Tangled Threads and Seaweed

I'm Digging These Socks!

  Yes, that's a beer bottle modeling my sock.  At this point, I had just finished the Eye of Partridge heel flap. (that's Goofy hanging out on the porch with me)

  I really, really like the stranded pattern of Crusoe with this yarn.

You can see I've turned the heel and am doing the gusset decreases. I'd be knitting on this all night, but we're leaving for a banquet soon and I won't get home till late... darn the luck... right when I'm working on my favorite part of sock-knitting!

Progress on Crusoe

 

Knitting like a fiend. Easy pattern, easy knitting. Another inch or so, and I'll start the heel. I want to get these done so I can start my pink socks for February's KAL in the Solid Socks group on Ravelry.

Today was the funeral. The church was full. There were tons of flowers. Another church in town provided the family dinner since Kathy was the funeral-food coordinator for her church. I thought that was a lovely thing to do.  The trip to Oklahoma for the burial was nice; the weather was warm and sunny, though the wind was blowing. The cemetery was out in the country and was really pretty and serene. The extended family's church in Oklahoma provided another meal after the burial, and there was a lot of visiting and fellowship.

I wish I'd taken some pictures. There were others with cameras so I think the kids will have some pictures to remember the day by.

I'm glad this day is over.

Hump Day

A variety of topics today....

Have you ever noticed that several people die at the same time? Or is that something you'd just notice when you live in a fairly small town? There will be several days, maybe a week pass and no one dies. Then, within a couple of days, there's half a dozen people (old, young, healthy, feeble) who all pass away. Is it a phenomenon? The funeral home staff says this happens fairly regularly. I think its funny (strange) not funny (ha-ha).

I got a haircut today. As thin as my hair is, it sure grows fast. I could do with a haircut every 3 weeks but I try to stretch it to 4-5 weeks. (you get more for your money that way, right?)  It doesn't take very long - maybe 20 minutes from wash to cut to blow dry. I don't go to that much trouble at home - I shower, comb some mousse through it, fluff it, and let it air dry. I am not high-maintenance by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm working on the black socks, but its been slow going. I got off-count on my slip stitch rows and had to unravel a couple of inches of knitting in order to correct the problem. The knitting is easy but you still have to pay attention...

Our son took us out for dinner tonight. We had a great time, and enjoyable conversation. He came by the house afterwards, and began prowling through drawers and cabinets. (he's just like my sister - my mom always called her "nosey" because she browsed through the cabinets and drawers every time she came to mama's house) He was "just looking" to see what we had - not looking for anything.  We did find a couple funny things in the junk drawer in the kitchen - like his first orthodontic retainer, an old pair of his eyeglasses, a bag of GI Joe plastic guns, and some old baseball cards. Oh, come on, how often do you clean out your junk drawer? We've lived in this house 30 years... don't open the closet doors, ok?

New Sock Project

I started a new pair of socks last night. I have this wonderful handpainted yarn - its black with blue, green, rose, and brown in it.  Really pretty - reminds me of the pictures I've seen of the Northern Lights.  I'm knitting a slip-stitch/stranded design called Crusoe. I think it is a good match of yarn and pattern. There are a lot of posts on Ravelry about this pattern knitting up small, so I'm knitting on 64-stitches on size 2 DPNs.

  I'll post a new picture tomorrow - this was my cast-on and I've got about 3" knit so far. I'm not sure about that rolled cuff - I'll have to see how it fits when there's a bit more leg to try on. The leg fabric isn't very stretchy at this point.

This yarn is part of my vintage sock yarn stash from around 2003-2004. I bought a lot of handpainted yarn from a dyer on ebay - some was superwash and some was 100% merino wool. I believe this is one of the 100% wool skeins - it sure doesn't feel or look like superwash to me. I don't mind handwashing my socks, but two pairs I've knit from this same dyer's yarn have shrunk even though washed in cold water and air dried. I've got two other pair that haven't shrunk at all, but one has faded a bit. Oh, well. Live and learn, right?

Finished Socks!

 

Blackrose from Knitty winter 2008 issue (online knitting mag), knit in Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed yarn in "wine". Easy and fun! These fit me, womens' size 6.5 and I think they would comfortably fit up to a size 8 foot, as they are not stretched at all on me.  I knit 8 pattern repeats on the leg and 9 pattern repeats on the foot. These were knit on 64 stitches on size 2 DPNs, no modifications to the pattern.  :)

 

 

Pushing On

I told myself this evening, "shut up and knit" and that's what I did. I'm closing in on the toe of the Blackrose sock #2, and will finish it tomorrow evening. I got a LOT of good knitting done while watching TV tonight, and I feel like I've had a weight lifted from my shoulders. Its a mental block that I have to get past as I knit socks; I love the cast-on and knitting the reps on the first sock, because I like seeing it grow and the pattern develop. I plod through whatever heel I've decided to work on sock #1, and then buzz right through the foot. Whee, one sock is finished! Hurry and cast on sock #2 before I lose my mojo, then the love wanes while I'm knitting the leg. I've already seen how it works out on sock #1, so there's no surprises there. The heel on sock #2 always goes smoother and faster than sock #1, then its a breeze once I get through the gusset decreases. I'm halfway through the foot of sock #2 so I'm stoked to get this one finished and kitchenered. 

I've set some "Ravelry sock knitting goals" this year. I'm in two knit-alongs (KALs) on Rav and I intend to knit a pair that will satisfy the monthly challenge for these groups each month of 2009. Most of the time, I can make one pair that qualify for both groups at the same time. One group is knitting with a solid color, with a color designated for each month. The other group has a choice between a designated designer's patterns, a mystery pattern, or a specific technique that must be used. The Solid Socks group specified burgundy, gray, or black for the month of January. The Sock Knitters Anonymous group designated knitting a mystery pattern by a selected designer or using a pattern from any online publication in January. The Blackrose socks were published in Knitty.com winter 2008, and by knitting them in wine/burgundy yarn, they qualify for both groups. I'd like to knit more than one pair of socks each month, but I'm not going to pressure myself. There are so many cool sock patterns available that it shouldn't be difficult to play along in these KALs.

With that in mind, be watching for pink socks in February!  :)

Dog Hair!

I am SO TIRED of dog hair. OMG. It is everywhere. I have to brush my chair every day, I sweep, I groom the dogs (and the cat) every day, and still.  It floats in the air, settling in places that I don't want it to be. 

I washed my hand-knit socks tonight and they all have some black dog hairs in them! Grrr. I try to never walk on the carpets in my socks so I don't pick up hair on the socks. I'm irked anyway because I don't think my washer spins the water out of my socks well enough. It takes a couple days for them to air dry. So tonight, I made sure they were rinsed well, and put the superwash socks in the dryer on low for 20 minutes, and the  100% merino socks are hanging on a rack in the bathroom to dry. By the way, that makes me just a bit testy too, because I NEVER use heat (in the washer) and I never dry my 100% merino socks in the dryer, yet two pairs of them have shrunk to the point of being marginally too small.

Can you tell I'm just a big ol' cranky pants tonight? 

I'm tired of cold weather, tired of big electric bills, tired of my husband being gone (he'll be home late, late tonight), tired of not eating real food (who cooks just for themself?), tired of trying to balance the checkbook, tired of not being able to go out with the dogs (cold and windy), tired of getting error messages when I boot up my computer (ever since the last Windows critical update was installed) (thankyouverymuch Bill Gates), tired of thinking about my job when I'm trying to go to sleep at night (after just 3 days back at work!), tired of not wanting to knit (and I pride myself on never being "bored"), and tired of there never being enough hours in the day to do everything. And I am tired of DOG HAIR.

As my sister says, "I don't want solutions, I just want some sympathy...."  

Don't worry - tomorrow I'll be fine. Its not PMS, its just grumpy-ness! 

I Made it Through Monday!

Thanks to everyone who sympathized with my illness yesterday! I made it through the night and had a good day at work today. Seems like the jello and yogurt did the trick yesterday.  :)

This is what we had to deal with today:

yeah, compared to a lot of places in the country, its nothing, right? Sorry 'bout that, but this is our first (maybe only?) snowfall of the year. We normally get a couple of good (3"-5") snowfalls each winter but its been kinda dry here this year. We really need some moisture, be it snow or rain. And its darn cold! 11 degrees this morning. Brrrrr!

I'm still working on the neverending Blackrose socks. I'm nearly to the heel. Once I turn the heel, it feels like I'm home free, but until then it seems to take For-Ever. Yesterday was supposed to be a knitting day instead of a sick day. But I'm determined to finish this pair this week, so I'll be knitting tonight while watching TV. (HGTV - I'm not interested in anything on network TV tonight, and I'm tired of watching House. Its been getting kinda weird between House and Dr. Cuddy, and I miss Wilson.)

OK, then, that's it. Go forth and make beautiful things!

What a Day!

I got up early and spent the whole day watching the inaugural activities. Wow, there was a lot of stuff going on! I loved Michelle Obama's dress and coat outfit. I was very happy to see all the politicos speaking nicely to each other during the activities. I'm amazed the whole thing has gone off without a hitch - or at least that we the people are aware of.  It was incredible to see so many people gathered to experience this day. I was especially glad to see and hear so many prayers offered up for the health of the first family and for knowledge and wisdom as he assumes the leadership of the country. Now if the congress and senate will work together, maybe our President can bring his campaign promises to fruition. Like many others, I have hope.

I will always remember this day. The last inauguration I watched was President Reagan's, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I feel like I should say something remarkable, but I don't know how to put it into words. In my heart, I know this was an incredibly special day.

While watching the parade, I finished my first Blackrose sock.

This one also has an Eye of Partridge Heel - it looks nice and is very sturdy.

I've already got the second sock started - an inch of cuff is finished and I'm ready to start knitting the patterned part. I want to finish this pair of socks this month - so I better get back to knitting!

More Blackrose

I've been working on my Blackrose socks today. Its an easy enough knit, but I haven't memorized it so far. Probably by the time I turn the heel on sock #2, it'll be stuck in my brain! That's how it usually works out. 

So here's my progress:

I had done 6 repeats of the pattern by Friday evening and I didn't touch them again until today. I did 2 more pattern repeats, then knit the eye of partridge heel, the heel turn, and I'm now two pattern repeats into the gusset decrease. Its going to be a nice sock, even though its difficult to photograph!