Sunning with Yarn

It is a lovely day today. The sun is shining. A breeze is blowing gently and the temperature is hovering around 72 degrees. Humidity is low (trust me, in these parts this is a rare event). I decided I really needed to get out and soak up a few rays.

I hate sunbathing. I'm usually the lady at the beach walking, picking up shells wearing long sleeves, long pants and a hat. But I know a little sunshine is good for me so I put on a bathing suit top and sat with my back to the sun and my BIG BLACK SOCK project.

I decided to knit a few more rounds on the sock I was worrying over before I ripped it out. I did follow the directions. Logically, they should be right. So I did. The lumpy bumpy part of of it seemed to smooth out. So I kept on knitting. For an hour. In the bright, bright sunlight.

I feel the heat now. I think I may be burnt. Where is my lavendar oil?

But it felt good while I was out there. And I made good progress on the sock.

I've come to realize that I'm a very slow knitter. I got a whole inch completed in an hour. I think there are knitters out there that can do a whole sock in that time. Oh well. I will get faster with time.

I also completed the shawl the other day. The point kept curling up. I was really frustrated with it. The garter stitch edge was too narrow. So I make some fringe. It really came out neat -- like a tail. I knew it would look even better once I washed and blocked it.

But I had no way to block it so I just washed it in cool water, laid a clean blanket out in the yard and spread out the shawl pulling and tugging out all the corners and edges. It looked pretty good. I was happy and I went into the house.

I came out again about 20 minutes later and found that one of the dogs had found the shawl and rolled on it and balled it up in a big ball! No, I did not kick the dog, but she did get a sound scolding. I moved the blanket and the shawl into another part of the yard. This time I put it in the sun. After the dog, I figured nothing could really hurt it.

Thirty minutes later I came out to check on it. It was dry. It was soft. All the lovely yarn over holes were opened wide and the edges all laid straight. I'm amazed at the difference! And it smells of honey suckle and sunshine (thankfully, not of wet dog).