Exploration Autumn and Other Gifts Of Knitting

May 17

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This week was weird... I spent most of it at home taking it easy. I feel much better now and ready to get back to work tomorrow. Being sick and locked up at home never bores me - a good book, yarn and needles/crochet hook are always by my side. It's been awhile since I had to stay in bed almost all day and not run around. It felt nice. At one point I even felt a little bit guilty of enjoying my quiet time at home too much.Gifts of knitting have been happening here. You might already know that I am slightly obsessed with Woolful podcast, trying to catch up with it every week. I was over the moon when I opened one of the episodes several weeks ago and saw that Alina won a pair of wooden needles from Brittany. I couldn't believe it, so I checked every single comment on the previous post, but failed to find any other Alina there. Then I started jumping, seriously. It's the first time ever I win something in a giveaway. This Saturday my "bundle of joy" arrived.Brittany needles are so smooth! Made by an environmentally-minded company from sustainably harvested birch, these needles come with an amazing story of a very hardworking family - Chris and Michri. It definitely shows that the needles were made with love and attention to every detail. Look how beautiful they are!Thank you, Ashley, for this giveaway!Other gifts. July is not that far away that's why I am working hard on knitting gifts for my favorite women in the world. Deep End for my Mom is cast off and is waiting to be blocked. Now it's time for my dear Granny Lidia. She's recovering right now from a knee replacement surgery and I have a sting in my heart every time I talk to her. She's doing great, but I feel that she misses me terribly. Believe me, so do I... Being an ocean away keeps me from hugging her, spending a quiet evening listening to stories from her youth and enjoying the best cottage cheese pancakes in the world! There is no better way for me to say "I love you so much! Thank you for everything!" than with a handknit piece.I chose Exploration Station pattern. It's a fun project that gives you so many opportunities to experiment with your yarn stash. The original color palette is a little bit too sharp for my taste. Choosing colors is not my strong side and I love how Stephen helps with it - "Think about these colors as a family. If A color is a mom or dad, then colors B, C, D are the kids." It was very helpful. I think it's really important for the designers to include the logic behind choosing colors in the patterns. Not every knitter, me included, has a natural "feeling" for color.So, I found my color "family".My Granny has the most beautiful, kind (and yes, maybe I am being a little bit biased here :) ) hazel eyes in the world.I just can see her wearing it during Russian autumn when the world changes to red, yellow, brown and dark green - gosh I miss it! So, I am renaming Exploration Station to Exploration Autumn.The yarn I am going to work with is also a gift, from lovely Kelley. Kelley, thank you so much for helping to make this gift even more special! Palette, 100% Peruvian highland wool from Knit Picks in beautiful autumn colors - Sweet Potato, Salsa Heather, Tidepool Heather and Semolina. So lovely to knit with!