Sock update

Work on the socks has slowed, although not halted. My husband and I have been building out a chicken enclosure so maybe we can get these pesky birds out of the bathroom.

Some vague, indefinable Vermont-ish line has been crossed with these chickens, I think. It's the line that separates the real Vermonters from the tourists and wannabees. Here's my proof:

We've been having trouble with our hot water heater. The stupid thing has been giving us sporadic problems for months, which makes it a bit of an adventure to take a shower. One never knows whether one will get an icy, needlelike spray, or water hot enough to parboil.

Often I will get both in the same shower, which would be enough to felt a lesser human.

The plumbers came yesterday; they chanted incantations and waved their magic wrenches and muttered terrible dark curses. They also made a ritual inspection tour of all our faucets, including the upstairs bathroom that contains the peeps.

I suspect a Brooklyn plumber could have dined out on a chickens-in-a-bathroom story for months. "Ya wuddn't believe what was in there, Paulie! F*&^ ing chickens! Live ones!"

Our plumbers? They didn't so much as bat an eye. Apparently, it is perfectly normal in these parts to find 46 live chicks in a bathroom.

I love Vermont.

In fiberish news: Not much to report. The socks march onward. The blanket is perhaps feeling somewhat petulant from lack of attention, but it's just gonna have to suck it up.

I am formulating a plan to spin, dye and then knit the yarn for a Bohus. The traditional Bohus yarn is a 50-50 mix of wool and angora, spun to a light fingering weight and then knit on teensy needles. American size 1-1.5 is about normal. I'll do a screen grab of one of my favorite colorways:

Amazing, isn't it?

There is a woman in Sweden, Solveig Gustafsson, who sells Bohus kits, authenticated and authorized by the official Bohus museum. I was tempted to get one, but this seems like the sort of spinning project I don't have enough brains to know I'm not quite ready to tackle. Sign me up.

My first task will be to card the angora and wool together. Thankfully this is not a heavy sweater, so using a high percentage of luxury fiber won't be too hideously expensive.

I'm flirting with the notion of throwing a teensy bit of silk into the mix. Perhaps a 40-40-20 blend? I love the sheen of silk and my notion is that if this yarn has some silk in it those yoke colors will be so vibrant and deep and rich they'll practically leap off the sweater.

Then again, there was no silk in the authentic Bohus. I am torn between wanting to honor tradition and wanting a truly vibrant sweater.

Screw it. One of the better reasons to spin and then knit is to get Exactly What You Want.

There will be silk in the Bohus.

So there.

Onward...