The Wool Mistress’ Mastery

I am not a cynic, but I am a reasonably sceptical person, so when I first noticed all the fuss around Wollmeise yarn, I thought it was mostly a result of The Allure of the Rare combined with the Harlot Effect (remember last summer when she did a sock in Spice Market and the internet exploded?) But I did admire the colours, so after awhile I joined Ravelry’s Wollmeise group, figured out how to work the site and even managed to get a couple of skeins in the last godless buying frenzy shop update. After the adrenaline faded, though, I experienced a twinge of buyer’s regret, and was afraid I wasn’t going to like what I’d bought.

Then, my package arrived.

The paper bag was cute, and I enjoyed the sensation of opening a present after opening the package (who doesn’t like presents??) I slid the skeins out, and a little packet of Goldbären plopped on top of them. Ich leibe Goldbären!!

After scoffing them, I got a good look at the yarns.

Just…wow.

But my pictures of them sucked!! Stupid cloudy winter days! It’s been snowing for months now, and the light inside can best be described as “dim”. Not so great for capturing the intense colours of my Wollmeise.

“I wish I had a lightbox,” I thought to myself. A bright white background to bounce indirect light onto my subject. But where could I find a bright white background and indirect light??

It took a few seconds to sink in, but then it came to me.

Dude! With the seventeen hundred feet of snow that’s fallen in the last few weeks, outside IS a lightbox!

Meet Emil

and Suzanne!

Please excuse Suzanne’s dandruff, I couldn’t shake off all the snow when I repositioned her. Such is life.

I think I’m going to knit with Suzanne first, I’ve got a really good sock pattern in mind for her: Skyline Chilly’s beautiful Pearl’s Diamond Socks. The pattern can be downloaded from her site for $5, with the proceeds from the sale going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honour of her Aunt Pearl. I think the yarn-over pattern will really complement Wollmeise’s Wild Thing pooling action, and I can’t wait to get started!

But first, I have a lot of unfinished business to attend to…which will have to be addressed in a future post. Today is my lovely mother’s birthday, and I should spend some time with her, especially since the provincial government declared today a new holiday in order to give us a long weekend in the most blah month of the year. Happy Family Day, Ontarians!