[Knitting] More on Lace Socks and Malabrigo

So remember the lace socks I was asking about in this entry? Well, there's been a change of plan. Or venue, or something. There's been a change of wool!

I started out swatching these on some sage green wool I got in Boston last year. But my Rhiannon socks are going to be sage green as well, and I just couldn't handle that much green in one place. So then I got to thinking about maybe grey. And I thought I had some grey sock wool hiding in my stash, so I went looking for it, but it wasn't there, alas. What I did have was the remains of the purple I'd used as part of the original Camelot Socks. (There's only a little of it there: look for the stripe of purple on the cuff, below the vertical stripes.) I thought originally that this would be a great choice because the colour was vibrant, yet heathery, and so I started a second iteration of the sock, during which time I worked out a second solution to the lace conundrum. But it turned out I wasn't going to have enough wool-- I was halfway through the first of my two small balls at the end of the cuff! So, because I know the only place you can reliably get Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply is at Liberty, off Regent Street in London, I sent filceolaire there on Monday night with the wool specs. He came home with the right colour -- but I have rarely seen such a complete
difference in dye lots. The new iteration of colour 4 (lavender) was practically pink! Ugh! I wound one into a ball to see if I was seeing things (I wasn't) and returned the other three. The next night, I was teaching at IKL, and I picked up some of the new Malabrigo Sock. It's superwash, a lovely, darker purple than I was originally envisioning, and it's knitting up beautifully. This time, I'll try janciega's solution and see if I can get better lace definition through slanty decreases!

( Photos of wool below cut tag. Colours not perfect. )

Severnderoog Castle Building Preservation Trust News!

Let there be dancing in the streets-- or in the wood, at least!

I can now tell you, since we have the official word, that the Severndroog Castle Building Preservation Trust's Heritage Lottery Fund Bid for the renovation and reopening of Severndroog Castle has been approved!

We have been awarded a grant of:

Stage 1 pass
Development Grant of £15,900, 68% of the total eligible development work of £23,218

Now, this means the work is just beginning! If any of you are interested in coming down, volunteering, helping out, or giving money (and that last part is important; we are expected to match some funds here), please let me know or contact the Trust through our webpage linked above, but linked again here!

Being part of something like this is so rewarding. I am helping one of my favourite places in London (and a place that figures heavily in my books) come to life!