a little math for the brave..

OK, so my blog plans fell a bit flat since my last post and I was beating myself up about it but then I remembered that it's 2020, and basically everything is pear-shaped with no end in sight. ​This whole post is in fact a bit pear-shaped which I suppose is quite apropos. 

In January I got about as sick as I ever thought possible with some heinous flu, (or so I thought) which in all likelihood was covid.  I'd just been in NY for a trade show with thousands of people. The thought of being around that many people right now just gives me the heebie jeebies. I didn't leave my bed for 2 days, then lay on my sofa for another 7 days, only leaving my house after 10 days, and even after that I think in the following 5 days I only left my house twice to go to work, and each time, within a few short hours, realizing that I still felt terrible and should just stay home, which I did. In the months that followed, as more was being learned I realized that all the symptoms I'd had were a match, to the extent that it's only in the last month or so that my lungs feel close to normal. I'm honestly glad that covid was not a thing yet as I would have been freaking out I'm sure. I'm also glad that I banished all well-wishers, didn't go outside, and with little exception kept my distance from everyone for close to two weeks.

From there it's been pretty rough for everyone as we all know. ​2020 has not been kind.

A month ago my sweet Rosie got suddenly ill with kidney failure and passed which has left me shaken and deeply sad to my core. I can't write what I'd love to tell you about what she meant to me as it's just still too raw, but I will say she saved me as much as I saved her and I really, really wish she was still here.  My heart has a big hole and my house is quiet without her.

And like so many this year, I put on a brave face and just keep going.

​​With great gratitude to the universe, Freia Yarns has  been ticking along, albeit at a gentler pace as we keep our distances, work staggered shifts and figure out the new normal. My staff have been doing an excellent job of keeping everything rolling under particularly challenging circumstances, I'm so grateful to them for their trust, their flexibility and their fortitude over the last few months. ​ ​

With more time at home; along with more dog hikes, bread baking, cooking, vegetable gardening,  watching my bird feeder,  and the NY Times crossword,  I thought I'd give a shot to learning the guitar. I started at the end of April, I won't say I'm worth listening to, but I suck a little bit less each day; more importantly, I've found it to be surprisingly relaxing and takes me to that place where you lose track of time entirely. It opens up the same creativity channels in my brain that I get from knitting design. It's a great feeling. ​

(Big shout out to Fender.com for their excellent online lessons - and my pretty silver Telecaster! )

 Which leads me to my favorite design (of mine) of the last few years.. Passeggiata is a design that is born out of lockdown that I published in early March of this year. It calls for the Freia Minikins which become Missoni-like with the gradient color changes in the zigzag striping in the body of the shawl. It's all bordered by a stabilizing easy to work entrelac border, giving the piece a nice polished look. And it's big, very big, but it's also lightweight, so you can drape it lightly for a splash of color, or wrap it multiple times as needed for soft, toasty warmth.

As I've seen varying versions of the Passeggiata I get so awed by all the possibilities, it may well be that no two will ever be exactly the same. With 64 Minikin colors to choose from, then factor in the sequence of the 9 colors selected by each knitter and the starting end of the ball, I'm not mathematically clever enough to figure it out how many variations can be made, but my mother might be so I've put in a call to her and will let you know the number she comes up with.. or do you know? (ETA she's saying it's 63 to the power of 9x2, which is a number I'm not sure I can even pronounce: 15,633,814,156,853,823 x 2)

This fall a couple of shops will be offering their own color combos which I will share with you once they are released, the samples I've seen are just dreamy.. Check out the versions made so far on Ravelry here.