Inspiration
Late-Afternoon Thoughts While Winding Cashmere
Dear Kay,
As I write, we’re getting ready for Moving Day for MDK World Headquarters. I know!
Such an upgrade: the new space has two windows, a 100% increase from the current 0 windows. The floor is wooden, not cement. There is a sink. It’s in the same building as the current MDK World Headquarters, about thirty yards away, across the lobby.
I feel like we’re moving into the Taj Mahal. The word is swanky.
My brother Aubrey is in town and offered to come help, with this: “So . . . when will you be done with all the heavy parts?”
“One o’clock,” I say.
“See you at two!”
After all this time (five whole entire months), I’m feeling really sentimental about our old headquarters. The memories! The challenges! The day we got packing tables! The tape dispenser! The day the first package went out! I’m gonna miss that place.
In such a sentimental mood, there’s only one thing to do: wind yarn. All the good memories flood out when you’re winding yarn.
I’m finally starting Bristol Ivy’s Nesting Wrap, a glorious opportunity to knit with Jade Sapphire Cashmere. So soft, so so so so soft.
When we decided on this particular colorway, Pebble Beach and Stonehenge, I had to laugh. It looked so subtle that I wasn’t even sure it would work properly in a two-color brioche wrap. It’s a very, very, very close pairing of shades.
So close, in fact, that I knew instantly that this was the shade I wanted to make.
Winding yarn is one of my favorite moments in knitting. I don’t use a ball winder or swift, and I try to wind as loosely as possible. It’s a chance to slow down, to listen to music, or, today, to stare slack jawed into the middle distance, completely zorked out. I may have fallen asleep, mid skein. You know how it is when a wash of fatigue hits you?
The color names. Which one is Pebble Beach and which is Stonehenge? Is the real-life Stonehenge pale pink or pale pale? Am I even going to be able to distinguish these?
They change color constantly, depending on the light. At times, they look exactly the same.
Late in the day, the pink starts to show up.
Please stay tuned. This is going to be my first brioche project. What is brioche knitting, you ask? Here you go. We’ve got a conversation going over in The Lounge, “Brioche: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore,” so I hope we can all get the hang of this. Also: our brand-new, free Knitstrip is the Never Fail Muffler, a bulky bit of brioche. It’s a perfect starter project.
Love,
Ann
I’m a Brit, and I can confirm, Stonehenge is very very grey. Though I guess on the summer solstice, as the sun sets, pink light from the sun may very well be reflected by the cold, iron grey stones.
But the stones (or some of them, at least) are made of Preseli bluestone.
So blue fits too.
I love winding yarn by hand too! The quiet, contemplative aspect of the process appeals to me but also the anticipation of what this yarn will eventually become. And I can usually look at a finished project and remember the circumstances when I was winding that particular yarn. Does this sound weird? Maybe I should get out more! Congratulations on your new space!
Congratulations on your move! Windows!!!!
I am so jealous of your boundless creativity! I have to grab whatever minutes I can to creep along on my projects!
You’re moving up in the world! Congratulations on the move to a bigger and better space for MDK.
I’ve never ventured into the world of brioche, but maybe I should give it a try. It seems unnecessarily fiddly to me, so I’ve always veered away from it.
Congrats on the new digs! We’d love to see pictures once you’re settled!
I have avoided it, too! But the effect is so cool that I gotta dive in. Stay tuned …
You and Kay are two amazing ladies! Congratulations and best wishes as you move into the Taj Mahal…it will be just grand! May the new year ahead be kind and gentle to you and those you love…and may it bring continued success and many grand adventures for you both!!!
Same to you, Maureen! More daylight every day, these days.
Good luck with the move! Exciting times.
Thank you, Kurt! Come see us next time you’re on one of your adventures southward.
Ann, I’m anxious to see how your brioche project knits up. A knitting friend confided that that one piece of advice for brioche she’d pass along is high contrast! You have 2 very subtle, lovely shades.
Show lots of photos or send us a link to Rav. Thanks and good luck with the move.
Me too! Will these shades even look different? The drama is killing me …
Happy moving day! Will there be house-warming party?
A new MDK World Headquarters? Congratulations! But, windows? How do you expect Kermit to get any work done in the MDK Yarn Testing labs?
Love it all! Congrats on the swanky new headquarters.
Congratulations on your new space! Wishing you lots of luck!
My office hasn’t moved an inch, just saying. SAME OLD SAME OLD.
That’s good, Kay. We like you where you are.
I bet you’ve always had windows, though.
Congrats on the new space! I have just been making drink coasters to practice brioche out of Brown Sheep, Lambs Pride leftovers from my Christmas hat knitting for grandkids. Amazing how these coaster swatches have got me carrying my knitting everywhere! The muffler is now on my list but no super bulky yarn… but it’s on my shopping list.
wow. how exciting. wood floors! whoo hoo.
best of luck in your new place.
xo
p.s. LOVE those two colors. Subtle is sophisticated and soothing.
Elizabeth and Ann, too funny. You know that Melanie Berg normally knits in more subtle colors. So there she is with 2 shades of brownish gray and there I am with Fuchsia, Neon orange and a separator variegated color. Lol
Congratulations on your move. Windows! And more space for more fun? I’ve hopped on your brioche bandwagon with the Never Fail Cowl. Such pillowy big stitches with Malabrigo Rasta. I think I’m in loooooooove.
Love reading all these comments from all you yarn addicts. Knitting is my passion and I have two sore thumbs as proof. Wanting to learns socks and Brioche on my wish list this year.
I discovered while knitting mittens at night, one shouldn’t haphazardly pull a ball of wool out of the stash and assume it’s brown, just because it looks brown. The next morning, I found I had knit the rest of my orange/brown mitten with, no, not more brown, but PURPLE!! I did not frog it, because I am starting a new trend – mittens that do NOT match. lol I love the subtleness of your choices, but I’m not that brave to be able to distinguish the difference in anything but strong 12 noon sunshine.
Is this a good time to mention that I’ve found some typos in the Nesting Wrap pattern? I’m not done knitting yet but I’ve found two so far.
Congratulations on the new MDK headquarters! It’s exciting for you and Kay, but I’m sure many of us who have been following you through the years are excited, too. Well done!!! It does seem like brioche is popping up everywhere recently. I just finished knitting my first two-color brioche – a Churros scarf – and really enjoyed the process. However, I’m really anxious to follow your project. Brioche with short rows! My heart is fluttering.
Lovely, Ann. You do subtle better than anyone 😉
Not trying to advertise myself, but my last blog post was about exactly this: ball winding.
I love knowing that you eschew ball winder and swift.
http://www.einesaite.com/blog/einesaite/2016/9/2/ball-winding