A friend of ours turned 50 this weekend and wanted to spend it touring bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, so of course I packed up my knitting and we spent this weekend on a fabulous mini break!
First off, the yarn. Pictured with the man who indulges me and pauses to let me take a picture of my yarn before I progress toward Bulleit. And drives us everywhere while I knit (I consider myself quite fortunate). I am currently knitting up Opal Schafpate 11194 with cuff, toes and heels in Berroco Vintage Sock 12018. I usually knit my self patterning yarn into a plain stockinette sock, but I decided that because I would be a passenger in the car for the 3.5 hour drive there and back, and while touring and hanging out in general, that I wanted a slightly tangy pattern. Just a little bit of interest to keep me interested. Usually I'm knitting while being distracted by children, but this weekend was just me and Terry and friends. So I decided on what I'd call a broken rib pattern and someone on Insta said it looks like the popular Blueberry Waffle Sock pattern. And it does look like that to me too, if you'd like to join.
The first distillery we toured was Bulleit. Very cool, wonderful tasting, great merch. A high tech facility. Then we did Woodford Reserve, and it was very different beautiful old limestone buildings built 100 years ago, still being used, and surrounded by gorgeous green hills and horse farms. Both are great to visit and knit while doing so. I'm tasting some Woodford Reserve above.
Above is a rack house at Woodford Reserve. The two red barrels are special edition bourbons that have something to do with the 150 anniversary of a horse event that I didn't listen to well? But I found it interesting that just like we do special edition yarns that have a limited amount (like 150 bottles that will be like $5k apiece!) we do limited edition yarns for various events. That we all collect special things that we enjoy, whether it's whiskey or yarn. Below is my tasting. It included a piece of bourbon candy so we could taste the chocolate candy with the shot to see how the flavor changes. It was really cool.
And I am loving this knit. I'm loving it so much that I didn't stop. I didn't stop during the tours, I did stop during the tastings, I didn't stop unless I was eating or sleeping. And it's been a bit since I've picked up a project that made me feel that way.
I think the reason I'm so into this sock is partly because of the texture with the color pattern and seeing it develop. But also because I didn't have the distractions of kids or work pulling on me. Those are the things that get all my time, and knitting has been on the backburner in a big way for a year or more, and I rarely get a moment to knit. This project is pure joy. And the whiskey wasn't bad either LOL!
That yarn looks as happy as you☺️
Posted by: Diane | March 27, 2023 at 12:52 PM
Assume you are joking about the 150th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby. The Woodford Reserve bottles are beautiful. I have gifted them to family and friends. Looks like it was a very fun outing.
Posted by: Mary Kay Ross | March 27, 2023 at 05:29 PM
Love the color combination of your sock. I often knit mistake rib socks. I find that the simple rib pattern works really well with striping yarn or really any. Kind of yarn. It results in an interesting but not distracting appearance. I’ve never knit a mistake rib cowl but this shows the mistake rob in the round & I just might knit one:
https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2016/02/01/mistake-rib-cowl/
Posted by: Donna T | March 28, 2023 at 10:25 PM
Wow you must be a fast knitter! What a great idea to take on distillery tours.
Posted by: Ashley | March 28, 2023 at 11:15 PM
That looks like a cool trip! I don't imbibe, but the chemistry of the process intrigues me. I agree with you that Opal's colors and vibrancy make it hard to stop knitting. I work full-time, do gig work and have several school age kids too, so I feel ya on knitting often being placed on the backburner. However, knitting and crocheting are my self-care (besides showering haha). I will knit and take walks or knit in the car if I'm the passenger. I try to take at least 15 minutes every day to knit or crochet.
Posted by: Anonymous Please | March 29, 2023 at 05:20 AM