Not my father's socks

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T05:07:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKythlXAIY

It’s not a Valentine-y video, but it makes me smile.

Won't do it. Can't make me.

2012-01-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am so done with this pattern. The first time I tried it, it bit me back. So I waited and tried again last night. This time, I could do it with no problem, except...that I didn't like it. It wasn't any fun. It was just slow, and awkward, and not worth the effort. Sorry, pattern writer. A completed scarf would be very, very cool. I am not the person to complete the project.
On to something else! The year is young!

Quiz

2011-12-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

"If you had only three minutes to live, what would you do? I know what I would do. I would eat a peanut butter sandwich." - Stephen Fry

Odd.

2011-12-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

Jet lagged.
The house has not one decoration displayed, unless you count the BSA Christmas wreath that spent a month in the trunk of my car and now resides in a plastic bag on a chair in the living room.
On my way to my Dad's until Boxing Day. Sans spousal unit, who will be working every day and for whom Christmas is, apparently, not an option this year.
Will spend the next 3 days driving Dad to wherever he needs to be as he can't manage to do so himself now.
And cooking/caregiving.
And *acting* cheerful, even if I'm not quite feeling it this year.

What do you do when you forget your yarn at home?

2011-12-02T23:17:00.001-08:00

You find a yarn shop and buy some! Found some sock yarn and dpns. Even in the Philippines people knit socks, but I'm not sure who wears them!

Pomatomus at last

2011-11-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

I started a pair of socks using this pattern about 7 years ago. This was a new pattern then. And it was the pair I couldn't manage to knit. I put the pattern away and tried again recently. The socks flew off my fingers! It's a great pattern and knowing what I know now, with all I've learned about knitting in the last 7 years, it was a piece of cake!
Who knew??
I think they are very pretty. The yarn is Tuscan Grove Venice. The colorway is "Mamma Mia".

The Tuscan Grove sisters don't seem to be online any longer, which I find very sad. It's lovely stuff and very generous skeins.
Sigh. Another proof that the safest place for yarn is in my stash.

Because of this day, I exist.

2011-11-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.

So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.

What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

And all music is.

Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions (1973)

EZ Pi Shawl Complete! Another photo

2011-08-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

EZ Pi Shawl Complete!

2011-08-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

This was knit with mystery yarn given to me by my SIL. Laceweight wool. Size 2 needles. It blocked out to about 50" in diameter.

In my yard

2011-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Double knitting photo

2011-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Double knitting

2011-06-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

I think I'm getting the hang of this.

Although there is snow, there are signs of Spring

2011-05-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

A pair of mourning doves are making a nest under my kitchen window. There is constant activity as they bring twigs and grass from the yard to the bush and weave it all together to make a nest.

Four kittens were born last night in a basket in my dad's garage: two gray ones, two gray-and-white ones.

The hollyhocks are beginning to grow.

The days are longer and longer. Midsommar Dag will be here before we can blink!

Prom. I saw the limousines.

The sailing season has begun.

A little knitting, a little yarn...

2011-04-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

I've been working on this for awhile. It will eventually be the Queen Silvia shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia, by Nancy Bush.

Eventually it will look like lilies of the valley, but right now it doesn't look like much. Lace never does at this stage, I guess.

I also added to the stash today. Here are the latest additions, although the photo doesn't do justice to any of them. They all look very blu-ish, which they are, but you really can't see the colors. I'm not sure what's wrong with the camera. I tried an outdoor photo and then an indoor one. Neither worked, but this one is the best.

From left to right, Three Irish Girls Westerly SeaSock (70% merino, 30% seacell), colorway: Estuary

All For the Love Of Yarn Sumptuosity (70% Baby Alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere), colorway: Bluebell

Three Irish Girls Beckon Stretch Merino (100% superwash), colorway: Aurora Borealis

Because it's just so pretty...

2011-04-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

I had to post a WIP photo of these socks. It's the Embossed Leaves Socks from IK Winter 2005. The yarn is Tuscan Grove Venice-style, 100% Superwash Merino, colorway: Topiary.
Love the yarn. Love the pattern.
I purchased this yarn several years ago at Soft N Sassy Yarns in Broadview, OH. This is a great shop and I always enjoyed visiting when I was in Cleveland for business trips. I hope Tuscan Grove is still producing yarn. Their colorways are lovely.

Yarn Quest 2011

2011-04-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

I couldn't let the yarn crawl happen without me, so today was the day to participate. We finally have warm spring weather - lots of sunshine - and it was a pleasure to visit some familiar shops and discover some new ones.
Stop 1. I started out at The Yarnery. The pattern is a buttoned cowl made from 1 skein of All for Love Yarn (colorway: Calypso). The yarn is 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon.
Stop 2. Darn Knit Anyway. This shop is new and I really liked it. It would be a good place to explore when it's not as busy. Their pattern is also a cowl this year and the yarn is by Three Irish Girls - Wexford Merino Silk (colorway Luxor).

Stop 3. Lila and Claudine's
Really, really liked this shop. It's relatively new and it, too, deserves a good explore on a non-crawl day. Their pattern is a small shawl. The yarn is Happy Hands Hand-Dyed Yarn - Superwash Merino Worsted Weight (colorway: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds)

Stop 4: Sheepy Yarn Shoppe. I got the pattern but did not get the yarn. As you can see, if you clicked on the link, it's a yarn that is not local or particularly noteworthy. It was a little disappointing, but the pattern is nice - a lace rib scarf.

Stop 5. Shepherd's Choice. This was my first time at this shop. Shepherd's Choice makes their own yarns. The special pattern is a felted bag made from 2 skeins of their own yarn. They were selling kits for the bag, but I didn't buy any.

Stop 6. Amazing Threads. Always one of my favorite shops. They did not disappoint. Their yarn was available in a couple of different weights, which was really nice - you could get worsted, sport, or fingering. Their pattern is a very pretty shawl. The yarn is another offering from Three Irish Girls. This time, the colorway is Lovestruck. I got the fingering weight - 80% merino, 20% nylon.

Stop 7. Coldwater Collaborative. I like the pattern that was offered this year. Another shawl with a pretty box-stitch pattern. The yarn offered is one I've looked at a number of times - Schaefer Audrey, but today wasn't the day to buy that yarn. It's very pretty and glossy, but I didn't think I wanted to make something from lace-weight yarn, held double.

Stop 8. Skeins. I liked the pattern, a ruffled neckwrap. The yarn was Mountain Colors Twizzle (colorway Watermelon Salsa), which is a limited edition color. It was pretty, but it wasn't something I needed to buy.

Stop 9. I told Steven that I saved the best for last. I think his new shop, StevenBe, is really wonderful. I've shopped at his original location, Yarn Garage, for several years and always enjoy it. I look forward to exploring this new venture when there isn't a CROWD! The pattern is a hat - very cute - using the yarn crawl charms as a decoration. Instead of one unique crawl-only yarn, Steven has 4!
There are two different skeins of Three Irish Girls Adorn sock, 80% merino, 20% nylon. The other two skeins are Madelinetosh Pashimina, 75% merino, 15% silk, 10% cashmere. The colorways (from left to right) are Three Irish Girls Glitteroti, Three Irish Girls Limelight, Madelinetosh Pashmina Confetti, and Madelinetosh Pashmina StevenBe Blue.

So lovely...

2011-03-30T07:44:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3ZX5hFN-is

Word o' the Day

2011-03-23T19:25:00.001-07:00

apotropaic

Finished Projects

2011-03-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

This is the most traveled pair of socks ever. While in-process, these have been back and forth to the Philippines 4 times in the last year. It's hard to knit when it's warm - but this was a nice yarn for the trip. The colorway, Aquarium Shimmer Sock by Sereknity, felt tropical, and the blend, 60% superwash merino,30% bamboo, 10% nylon, felt nice even when it was warm and muggy. It has a lovely, silky sheen that doesn't really show up in the photo.

A pair of socks (fraternal twins) from a skein of Trekking XXL that I've had in the stash for several years.

This is the beaded rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Finished this just in time for the new great-nephew. Blast-off Cardigan in the Classic Boy colorway.

You know it's one of those days when...

2011-03-01T09:26:00.001-08:00

…you get almost all the way to your desk before dumping your food on the floor, and by the time you’ve cleaned it up, you don’t have time (or $$) to buy any more.

Time to...

2011-01-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

pack!

Are we having fun yet?

2010-09-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

The jury is still out on this question.

And the Single Socks become Pairs

2010-08-25T15:00:00.001-07:00

More knitting happening these days. The summer heat has broken and yarn feels nice in my hands again. Here are the latest updates.
First, some Sweet Georgia yarn, 100% merino. Colorway: Life Aquatic. The pattern is Fools Rush In. This was a great pattern. Easy to memorize and it flew off the needles. I particularly liked the cuffs on this pattern.

Next up, the fraternal twins: a pair of Jaywalkers in Schoppel Wolle Zauerball, colorway 1511(Submarine).
I haven't blocked these yet, so they don't look quite as smooth and finished as the other pair, but you can see that they are definitely related to each other!

Summer...and then?

2010-08-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

The summer feels as though it's winding down. There have been hints of cool and leaves have begun to turn yellow. The flowers are going to seed and school is beginning. It's been a good summer and a difficult one all at once. It's the first summer without Mom. That feels odd and hurts in a funny place I can't quite describe. If you are there already, you know the space.

I've been knitting a bit, although there aren't many photos to share. The next generation is beginning to provide wee ones who need knitted things, so those are easy to knit in the summer heat. I'm finally getting back to the socks I started in Manila. I had severe Second Sock Syndrome while I was there, and as a result, had a number of singletons waiting for their partners for an extended period of time.

I just finished birthday socks for my son. Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn (100% Merino Superwash) in Handsome Park Ranger colorway. 1 skein (100g/350 yds). I think I have about 5 yards left of the skein. The pattern is Stephanie Pearl McPhee's Plain Vanilla Sock recipe from her book

Shoes.

2009-10-11T00:36:00.001-07:00

There is a reason that Imelda Marcos had all of those shoes. In Manila, there are 10 shoe stores for every one store of any other kind. I've never seen so many pairs of shoes in one place. Ever. Not even in Nordstrom's.

Manila is full of fabric stores

2009-10-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone in the US knows that fabric stores are now few and far between. I spent the morning walking around in a shopping mall in Makati City, Manila (Glorietta 1 through 5) and found fabric store after fabric store. All of them were full of people buying fabric - not quilting fabric, mind you, but real sewing fabric.

I was with friends and didn't go into any of them except the one pictured here. The fabrics were so lovely and the dresses so elaborate that I went in to ask if I might take a photo of the front of the shop.

Remember when you played in band/orchestra in school and thought you were good??

2009-09-16T13:25:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKH3iemEd-A&feature=player_embedded

I love Trader Joe's.

2009-06-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

An homage.

Q: What do you do with egg-shaped cake pans after Easter?

2009-04-29T07:19:00.001-07:00

ANSWER:

I'm blaming the bears.

2009-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Why Ely? Why not!

2009-04-02T07:25:00.001-07:00

http://www.ely2016.com/

It bit me.

2009-03-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

There I was. Happily knitting along on Clapotis, heading for the home stretch and feeling pretty smug about how it was going. And then I realized. I’d been dropping stitches on the right side of the scarf, but not on the left. And why? Because I thought I was smarter than the instructions and didn’t bother to read them.

I ripped back about 12” of knitting and then stuffed it all in a bag. I can’t bear to look at it right now.

Charleston Part 3

2009-03-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

We had coffee (beautifully presented) at a friendly restaurant - Toast.

Charleston Part 2

2009-03-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

The historic area of Charleston has a wonderful yarn shop: Knit. We had a good browse around the shop and met the schnauzers in residence. Everyone at the shop was welcoming and helpful.

Two of us bought Interlacements "Rick Rack" and we are both making Clapotis.

Charleston Part 1

2009-03-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Spent a weekend in Charleston, SC with my college roommates. We had a wonderful time. Knitting was done in transit (we probably looked like the Madames Defarge in the back of the plane) and it was much discussed while we were all together.
Made these for my friends in honor of the event. These are knit from Sweet Georgia's Silk Lamb in Indigo and Red. Lovely stuff and so soft.The pattern is Rose's Wristwarmers (from the Doomsday episode of Dr. Who). Thanks to the recipients for their elegant modeling work.

He's joyful. And knowing that makes all the difference.

2008-12-10T09:18:00.001-08:00

I have a similar relationship to the printer here at work.

2008-12-09T05:30:00.001-08:00

Yip, yip, yip, yip.

2008-11-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Election Night Behind-the-Scenes

2008-11-10T06:05:00.001-08:00

Obama, Biden, family and friends

YES, WE CAN.

2008-11-06T07:13:00.001-08:00

Won't be drilling for oil in the Rose Garden after all.

Six Years.

2008-10-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

The Palin Oval Office

2008-10-20T08:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

Hover over items for more info.

I didn't knit that for you...

2008-10-09T16:37:00.001-07:00

Of course she does.

2008-10-08T05:49:00.001-07:00

Maureen Dowd’s column in today’s NYTimes:

Palin finally took questions on Tuesday from her traveling press corps on her campaign plane. Asked if she thought Senator Obama was dishonest, McCain’s Mean Girl meandered:

“I’m not saying he’s dishonest, but in terms of judgment, in terms of being able to answer a question forthrightly, it has two different parts to this. The judgment and the truthfulness and just being able to answer very candidly a simple question about when did you know him, how did you know him, is there still — has there been an association continued since ’02 or ’05, I know I’ve read a couple different stories. I think it’s relevant.”

Of course she does.

The Great Schlep

2008-10-07T12:18:00.001-07:00

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

She blew me off...

2008-10-07T09:31:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin's Secret Blog!

2008-10-02T12:17:00.001-07:00

http://missalaska.wordpress.com/

VP Debate Bingo

2008-10-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

https://www.motherjones.com/secure/images/WS08D/bingo_card.pdf

DON'T VOTE!

2008-10-02T05:04:00.000-07:00

For those suffering from Summer Olympics withdrawal

2008-09-22T05:32:00.001-07:00

Les Misbarack

2008-09-18T06:31:00.001-07:00

Socks That Rock 2008 - Lucky

2008-09-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Colorway: Lucky
Pattern: Leafing

I loved both the color and the pattern on this one. I think this is my favorite STR to date.

Souvenir yarn from 2007

2008-09-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last summer, we vacationed in Grand Marais, Mn. This yarn was my souvenir - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Lakeview colorway, purchased at That Little Red House, a sweet little yarn shop that reopened its doors to me when I arrived at closing time. The pattern is Rococo from Wildhorse Farms Designs.

Socks That Rock 2008 - Dragon Dance

2008-09-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Finally, some sock photos!

Dragon Dance colorway, Serendipity pattern.

Extraordinaire!!

2008-08-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

C’est magnifique!

Bedlam Farm

2008-06-26T05:18:00.001-07:00

http://www.bedlamfarm.com/

A little tune about a horse and a cat...

2008-06-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXdp9xxpOtU

English IS the universal language

2008-06-06T06:28:00.001-07:00

I've always suspected that the French can speak better English that they are willing to let on...and here's proof.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1714482

2008-05-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

Created by OnePlusYou

I'm Merino!

2008-03-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Hema

2008-02-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

It isn’t often that I can say I’m really delighted by something, but I think this manages quite nicely:

http://producten.hema.nl/

Hema is a Dutch home products company. When the website opens, wait a few seconds and watch the show (with headphones).

This makes me smile.

2007-11-08T09:52:00.001-08:00

http://www.funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.php?ad_key=XRDBYYCOYFBG&tracking_id=890371&id=614

So there.

2007-11-08T05:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/humor/reject.html

It doesn't get any easier than this...

2007-11-07T11:57:00.001-08:00

Help by clicking.

http://www.theliteracysite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

We were all high on polyester fumes...

2007-10-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

We all used to walk around looking like this and thought we looked pretty good.

http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/strap-in-shut-up-and-hold-on-were-going.html

There are landfills full of this stuff now, and I’m sure the colors remain just as bright and true.

Happy Anniversary!

2007-10-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Today is my parents’ 60^th wedding anniversary. They were high school sweethearts, became engaged when Dad left for his military service during WWII. While Dad was gone, Mom taught grades 1-8 in a one-room school. When Dad was discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1947, they were married. Dad wore his grandfather’s suit; Mom wore her cousin’s wedding dress. Their flowers were chrysanthemums, as these were the only flowers blooming at the time, and everyone who had flowers in their gardens donated some to make bouquets. There are two existing photos of them on their wedding day. Each shows a blurry black thing next to a blurry white thing.

They spent their wedding night at the Hotel Duluth in Duluth, Minnesota. Mom forgot something in the car and Dad went to get it. Returning, he couldn’t remember what floor their hotel room was on and spent quite some time going from floor to floor trying to find their room. Returning from their honeymoon, they moved in with my Dad’s parents for 1 ½ years, while my Dad and Grandfather built the house in which I grew up.

Through that adventure and many, many more, they have survived and prevailed with a sense of humor. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Socks!

2007-10-25T05:47:00.000-07:00

There was a bit of sunshine left yesterday when I got home from work, so I went outside to get some sock pictures. These are my first attempts, so I apologize for the quality and staging. I’m sure the camera can do a better job, but at this point, it’s still smarter than I am.
These have been off the needles for awhile, but I haven’t blocked any of them yet.
This is the Leafy Lace pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch:
The yarn is Sock! by Lisa Souza. The colorway is Printemps.

<<Printemps.JPG>>

This is the Lava Flow sock pattern from Sockbug.
The yarn is Survivor by TVYarns – White Oak Studio on Etsy. Her yarns are also available at Woolgirl.
<<Survivor.JPG>>

This is an original pattern by Middlearthknitter. I signed up for her sock club at her Etsy site.
The yarn is 100% merino and hand dyed by Middlearthknitter. I’m not sure if she has this yarn available or what the colorway is called, but I do think it’s delicious. I am a member of her sock club and this yarn was the first installment. The pattern is also wonderful…a bit of Scottish lace.
<<Middlearth.JPG>>

While I was taking the photos, PermaPuppy was running around in the backyard. During my distraction, she found ????? and rolled in it, so the rest of the afternoon was bath fun.

Struggling

2007-10-23T12:16:00.001-07:00

I have been working and working, trying to finish the sleeves for a basketweave sweater that was featured in an Interweave magazine (Holiday 2006?). These sleeves are doing their best to defeat me. I have started and ripped back more times than I want to count. I *thought* I’d finished one and was almost done with the 2^nd this weekend, when I noticed that I’d repeated a pattern row. Then I pulled out the completed sleeve and noticed that I’d repeated a row on that one as well.
I have now made negative progress on both sleeves once again.
I’m going to wear out the yarn before I complete the project.

Go Spider!!

2007-10-23T06:40:00.001-07:00

<<878-pixofday.galleryHighlight.prod_affiliate.2.jpg>>

Just started my virtual walk across America

2007-10-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

I’m about 12 miles from Williamsburg, VA.

Winter's coming, but where's my jacket?

2007-10-17T06:35:00.001-07:00

The weather is doing its level best here to get us to winter in a hurry. I am a bit unprepared. On Monday, I pulled my winter jacket out of the back of the closet, put it on and the zipper came apart. Last winter, the pocket zippers died, but I could live with that. Now, short of safety pinning my jacket shut, I have no good alternative once the blustery winds blow across the tundra that is the parking lot at work.

Last night POSSLQ and I went on a jacket hunt: REI, Herberger’s, Kohl’s, Gander Mountain. No luck. After that I turned to good old LLBean. After an hour on the phone with a customer service representative (may I just say here that LLBean consistently has the best, nicest customer service reps *ever*), I think I may have found something:

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?page=penobscot-parka&categoryId=42366&parentCategory=3625&cat4=6248&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&feat=6248-sub2

but, of course, everyone else already ordered one, so it is backordered and won’t be here for 2 weeks.

Everyone needs to think warm weather thoughts until then.

Corruption

2007-10-16T06:02:00.001-07:00

Today I deliberately corrupted my sister.

With just these two links, she became immersed in the world of internet yarn porn and she doesn’t even knit.

http://www.oneplanetyarnandfiber.com/Be_Sweet_Magic_Ball_Hot_Sundae_p/bs-magicballhotsundae.htm

http://www.kpixie.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=35_143_225

She had a weak moment and I took advantage of the opportunity.

I completed the corruption with this:

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/

She will never be the same.

Pet Peeve

2007-10-15T06:15:00.001-07:00

Last night, POSSLQ was walking the PermaPuppy before bedtime (in the dark, in the rain). Someone else was also walking a dog, but StrangerDog was not leashed and decided to pick a fight with PermaPuppy, knocking her to the ground, growling, and biting at her neck. StrangerDog’s owner claimed to be *shocked.*

Once the two were separated and StrangerDog was held by the collar, POOSSLQ brought PermaPuppy home, where we discovered that she’d been knocked down into some dog pooh and had a certain odor about her. Into the tub for a bath at 9pm on a Sunday night.

We were not amused.

Red Cross Socks

2007-10-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

During WWII, my father traveled by train to a military base in McAllen, Texas. The train passed through St. Louis, Missouri and stopped briefly at Union Station. While waiting, the soldiers received ditty bags from Red Cross volunteers. In the ditty bags, along with personal care items, was a pair of handknit Red Cross socks.

Hundreds, if not thousands of pairs of socks must have been knitted, each pair exactly like the last. I thought of this last night as I was experiencing Second Sock Syndrome, the siren song of other yarns and patterns calling me away from the current handpainted merino.

Many of those knitters are probably no longer living, but if any of them ever read this, I’d like to thank them for continuing to knit in spite of tired hands and boredom. Their work made a farm boy from Minnesota who’d never been more than 100 miles from home feel as though someone cared.

Shibori Shambles

2007-10-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's probably a good thing I don't have a digital camera right now. No one wants to see what came out of my washing machine last night. I was making a scarf using this pattern and it was time to felt it. It should be noted that I was not using Blue Moon's Kidmo, but a 100% mohair (lost the ball band, so can't tell you who made it).
Into the zipper bag I use for felting, into the machine, and then The Wait.

During the process, the zipper bag came open. When I checked on the progress, the bottom of my washing machine was a heap of wooden beads, rubber bands and green fuzz.

I now have a 20" long, extremely thick and fuzzy bookmark. It has weird little 'tails' all over it where the beads once resided.

Haven't had the heart to see if the washing machine still works.

Not my father's socks.

2007-10-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

My father talks about handknit socks with a bit of a wince. Scratchy yarn, lumpy seams, ill-fitting and stretched out, these were socks of necessity. He was a child of the Great Depression and grew up at a time when you used things up, wore them out, and then found a new use for them before they were recycled into something else.
When my father watches me knitting socks today, he fingers the fine handpainted merino I use and shakes his head. These are not my father's socks.