Catching some rays

To mitigate the recent sock focus of this blog, I thought it was high time to allow in a ray of summer sunshine in the form of the Baby Surprise Jacket, here catching some rays at the local lake.



This little sweater has been ripped out so many times it has earned some sun privileges. One problem is that it's so deceptively easy that I think it's the Log Cabin Blankie and therefore forget to count. I had to rip out many rows after spending an hour blithely chatting on the phone to a friend while knitting, figuring I had just AGES to go until it was time to make the increases around the waist. Not. Ages.

I added quite a bit to it last night after this picture was taken, but most of that will have to go too. To anyone who hasn't made it yet and wants to, I definitely recommend reading this before you start. I looked at the page briefly, but not carefully enough to see that it anticipated the problem of picking up stitches on the wrong side of the jacket, which I solved rather maladroitly with a row of plain knitting that looks and feels odd in a fabric of garter stitches.

Fortunately I have another new baby to knit for, and more yarn left over from the Log Cabin, so I am going to plunge right into a second one to enjoy the thrill of getting it right the first time. I hope.

Happy Feet

From the moment I signed up for Sockapalooza, I assumed that I would be one of the ones whose sock pal went AWOL. It seemed to me that through the law of averages one would have to do several swaps in order to get a pal who came through.

So I was thrilled when I first heard from my sock pal. And even so, I was so focused on knitting for my own pal that on some level I didn't quite believe that at the end of this process there would be a pair of socks for me.

Imagine my surprise.


My Sock Pal is Traci, who doesn't have a blog, and who did a fantastic job with these socks. They're beautifully knit, with my favorite short-row heels, and altogether so tight and compact it puts me to shame. I love the bright confetti-colored yarn and the not-quite-basketweave inlay pattern she chose. And they fit absolutely perfectly. Thank you so much, Traci. I will cherish these always.

Monkeying around

Hey, hey, we're the Monkeys...

The only square thing about these socks is their toe. (It didn't help that I almost ran out of yarn and had to decrease a little more abruptly than planned on the last 3 rows.)

It turned out that what imprinted on these socks was not opera but Anthony Trollope, since Can You Forgive Her is my husband's and my current read-aloud book (even though I've read it already - there is no such thing as too much Trollope). Victorian novels seem to make the best summertime read-aloud books, probably because they were written to be read aloud in the first place. The only problem with knitting and reading aloud is I only get to do it every other night because we take turns reading.

On another note: lest anyone think I was exaggerating about the size of my Sidewinders, I submit this:



These two socks are knit for the same foot.
Exhibit B:


Now, I am well aware that the engineering of the Sidewinder requires a whole different kind of measurement (since a knit stitch stretches differently on the horizontal than on the vertical). And I appreciate that the Sidewinder extends considerably farther up the leg than do most socks (which is an advantage when you are more than six feet tall, like me). But still: that is one big sock.

Socks on the Rocks

The completed socks enjoy the view on vacation.



The completed socks take time to smell the flowers.

Hey, says Sock #1, this picture makes me look fat.

Yeah, says Sock #2; how come she didn't bring along the sock blockers?

Yeah, says Sock #1, just because SHE is running around in the same pair of jeans with no makeup on for days on end doesn't mean she should let US go.

Yeah, says Sock #2, we have appearances to keep up. Besides, how can the people appreciate that we are symmetrical and our patterns start on our respective insteps if she doesn't take a proper picture?

Yeah, says Sock #1, or see that YOU have a little hole where the stitches come together in the short-row heel.

NO WAY, says Sock #2, that's YOU. Besides, what about that slightly raised half-row on the reverse side of your sole where she forgot to knit to the end of one of your stripes and ended up with an extra half-row of twice-slipped stitches?

LA LA LA LA, says Sock #1, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. AND BESIDES YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THAT FROM THE OUTSIDE, SO THERE.

Hey, Socks, I say, look at the great quote I just found about what the local knitters around here used to do to THEIR socks!

“Stockings were knitted by the farmers and their families for their own use. Those made from local wool were worn every day, but 'holiday stockings' were made of worsted. The heels of the stockings were apt to be worn thin by the rough clogs so the heels were smeared with melted tar then dipped in turf ashes which when mixed in with the wool became hard yet flexible enough to resist friction.”
Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby, The Old Hand-Knitters of the Dales. Yorkshire: The Dalesman Publishing Company, Ltd., 1969 (first printed 1951)

Melted tar and ashes to make you nice and strong! I say. What do you think about that, Socks?

NO NO NO NO, say the socks both together, and head off with a new unity of purpose to enjoy the rest of their vacation.



Starting by climbing a tree.

Must-Have Knitting Tools for Summer

For the home cook/knitter who has everything... except her ball winder when she is on vacation.

Faced with wonderful new yarn which must be swatched immediately, without a ball winder, without even a Nostepinne, the intrepid knitter turns to....



... the Basterpinne.



The advantage: if you encounter any kind of roast fowl on your travels, you're all ready.

And they're off...!

Me and my socks and my husband are taking our marbles and going off tomorrow to spend a month working (thinking, writing, composing) in our favorite place in the world.

I have no idea how much I will post over the next four weeks. Any pictures will likely be green. And possibly high in fiber content.





(This is just a sampling of last year's batch.)
ETA: We are not sheep farmers. We just happen to be going where the sheep are.

Sock on the -looza

Sock #1 celebrates its new, completed form by lounging on the grass.


Sock #1 heads for the mint patch and dreams of mojitos, chanting, "par-TY! Part-TY!"


Sock #1 asks if we can grill tonight.


Sock #1, rebuffed, chastened, and exhausted from all its activity, catches some rays in the lawn chair.
"Does this color make me look fat?" it asks.