still delighted with the result:

.

I have always adored fine details and intricate stitches, and this project had just enough to keep me interested. I found out that I am indeed capable of turning out a decent satin stitch leaf or two, even if it took a few attempts. I also found out how often you have to break out your scissors, particularly when you are changing colours so often. This meant that I also found out how many times I can lose my scissors down the side of the couch. Yay for learning.

It was an inspiring project, and I have a few ideas in my head about other things I might attempt in the future:

Meanwhile, the weather outside continued to throw curveballs at us. We got a dump of snow that very neatly covered the sheets of ice on the roads from the previous thaw/rain session:

I was not really in the mood for venturing out, so that meant that I had plenty of time to sit inside and work on another idea that has been brewing in my brain for quite some time. I already had another project queued up in my brain that was going to use some stash yarn, but this idea was growing so rapidly in my mind that I let it jump the queue so I could work on it first. Sometimes, it's best just to let the yarn take charge.

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been wanting to knit something to mimic some feathery frost I saw on the windows a few winters ago. To recap, here is the photo of the frost:

After much searching, I found a stitch that I think will work, and I played around with it so that I could knit it on the diagonal rather than straight up and down. I tried it out on some silver-grey sock yarn, and when I was satisfied that the stitch would work, I pulled out some yarn I bought recently that I bought with this project specifically in mind:

The yarn is Scheepjes Stardust, which has me singing the old Nat King Cole song every time I look at the label. In a moment of madness, I reneged on my "never again" stance on using 2.75mm needles on a project, but I think it was necessary in order to get the level of detail I wanted in this project. It's hard to see in the photos, but the yarn has a wee bit of stellina to make it sparkle in the light. It also has a bit of a halo which I was afraid would cloud the detail, but it seems to be alright so far. I'm being extra careful with my stitches because yarns with halos are an exquisite pain in the backside to rip back. Luckily, this stitch pattern is simple enough to knit and to keep track of, so I haven't had any tearful ripping out sessions... yet....

I'm a wee bit worried that the yarn will be a bit scratchy for next to skin wear, but this project is rapidly evolving in my head so I have a few ideas of how I could make it work in case I do find it uncomfortable. The current vision is a romantic top with a lace panel on the front and the back with a square neckline and batwing sleeves... but that could very well change as time passes. I'm currently trying to make a rectangular panel, but it's got a bit of a bias in it and seems to be producing a parallelogram instead. I'm not super worried about it because I think a good steam blocking session will work wonders, but we'll see:

We're having a sunny day today, which I am currently relishing as I sit in the office typing this blog post. The sun is directly in my eyes right now, but I dare not close any blinds or put on any sunglasses because the forecast for this week is for never-ending rain. I will soak up what I can for now:

 Have a great week. Stay safe, friends.