Sunday, June 25, 2006

105F

It’s rather toasty outside and it’s only June. The AC units are cranking along and our electric bill is climbing every higher. How high can it go? Way High. Too High. When not cleaning up dog barf from overheated puppies I’m sitting on the couch (in front of the BIG AC) knitting the hubby sock. Hubby sock is draped over a pretty multicolored geranium called "Mrs Cox". The flowers are nice but it's the leaves that are special about this plant. I had a setback when Otis decided to attack the pretty dangling yarn. It took a surprisingly long time to straighten things out. Frog, frog, tink, tink. Knit. No, still not right. I’m knitting a basic men’s ribbed sock pattern from "Vogue Knitting - Socks Two". I’m using the Australian Merinos 100% Merino wool. I thought the dark brown with a bit of variegation would be boring but it isn’t. Using size 1 dpn's is like knitting with long toothpicks though. I have been working on the sweater jacket and that uses size 10's. They feel like ax handles by comparison. The yarn is easy to work with, doesn’t split and the color has a lot of subtlety. Best of all, it seems to fit the foot it is intended for. The owner of said foot is back from TN, the land of Hot AND Humid and he has been much kissed etc. It’s good to have him home. He didn’t blink an eye when he entered the house and the dining room table, with both leaves pulled out, was covered with a sewing project, the sideboard had knitting books and yarn piled up, there was knitting on the kitchen counters and knitting on the TV table. I’ve a good hubby. I made him his favorite spicy slow cooked shredded beef (and me a vegetarian). Today I made him (and me) chocolate banana bread that is pretty darn delicious and used the last of the blackberries to make another sherbet. My studio is also covered with similar knitting related items. And I wonder where my money goes…

My copy of "Knitting Nature" and "Mason-Dixon Knitting" (see the money flying out the door?) came the other day and I’ve been having a wonderful time dreaming of future projects. I started flipping through the Knitting Nature book late at night and gasped with delight and frustration that I would have to wait hours for the yarn store to open. I wanted to run down and buy yarn to make this incredible tank top. Now that I’ve calmed down a bit I’m thinking I might make the vest I was thinking about earlier from "Folk Vests" by Cheryl Oberle. The "Bayeta" from Peru. The lines should suit my build. I have some alpaca stash that I bought on Thetis Island up off the coast of western Canada that might be a good match.

Today I ordered "Knitting Vintage Socks" by Laura Bush (what is that flapping noise? It's really annoying). That should be interesting. I hadn’t expected to really get into making socks but I find they give a lot of pleasure.

Omar and Otis spend a lot of time hanging out together. Otis did try to nurse at one point, which pretty much freaked out the puppy. Otis is looking to be a long cat, a big cat. Since he won’t be neutered for a few months he’ll probably dominate the house and then the visit to the vet. He’s up to a stunning 2 lb. 6 oz. We’ve had him all of three weeks now. The two adult cats give him a growl and a soft swat now and again if he gets too pushy but overall things are working out. I think we’ll have some supervised outdoor time soon.

1 Comments:

At 4:21 PM, Blogger Valerie Polichar said...

That sock is beautiful. That's the kind of color I really like!

Knitting Vintage Socks (while by Nancy Bush, not the current First Lady...) is a great book. You are going to enjoy it. The money may be flying out the door, but it's going for good stuff :-)

Re your comments on my blog: Laila seems to have it in for rabbits and rats. The rats are cute, but they infest our garage and ruin my yarn, so they are fair game. Plus, she usually eats them all up so there is little mess. I'm all into tidy. I'm not so into dead half-rats in the front entry, which I get sometimes.

The Sockotta...well, it's a bit hard to work with (cotton is literally hard, so when you're using size 0s you feel it in the joints). I think I'd prefer wool to knit with, but for summer socks, gotta use some cotton. Maybe try a skein; I wouldn't buy up their stash, though. Even on sale.

Enjoy the Sundara!!! What colorway did you buy? Her yarn is heavenly!

 

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