Stuck on Socks

Yarn Eye Candy

Jitterbutt Jitterbug
Mist and Jewel
Shining in the sun

Another Sock!

I finally manged to knit the toe of the first Mermaid sock from Vesper yarn. Let's see it up close:

If you see any dog or cat fur, please ignore it.

And no, I haven't cast on the second yet. I'm looking at my lovely new yarn first. Might even knit some of it...

Redux Again

Remember this sock?

It's the Horcrux Redux pattern by Susan Lawrence as part of the Six Sox Knitalong. This sock has been sitting mateless for a few months while I find motivation to knit the second.

That motivation arrived last week and I've been zooming through it - and all of a sudden I had another sock.

Notice anything different? A few months between socks tends to change my gauge. I love the big dark stripe on the foot of the first but I love the smaller stripes of the second one better. So do you know what came next? Maybe you should sit down. Yes, I ripped out the entire first sock. It involved snipping off most of the toe as I had woven that end in really well. So today's status of the Horcrux socks is...

Almost done. Again. The good news is that this pair will count for Summer of Socks now that both will have been knit during summer rather than just one.

And please forgive my light blog commenting these days. I'm having some connection issues at home and I'm just not keeping up with blogs very well. As soon as I can convince my DSL modem that it really does need to reset, I'll be with the regular program. Keep your fingers crossed. Or your toes if it interferes with the knitting.

Randomness on Friday

I have 32 pairs of handknit socks:

Two of these were not knit by me - they were received in sock exchanges. There are also some rogue pairs not included. My first pair (too horrible), a misplaced beloved pair knit in Lorna's Laces, and a pair that's missing one that I'm absolutely certain is at the bottom of one of my clothes baskets. It's nothing like Jane who's bearing down on 100 pairs, but more than I thought.

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I became an aunt again on Wednesday:

They're "discussing" the name. Those quote marks don't quite do it - picture sarcastic air quotes around the word in question. I'm somewhat famously anti-baby but she's pretty cute. And for a such a high-risk pregnancy, the last part went pretty well.

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I really ought to have at least one more thing to stick on here but my heat-addled brain just isn't coming up with much. It's still hot, the dogs are still bored, I'm still thinking about knitting big, heavily cabled things (so completely inappropriate right now).

Fantasy Football is starting to get underway. My league's blog is here if you want to keep up with us. I've got a new team name: Touchdown Hounds. I've got high hopes not to come in last this year.

Janice and I had a brief discussion about some favorite movie comedians which brought us around to Bob & Doug McKenzie. Does anybody remember the old Pizza Hut commercials where they show you how to score extra toppings from your opponent (or brother in my family's case)? Found it on YouTube. I swear, everything is there.

I have high hopes for presenting another completed pair of socks early next week - have a great weekend everyone!

Wild Monkey progressing

These will be strange and beautiful socks:

(These are the same sock)

And in a heat-induced wave of laziness, I cast on another sock. It's like this -- the monkey in progress was 2 rooms away in my knitting bag and I couldn't bear to stand up and walk there. (why, yes, I would get up to retrieve an ice cream bar - that's a whole 'nother issue) But I looked around and saw a forlorn Horcrux sock and not far away was the remaining Jitterbug (hahaha I just typed Jitterbutt - had that double T thing going on). So I cast on and in almost no time the first sock has half a mate:

So obviously my brain is fried and the slightest thing sends me into the giggles. This may be true hysteria -- I've got an urge to watch Zoolander again. You'll know it's too late to save me when I start quoting Farrelly Brothers flicks because I don't even like them.

SOS #4

Pattern: Monkey
Yarn: Claudia Handpaint, color = Freesia
Needles: 2.5 mm, KP 32" circ (the perfect sock needle)

And since I was the last knitter in Blogland to knit this pattern, I'm knitting it again to make amends.

Or maybe you'd prefer the purple side?

This is Blizzard from Cider Moon (do I need to link them again? I buy lots of yarn from them) in the color Wildwood. These are currently on a 2.5 mm 40" Addi, but now that the 32" KnitPicks circ is empty, I'll move it over. Can you believe I was hesitant to try a shorter circ? So if you're still hung up on the 40s - go ahead give the 32s a try!

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Garden photos

Ah, apartment gardens. Actually, this runs along another tenant's apartment so although she's very generous about sharing the space, I never go there when she's home. That would just be too creepy to have someone lurking around bedroom windows. Also, air doesn't move back here at all. There's a tall fence and gate surrounding everywhere that isn't already bordered by building or garage walls. So when it's 90+ degrees, you can't even breathe back here. And lovely blue tarp, eh? And how about the drainage pipe? Well, my landlord does the best he can. And as long as my dogs are welcome, it's all fine with me.

All the news that's fit to print (and some I probably shouldn't)

First up.... I'm a Pickle!
Please go see Mindy's post about the upcoming Buddy Walk on September 15th. And then click the button and donate a bit. Every tiny bit helps. I'll be taking one of my canines (the bouncy black one) and I'm looking for a bandana with a pickle on it for her to wear. (she looks fabulous in bandanas) I may break down and paint or stencil one myself but if anyone sees something promising for me to buy, let me know. Mindy may still be looking for a pickle shirt for Liam so if you see one of those, let her know. After you've donated of course.

And yes, I do know what September 15th is. I'll be there the 16th, so please don't buy all the good stuff. Leave me just a teeny bit. K? Thanks!

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And look what made its way into my (temporary) possession today:

I love Interlibrary Loan, don't you? I'm jonesing after St. Brigid. I'm not saying I'm leaping in and knitting it now, but I guarantee you I'll have copied the pattern (and most of the rest of the book) by the time the due date rolls around.

And you can see that I've got 4 repeats done on the second monkey sock. This ball is sooo different from the first one. I know, I know, it's handpainted, what do I expect? This one has a muddy spot - and muddy with this much pink = tan. It just doesn't seem as springy as the first. Anyway, it's moving along and should be close to finished by the end of the weekend.

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And in news I probably shouldn't print, I'm disappointed in Dish Rag Tag. I know I keep the blog downright positive but this hasn't been a good experience for me. It sounded so promising. But there was the whole sign-up cut off when it could easily have been left open to more players, and my team is doing this secret-pal-like which eliminated the whole teamwork angle, and now the box has been at the same person's house all week (although she says she just got it today but the delivery confirmation said Monday...) which pretty much puts my team out of it completely - so no competition. This just isn't what I signed up for and I'm disgusted and haven't even had my chance at the box yet. :( /whine

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Let me wind up this post on a happy note. My friend Nancy has just finished the Crayon Box Jacket. It's awesome!

And another SnB friend, Karen, has just started a blog too! She's got an Elvis dog, btw - if you scroll down to her August 4th post you'll see what I mean. They could have been separated at birth - well, a few years apart, but still.

Have a good weekend everyone and try to stay cool if you're in the hot zone!

GO TEAM PICKLE!!!

Empty sock needles? Never!

Empty socks needles would be an insult to any Startitis-Infected socknitter, so I cast on. And these seem to fall into my theme of finally getting around to knitting the patterns that everyone else knit ages ago.

Yarn: Claudia Handpaint in Freesia
Pattern: Monkey
Needles: 2.5 mm KnitPicks 32" circ
Mods: 2x2 ribbing instead of 1x1 twisted (as per the pattern) or picot edge (as per los muchos mini monkeys out there)

I kind of intended to make these mini monkeys since the Claudia yarn isn't exactly known for having generous yardage. Then I decided I'd make them as tall as I want and if I run out, I'll just stick some plain pink on the toes. Five repeats puts this sock at a pretty good height for me so now I'm ready for the heel. I think the yarn amount may be pretty close but it's still possible I'll have enough.

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And because it's almost all I can think about... it's hot.

This is the closest (to me) official weather reading. I'm in a state of perpetual self-pity-party since I only have 1 room with AC. There's rumors that it will only get to 90 tomorrow and that's the thread of hope I'm hanging onto. But to get through the rest of today, I got Frosty Paws for the pups and Fudgsicles for myself.

The remnants - (Elvis' on the left, Pearl's on the right)

Elvis enjoys his slowly - laying down, holding the container with his paws, licking with his eyes shut, savoring it as long as possible. Pearl devours hers like she hasn't eaten in a week. Gotta love 'em!

SOS #3

Clearly, Beth has been abducted by aliens and replaced by an imposter who finishes projects.

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns in the Phoenix colorway from the Harry Potter collection
Pattern: plain ol' stockinette with a touch of ribbing around the ankle and a special little stitch pattern on the cuff -- stitch pattern listed here with the Fiesta Socks, but a better photo is here
Needles: 2.5 mm long circ

Yes, I really do like the ribbing around the ankles enough to do it again. And I couldn't be happier with Dani's dye job. I mean really - all over color, clear tones, no blotches. I know for a fact that I couldn't come close trying myself. Yeah, the photo's crap. These socks deserve much better than a nighttime, indoor, flash, computer chair photo. Then again, what are the chances I'll get a better one taken? Ah, the true me shines through. OK, no alien abduction here. :)

Move along... no FOs tomorrow. Haven't I monkeyed with the space-time continuum enough already?

SOS #2

Pattern: My own - plain stockinette with some ribbing at the ankle.
Yarn: Cider Moon Blizzard in Silver Pine
Needle: Knit Picks 1 (32" circ)
Start/Finish: July 18th or 19th / August 6th

Definitely love the subtle ribbing around the ankle! My yarn ball fell apart halfway through the second sock - what a pain to knit after that.

It's been a while since Pearl was here - so a gratuitous Labrador for you...

Mama, it's too hot out here for black dogs!