Mid-year madness

June and into July is always a busy period - particularly if, like me, you can be easily distracted by all the grand sporting events that are happening. Wimbledon tennis, cricket matches against Australia's arch-rivals, the English, the Tour de France (my favourite) and this year the football (aka soccer) World Cup. We're spoilt for choice. And, if you live in Australia, all these events take place in the middle of the night in winter. In work places there's much bleariness from continuous sleep deprivation at this time of the year.

This year I also have renovations, sorting, culling and packing prior to moving in four and a bit weeks, and, as if all that wasn't enough, a brief holiday next week. A friend and I are going on a plan-as-you-go road trip around central Victoria, culminating in the spectacle of the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. It all sounds a bit mad.

The last couple of years I've used the Ravelry Tour de France Knit-a-long as a spur to completing a relatively large piece of knitting - a cardigan for myself in 2008 and one for my daughter in 2009. But this year I've been sensible enough not to put such pressure on myself when I've so much else to think about and do. So, I'm 'doing' Le Tour, but I'm making a very uncomplicated and comforting project - Cheryl Oberle's Wool Peddler's Shawl from her book Folk Shawls, with the much-admired Mustaa Villaa variation of a wide ruffle rather than lace edging. It's all garter-stitch - how soothing.



I'm trying not to accumulate too much stuff just now as I'm panic-stricken about having enough space for things in my new, much smaller apartment, so I wanted to use yarn I already have. Now I'm hoping all those assertions I've heard over time about Grignasco 'Tango' being essentially the same as Rowan 'Felted Tweed' are accurate, as I plan to use a mixture of the two for my Tour de France KAL project. The body of the shawl will be brown, and the ruffle a deep blue that's not nearly as bright as this photo. Both yarns have small flecks of the other colour, so the combination goes well.

I love these large, peasant style shawls - particularly when they're in garter stitch - so I'm looking forward with pleasure to knitting my way around Victoria while the cyclists are making their way around France.