First Peek... And Some Good News

Yep, watermelon wedge socks on the needles. I'm really about up to the heel flap (my modification-- doing a heel flap and French heel in place of the afterthought heel in the pattern). The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I did slip 1, k2tog, psso in place of k3tog, as pattern is written; I split my pushing finger and could not bear the pain of the k3tog. I like the look and am never anal about patterns anyway. On to the good news.

DH got the job. Starts this week. He'll be an adjunct prof at a college in the next county, teaching biology with lab; 48 students in class, 24 in lab (there's another prof to teach the other half of the lab). The pay sucks, really sucks, but it's a foot in the door. Who knows how many more sections of bio there'll be next term? Also, this college has a micro curriculum for med techs-- and micro is DH's specialty. Being it's a pubic college, DH stays in the state pension plan. I'd say great news if DH were teaching more than 1 course; a typical load at a teaching college is more like 3 or 4 courses, plus advising and some research. BUT it's a foot in the door, as I wrote.

Off to watch Downton Abbey. We're all hooked. Love those clothes and jewels. I can wear this from the back of my cedar closet, an Anny Blatt design I made out of Tahki Sable about 20 years ago:

I'd give a lot to have Carson come and run my household. Heck, I'd give a lot to have Carson come and polish this:

This being a sterling silver candelabrum I inherited from my mother. You can't tell from the photo, but it's over 2 feet tall. I spent over an hour polishing it this morning, and that's after polishing it 2 weeks ago, and after coating it with the same stuff the British Museum uses on its antique silver collection so they don't have to polish all the live-long day. Carson? Anna? Where's the staff when you need them??

Interview!

This afternoon is the first of 3 interviews scheduled (so far). Today's is with a hip, young medical communications company that was recently spun off a large multinational corporation. From the website, it looks like it has maybe 15 employees, but looks of course can be deceiving. It's located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City; that means hip and cool and exciting. There was no advertisement for this position. How I came to be interviewed is this: Remember the career counselor I consulted a couple of weeks ago? She urged me to get in touch by e-mail or phone with friends and former colleagues who left laboratory science for new careers, asking them for advice and contacts. A former colleague sent me detailed lists of contacts, one of whom is a head-hunter who places people in medical writing, education, and communications jobs; exactly what I'm looking for. She had no clients who matched me, but gave me the name and contact info for the head HR fellow at the parent company where I'm interviewing today. I looked him up on LinkedIn, saw he was once a dentist, composed an e-mail to him addressing him as Dr.-- and he called me right away! He was so pleased I noticed his title and used it. We talked a bit about life and work, and then he said he knew they had an opening for which I wasn't quite qualified, but I had the main qualifications already, and he was sure I could learn the ropes fairly quickly. Once again, your mother was right: it pays to be polite!

Next week's interview is at a small, independent medical education firm quite close to my house. I found it through one of the lists my former colleague sent me. They also weren't advertising any openings, but I sent an e-mail with my resume to the head of the firm, asking for more information. The next day they called to set up an interview at the earliest we could schedule one. The last interview was set up the same way.

I see from this limited experience that the career counselor was 100% correct when she told me that most job advertisements are not for real jobs, but mainly posted after a candidate has been found, to satisfy EEOC regulations. Dismaying, right? That's why she taught me to write an introductory letter, requesting information or an informational interview. Submitting a resume this way can lead to an interview; even if all you get is an informational interview, you can ask for more contacts in other places, and keep yourself in people's minds when openings come up.

It's a scary world when job ads aren't real and you have to play detective to find actual openings. Who knows, maybe I'll spot my sock during my interview travels.

A Double Dose of Murder and Mayhem

Left to right: Elsa Lanchester, David Nivens, Peter Sellers (partially blocked), James Coco, James Cromwell

The monsoon continues, with a brief respite on Saturday. DD#1 and I hiked in the drizzle with the collies, then rewarded ourselves with some yummy ice cream from Hagen-Dazs (I got dolce de leche). DH did what chores he could outside (without sinking knee-deep in mud; trimming the lilacs will have to wait for now). I'd like to dry off before I mold.

Being in my year of mourning means I'm limited as to what kind of entertainment I can attend.
Live music- no
Sporting events- maybe (but I'm not really interested in those)
Movies- generally no (I'm planning to ask my rabbi for an override when the last Harry Potter movie comes out; some things cannot wait.)
TV- OK in my community.

So after dinner, DH found Murder by Death rebroadcast on some obscure channel (believe or not, the Wealth TV channel. What a hoot!). We saw this when it first came out 35 years ago and loved its whacky zaniness. Or is that its zany whackiness? Whatever it is, it's hilarious. The all-star cast is phenomenal. Imagine a young Maggie Smith trying out her timing so that she'll be perfection as the Dowager Counter of Grantham in Downton Abbey. James Coco plays Hercule Poirot, only in the movie he's called Perrier (Sam Spade, played by Peter Falk in a try-out for the Colombo years, is called Sam Diamond). You get the picture- and the corny jokes. Peter Sellers plays Sidney Wang (a Charlie Chan send-off; I had a professor in grad school named Sidney Wang, so I found his character particularly endearing).

After Murder by Death, the real Hercule Poirot (well, as real as a fictional detective can be) was on the Orient Express on PBS. David Suchet who plays Poirot is a great actor, whether he's the scoundrel Melmotte in The Way We Live Now or the infinitely-fastidious Poirot. This episode, by the way, was filmed on the actual Orient Express. Best Line: "We're in Yugoslavia, M Poirot! The backside of Europe!" Naturellement, Poirot solves the mystery of the murder on the Orient Express.

I should hire Hercule Poirot to solve the mystery of the missing sock. Le mystère de la chausette qui est manquée. Gripping to every knitter, n'est-ce pas? "No, hot chocolate!"

Feliz Cinqo de Mayo!

Cinqo de Mayo festivites at El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, otherwise known as Los Angeles.


Today, May 5, is Cinqo de Mayo. Olé!

Cinqo de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day (that's September 16). It's a celebration of an unlikely victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The French occupation of Mexico was an aftermath of several wars that plagued Mexico: the Mexican-American War (1846-48), the Mexican Civil War (1858), and the Reform War (1860). The series of wars left Mexico nearly bankrupt. To alleviate the debt, Presidente Benito Juàrez suspended all foreign debt repayments for 2 years. In response to the suspension, Britain, France, and Spain sent their navies to Veracruz to demand payment. Britian and Spain eventually withdrew their navies, but not France. This set the stage for battles, ending in the victory at Puebla, a victory of 4,000 ill-equipped Mexicans over 8,000 superior fighting French.

Thiough it provided a morale boost, the victory of Cinqo de Mayo 1862 was not decisive, for shortly thereafter 30,000 French troops were dispatched and Mexico came under the rule of the French from 1864 until 1867. With the help of American forces, freed from fighting the American Civil War, Mexico was finally able to repel the French. This French incursion into Mexico represents the last time Europe invaded a nation in the New World.

Ever since living in SoCal, I've continued to celebrate Cinqo de Mayo with my family. Usually we celebrate a day later because that's my birthday. And we celebrate with food: Mexican meatloaf (my invention- a meatloaf made with Ortega chilis, salsa, and a mixture of meats), or tacos, salsa and chips, fajitas, guacamole and chips, flan (lots of flan), and of course margaritas by the pitcher. If I could make sopapillas, I'd have them too, but crullers are a good enough substitute.

So Feliz Cinqo de Mayo to everyone.

Sock update: I have it on good authority my sock is at El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, the historic pueblo in downtown Los Angeles, enjoying some tequila with Dos Equis chasers. It'll be a looong while before it slogs back home, I'm guessing.

Denied!

That's the outcome of my grant appeal to the VA.

The new head of research wants me to revise and resubmit in September (the next deadline). I reminded him that as of June 30th, I'll no longer be paid by the VA. "We may be able to fix that," says he. He's much more dedicated to research than his predecessor. Meanwhile, I had a brainstorm for a grant to go to the NIH. It's just about ready to submit. It's on pancreatic cancer. It's new, novel, innovative, and 100% do-able in my lab.

The errant sock is still somewhere other than my knitting storage shelves. Maybe it's still out on Times Square having a blast, Fleegle. When I find it (and I will), I will punish it by finishing it, making its mate, and wearing the pair. Hah! That'll larn those pesky socks to mess with me.

Where, Oh, Where Has My Little Sock Gone?

This sock: the Evelyn Clark Lupine sock I was working on seems to have walked off on its own. When last seen, sock #1 was nearly done to the toe, and hanging on to a vintage 2.5 mm Addi Turbo needle (gold-plated with clear cord). The Sundara yarn has joined it to be MIA as well. If seen, please contact me. Reward offered in yarn. Thanks.

It's Finished!

At 9:30 pm Thursday night June 3, I grafted the lace edges of Evenstar together and proclaimed her complete. Techknitter's COWYAK provisional cast-on worked like a charm, leaving me the correct number of stitches to pick up as I unlooped the cotton yarn. The graft is not quite invisible, but who will notice it (I am not the best at Kitchener stitch)? I had to go looking for it and I know it's there.

Blocking in progress using the string method, with much help from DH. Some people curve their blocking wires around for circular shawls, but I didn't want to put an arc in my wires. Also I don't think I have enough wire for the circumference, which I estimate will be 188.4" or 15.7 feet. DH was dear enough to locate some nice unused plywood in 4 x 4 ft increments, to create a platform. And he brought up from the basement a spare round table we use when we have a lot of company to dinner. That'll keep my collie, his visiting brother, and occasional wandering bird off the shawl as it blocks. I set up a fan to speed the drying (the humidity hovers around 90% some days here). So that it might dry some time this summer.

Some new yarn found its way home to me.

First, some Sundara sock yarn in Creme de Menthe, perfect for Evelyn Clark's Twining Lace socks (they need a green yarn, IMO). Next, more Sundara yarn, sport merino in Reaching Out, a deep coral over salmon. I love the entire family of coral/salmon/apricot/shrimp colors; I might just look at this yarn forever. Last, some Yarn Chef Mulligatawny in Bramble Rose, which is more brown than rose. Likely I'll whip up a couple of lacey scarves as gifts for friends out of this.

Now the question is: finish more UFOs or start a new project from my Ravelry queue? Decisions, decisions!!

The Experiential Knitter

Experience is the best teacher they say. Well I've certainly had my fill of that this weekend. That's what I get for 1) putting projects away for nearly 3 years (baby's breath socks, I'm talking about YOU) and 2) not making detailed knitting knotes anywhere about said project. Which meant I frogged and reknit the heel turning 3 times, picked up the heel gusset stitches twice, and redid the gusset decreases twice.
So here are some knitting knotes to self. So I do not have to repeat this decidedly unpleasant experience.
1) Check decreased stitches to be sure one wasn't dropped off needle during decreases (this happened twice when turning the heel; never in my knitting life had I dropped stitches before).
2) When using magic loop technique for socks, I personally found it easiest to keep the instep stitches on 1 needles, and the gusset/heel stitches on the second (YMMV of course).
3) Placing markers between heel and gusset sts made counting easier.
4) The decrease pattern for sts arranged this way are therefore: K1, K2tog, K to marker and slip it, K heel sts, slip marker, K to last 3 sts on needle, SSK, K1.
From the back of the sock, it looks like this (M = marker):

Left side of gusset / M Heel / M /Right side of gusset <-Start here
K1, SSK, K all sts / K all sts / K all sts, K2tog, K1

For all the tsuris (Yiddish for troubles and tribulations), here is the end product:

I might even make more socks after this!

Evenstar nears completion. Only 14 more reps of the border (out of 56 total) and blocking before it's ready for its début.


DH found this beauty I made back when DD#1 was a wee lass:

It's from Anny Blatt book #61, called Félin, and was made of a wool blend plus scraps of angora. Just to remind myself that I really can knit.

Now what?

Now that I've decided to rework my Norah Gaughan top in Mistral instead of Jaeger Ascot, what shall I do with the 26 skeins of Ascot sitting in my cedar chest? Answer: make this luscious lovely!

I need another lightweight cardi anyway, in addition to my favorite Bernat one (a gal can't have too many nice cardis, right?). I was considering making Cerisara but don't think it'll be too flattering on me. I've never made anything from White Lies Designs before, but reading about the designer/founder/creater Joan McGowan-Michael and how she designs for those of us with less than sylph-like proportions (that would include yours truly, *cough cough*), I think Colette would look nicer on moi. Plus it has lace edgings, and I am becoming hooked on lace edgings.

I am officially half-way done with the edging to Evenstar. I am also nearly officially out of beads. To give you an idea of the devotion this project required, the edging alone needs ~11,200 stitches worked, with 5 beads ever other row (nearly 3,000 beads in all). When I need a break from Evenstar, I alternate between the Norah Gaughan top and finishing up (finally) socks promised to DD#1 around 2 years ago (has it been that long, really?)

Ignore the gaping toe; this sock is now complete and the leg of sock #2 is over 80% completed. Yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit, a cotton blend, very nice and soft. Pattern is Jeanie Townsend's Baby's Breath. Easy to memorize. Get it from her website.

Closing in on the Perp and Some Sad News

Seriously. All it took was much persistence on my part- many phone calls to my congressman, the police, the DA's office; sending certified letters describing the crime to various folk, including the CEO of Sprint; plus other activities too nerve-wracking to relive.
We have a name, an address, a phone number. An arrest warrant has been issued. I have asked for a firing squad but don't think my wish will be granted. Drat.

Sad news from both sides of the family. It seems my younger brother developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to misdiagnosis/mismanagement of pneumonia late last year. COPD is terminal. Would like to get my hands on the MD who handled him. He's now under the care of a competent pulmonologist at the best hospital in LA. If that weren't enough, my 92 year old MIL fell and broke her other hip (having broken 1 last year,less than a year ago). And refused treatment so was left in the ER for days whilst the MDs sought an override from my SIL, who is the only family member empowered to do so. DH is not empowered, nor his brother. SIL gave the override so that MIL could be treated. But MIL still developed a clot in her lung (pulmonary embolus) plus double pneumonia. She' responding to treatment and will be moved to a hospice when she's stable enough to be moved. What's really bothering me is that she mentioned to DH last year wanting to die rather than be treated for a broken hip again. I can't believe none of the 3 siblings is calling for a consult to be sure MIL is getting enough medicine, stimulation in her environment, activities,or whatever.

On the knitting front (you think I've have time for knitting with all this going on?) I am nearly done with the 1st sock, that would be the Baby's Breath sock, for D#1. Did I remember to photograph it when I had the camera out? Of course not.



OK, now feast your eyes on this creation I made for my assistant's mother on the occasion of her 80th birthday. I do have to change the earrings to a non-pierced style;the clips are on order as I write. The lovely center bead set was created by Gina De Stevens of GMD Lampwork. She makes such lovely floral beads (and others too but her floral ones are my favorites).

I Wuz Robbed!

Seriously, on Friday I discovered that over $1000 was removed from my checking account as an electronic payment to Sprint- and I don't use Sprint. So now I am making like Sherlock Holmes, calling the FBI, my congressperson, and anyone else I can think of (local PD is already starting a report but they may not investigate, being just a small town PD with limited resources). Forget prosecution, I want BLOOD for this (sometimes). Now I'm worried that even though I'm closing my checking account to open a new one, the miscreant can still hack his (Sprint told me the money is going to someone with a male name) way into a new account. Now I'm even more worried that any check I mail might wind up not delivered by USPS by in the hands of such a miscreant, now matter what precautions I take. What a world we live in.



So back to knitting, and now you'll forgive me for not providing a more lovely picture of my lovely lupine socks from the Evelyn Clark pattern. What a fun knit. I really like Sundara Yarn sport merino and hope she finds another source of it soon. I have 1 more skein of it to work, in Shell over Cocoa Butter, yum!, then it's the sock yarn. Speaking of sock yarn, the Fyberspate green BFL yarn came and it is every bit as heavenly as I hoped it would be. Now I have to finish the Baby's Breath socks in Meilenweit for DD#1 before I start another sock. If you want to see the Baby's Breath pattern, visit Jeanie Townsend's blog, Just me Jeanie, link on the left. She has lots of nice sock patterns, some for sale, a lot for free.

And I took lace knitting up again, yes I did, to continue to work on the Hugs and Kisses scarf for DD#2. Who will be playing with the NYC Opera once again later this month, at Lincoln Center. The program will be "Tosca." The week before, she'll be in the pit orchestra of her local HS for their performances of "Caberet." I believe she'll be playing several instruments and trying not to blush when the emcee says "Even zee orchestra is beautiful."

Spring Will Spring and I'll Knit Socks, Part 2

In searching for a new sock pattern, I found out that Evelyn Clark, a designer whose socks I enjoy knitting so much, now has her own website. On which is this pattern called Twining Leaves Socks. This makes the third sock pattern with a leaf motif (of course I had to buy it) that will sit because I cannot find the right green sock yarn to use. Oh sure there's green sock yarn a-plenty out there. But my soul craves a yarn that won't bore me yet will stand up the the demands of a sock. Be variegated enough so I'll knit 2 of them but not too variegated that the pattern will be lost (Lilacs socks I made a while back come to mind). On a whim, I Googled for green handpainted sock yarn and found:



That's hand-painted Fyberspates Blue-Faced Leicester fingering/light sport weight, from Wales, UK no less. You can find it here. Just what I need, another sock yarn addiction.



Say hello to Belle in the foreground (yeah, say hello to Duke too, sulking there in the back). Belle is a baby cockatiel (to be accurate, she's a cinnamon pied pearl cockatiel and we are not entirely sure she's a she-but we're hopeful). We bought her just this Sunday, because DD#1's dear 14 year old cockatiel hen Scooter passed away last week. Fourteen is a respectable age and Scooter led a charmed life, having survived pneumonia twice and another respiratory infection. She'll be missed. Duke though stopped eating and was frantically looking for her. So as not to lose him (he's only about 8 1/2), we went and got Belle. When I say it's a zoo around here, I'm not joking.

If It's (Nearly) Spring, Do I Still Knit Socks?

If the yarn looks like this, of course! This is a special colorway that Sundara Yarn (link on left) is doing in honor of her second anniversary selling on line. It's called Tulip, and it sure reminds me of the Apricot Beauty tulips I have planted around my house.



So what luscious sock will it be? Open to suggestions; the delicate color begs for something with a lace stitch.



And this is the new Beaverslide Dry Good sock yarn which came today. The color is called "Whitetail Fawn" and it feels as good as it looks. Definitely it's meant for gansey socks.

Lupine is moving along; heel is turned and ready for gusset stitches to be picked up. Can't wait to wear them, I will post pictures! It's so good to be knitting again.

Guess who'll be playing at Lincoln Center with the New York City Opera again? Yup, DD#2 has been begged to return to play Tosca with them. Originally she thought she'd have to pass due to a prior musical commitment. But with a change of date on the part of the NYC Opera program, DD#2 is now free to play clarinet #1.

I'm Back and I'm Knitting Again

Oh boy, the knitting hiatus is over. I have an office, I can use my ergonomic computer desk, my neck no longer aches, and I can knit without pain once again. I hate having to give up knitting temporarily, but it sure beat having to give it up for good due to nerve damage! Since picking up needles again I finished 1 Lupine sock, am about 25% done with the leg of the second Lupine sock, discovered that I slipped the sts for the sk2p purlwise instead of knitwise in the border, decided that I don't care, it's only a sock. Who'll ever notice? I certainly won't tell.

On the non-knitting side, DH and I had tix to Carnegie Hall last week to see Alison Krauss with Bobby McFerrin and Edgar Meyers. We had a lovely dinner at a new spot in the theater district, a bracing (hey, it was cold!) walk uptown where DH agreed to indulge me in a visit to the beauty floor at Bergdorf's (although he claimed to be having a "tesosterone nightmare" there, he did consent to buy me a bottle of Jo Malone scent, what a guy), then an uneventful walk crosstown. Only to find a near-riot at Carnegie hall because Alison Krauss canceled at the last minute. Ah well, she became ill, what can you do? I parked myself at a nearby Starbuck's while DH went to get the car (he will only park it at Lincoln Center), enjoyed some mineral water and Latin jazz by Kenny G. That is to say, a brand-new album just out called "Rhythm and Romance" and it is so delightful, to me at least, that I had to have it. iTunes and Amazon downloads both have it.

Today DH is ill so I'm home unexpectedly, and knitting a little bit. I do have an experiment to finish up and DH has a class to teach, though how he'll manage is beyond me. Tomorrow I have a mandatory training session at the VA. I expect to get a lot more knitting done, if this one is anything like the ones I had to sit through over the summer. Might even finish the sock.

Proof That Surfing Can Be Dangerous To Your Wallet

Checked out Jeanie Townsend's blog to see what's doing and she had posted about these gorgeous socks. As if I hadn't enough trouble with knitter's ADD and second sock syndrome! OTOH, they might look nice in the Shell over Cocoa Butter Sundara yarn I have in my stash.....

Meanwhile, check out these babies I just finished:

Do they look good enough to eat wear or what? One day I will master the art of the neat Kitchener stitch at the sock toe. I hope.

New socks started: Evelyn Clark's Lupine Lace, featuring Sundara Yarn Sport Merino in Blue-Violet over Cotton Candy. Love her sock patterns. As always, I tweak a bit: eye of partridge flap and French heel. EoP flap just looks better to me for some patterns than heel stitch, dressier, I guess. French heel is my fave, undoubtedly due to the fact that it fits me best of them all.


Have I worked on Rogue? Sad to say, not for a while. But with the coming of colder weather, I'm sure I'll be nagged by a certain daughter to get back to work on it.

VA Training, Part II

Also known as knitting at taxpayers' expense. Well, I had to spend the past 2 days at the VA sitting through the remaining part of orientation. Which consisted of 10 out of 18 mandatory training sessions, most of which have nothing whatsoever to do with my job (or the jobs of most attendees). So I wouldn't be too antsy (and in the spirit of the VA), I brought along hats for the Ships Project, now that mailing of wool things will begin again in September. See the hat I completed above? It's made of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, a yummy blend of wool and cashmere and silk. The baby cable rib biased though, that never happened when I made this hat before with other yarns. I have another ball of it; I'll do something different and see.
Now see the trio below?

The sock I worked on a little yesterday when I finished the hat (worked from the gusset dec start to where it is now). Both hats were only casted on (first 2 rows worked in the flat), then the rest was done today at the VA. I am not kidding! Had I not run out of wool, I would have finished 1 of them. That is how I spent 8 1/2 hours today in stultifying ennui relieved only by my knitting. The details: the hat in the middle is the Blueberry Waffle hat (yes, it is based on the famous sock pattern), and it is being made of merino wool, Zegna Baruffa Maratona. The hat on the right will use up the remaining Plymouth Galway I have in stash; it is the Zig and Zag hat.
And now for a little jewelry treat, another Dutch spiral necklace:

The purple and gold flower beads are vintage Lucite; I've been waiting for the right project to incorporate them. They really aren't that pink but closer to the heliotrope color of the main set of beads. Really. I'm going to make a special clasp for this; ordered the special accessory for it. Check back to see it and tell me what you think.

Knitting on Inox Pryms

Well, now that I've tried these cheapie Inox Prym needles, I must say that they are quite nice. Oh the joins aren't as lovely-smooth as on the Addis but the cord relaxed without needing to be heated to near 100 deg C, and the Teflon coating moves the yarn along with just enough grab that I don't fear dropping sts (Addi Turbos are a little too slick sometimes; not the Golds though). And besides, Addis do not come in 2.75 mm, so there! And you can see how one knits a watermelon out of wool. It's fascinating to watch the pattern develop just by doing stockinette st over and over and over again. I do find the wool to be a bit on the scratchy side; Marian says it softens and fluffs up with washing, so these will be washed in Eucalan until they soften enough.

Ah, the reason for the mindless knitting project - Tuesday night, the neighboring town's council decided to pull the pending ordinance in the face of impending implosion from the flood of at least 50 of us who opposed it - and a lot of us came from out of town. Good to see democracy in action.

Fresh Watermelon From Fresh Isle Fibers

With the completion of the Lilacs socks (which I might give to a certain daughter) and in need of a mindless sort of pattern as I sit during tonight's Town Council meeting (more on that later), it was fortunate indeed that my single-ply mixed-breed yarn from Fresh Isle Fibers came yesterday. The luscious cake of yarn will knit into these: Socks that have slices of watermelon on them! I love watermelon, eagerly anticipate the first one hitting the market each summer. It's my preferred dessert during the steam-bath we call weather right now. Simple stickinette st will turn itself into slices of melon, complete with seeds, how clever! The pattern is here; scroll down for the single-ply apttern for the one at top is for the worsted-weight yarn. Marian from Fresh Isles is very nice to deal with; spinning and dyeing are a passion of hers. As before, I did the unjoined cast-on, knitting for 1 rows then joining to work in the round. For this sock, I casted on the 2x2 rib in K-P cast-on, but did it as K-K-P-P cast-on. Seemed to work out from what I can see. And I'm trying out my new Inox Prym needles, since Addis don't come in 2.75 mm and these do. So far I like them, maybe not as much as Addis (certainly not as much as Addi Gold), but much more than the stretchy needles. When the socks are done, I'll wear them with this sweater and this pin
Town Council meeting tonight is in the town east of me; I don't want it spreading west so I'm taking an interest and showing up. The Council will discuss a proposed ordinance to ban all tethering of dogs. Lest you think this is a good thing, just listen to the owner (moi) of 2 large-breed dogs. Even Collies, those near-geniuses of the canine world, do not come equipped knowing every rule of the house. They need training, they need discipline (until they pay the mortgage and household expenses, yes they do). Tethering on a long lead while working in the garden was a method I used to train each dog the boundary of the property; to leave joggers and walkers passing by alone; to ignore cars (and hence not give chase to them). Most towns have dozens of ordinances preventing homeowners from fencing in property. You read that right. I was lucky; my backyard was all fenced in before I bought it years ago, before the ordinances restricting fencing were passed. Nowadays, a homeowner around here needs a variance to put a fence in to protect children - and dogs. Makes a lot of sense, right? You pay over $10,000/year in property taxes (I pay considerably more), yet your property is not your property to protect. The benighted ordinance, moreover, requires a kennel with floor of 10 by 15 feet per dog and with fence of 8 feet high. In a town with a fence ordinance that decrees fences shall be no more than 5 feet high. You don't have to be a lawyer to see that there is a problem here. Kennel with floor- ever put something on your grass for even a day? Ever notice how quickly grass underneath dies? Everybody will want to kill lawns, I'm betting. 10 x 15 feet per dog, that's 150 sq ft, that's over 10% of my total property including house footprint per dog. And renters will be able to do, what? They rent houses in part to own dogs. How many landlords be willing to comply with dead lawns, unsightly kennels, and the rest? Better to enforce existing anti-cruelty laws and go after negligent owners who tether their dogs all day while at work. That's wrong, that's illegal, that's enforceable. And that's why I'll be there, knitting my watermelon sock during the discussion of the ordinance.

Lilacs Socks Update

So Monday was spent at the local Veterans Administration campus, being "orientated" so I become an official VA employee, so I can pay myself off the merit award I earned a year ago for my cancer research. Some system, eh? That was only Day 1 of 3 days of orientation, mind. Due to the fast day Tuesday, I got to beg off the remaining 2 days until next month. I cannot imagine what else they'll come up with to waste time and taxpayer money. Note to taxpayers: I'm now a GS13 civil service grade, please tell that to your congressmen, maybe they'll cut the nonsense down to the 3 hrs it warranted. Proof: look at my sock, finished in the spare time we had (an entire hr between HR reps at one point!) and during some of the pointless presentations (do I need a lesson on how to fill out a W4? I'm only working for 23 years now). Sock #2 is well under way. I modified the foot of the pattern as follows: after the heel turn, I changed the middle RT to a K1 tbl, to prevent sag around the ankles (it worked too). Total reps of pattern = 11, and heel flap was started at row 6 of 6th repeat. French heel (my fav) was used, and double-dec toe; dec every 3rd row down to 14 sts (used Lana Grossa Meilenweit for the toe, just to try it out), then grafted it shut. The modification fits my size 7 foot very nicely.

Last night we saw "Hairspray." Being someone who was raised in Bawlmer (though I never spoke quite the way Edna does in the movie) during that period, I was entranced by it all. When I was very little, my parents and I even lived above the grocery store my dad owned (in a different neighborhood) and our apartment look the same! Our TV was a Zenith, not the Admiral in the movie, but a similar B&W console set. French doors and signs painted on the walls opposite - yep I remember the National Boh guy winking at me every night when I went to bed (I said I was very little). I had a multi-hued crinoline just like Little Ines wore in the final scene, and a doggy pin like Penny wore in several scenes, and my Revlon doll had the sophisticated dresses that the dancers wore (and a fancy hair-do too). Only things I did not like: Michelle Pfeiffer was too thin for the era and the clothes; Tracey's last outfit. Mod Carney Street in 1962? Just about 5 years too soon for those clothes; it cast a jarring note to the period setting, imho. Now I'm nagging DH (whom I met in Bawlmer when we were grad students at Hopkins) to get us some coddies for dinner tonight. Those and Almond Crush soda, and some coffee Breyer's ice cream, and it's a summer night in Liberty Heights in the early '60's all over again.

Look What Else Came!

No not the partly-done sock, the needles. Do you know what those are? They are among the last of their kind, Addi Turbo Gold-plated needles (size 2.5 mm). Why were these ever discontinued? I love them, they are a tad less slippery than regular Addi Turbos (a good thing, imo; dropping sock sts off the end of a pin terrorizes me), the cords relaxed without heat, the joins are so smooth, and the size is engraved in the pins. If you want to buy a pair, and I know only small size with 32" cords are left, go here. In fact, check out the Needlepoint Joint's whole website for unusual gadgets and notions and hard-to-find-elsewhere miscellany. I found the row marker for circs there, Margaret Stowe's lace book for a good price when everyone else had sold out of it, and these Addis. And I picked up the 2.75 mm Inox circs too.
Back to the socks here, Jeanie Townsend's Lilacs: The cuff was started with King Cole Anti-Tickle DK on 3 mm Addi Turbos. I casted on in the K-P method on both pins, then started the 1x1 ribbing across for 2 rows before joining and continuing the ribbing in the round. I'm hoping this makes for a stretchy cast-on, sort of like the tubular method I used before. The pattern was modified thus: besides the cast-on, I shortened the 17 repeat to 16 sts by changing the central P1-K1 tbl-P1 motif to a 2 st RT. And I eliminated rows 9 and 10, making the pattern 10 rows in all. The leg is started in Sundara sport merino in Meridian, still on the 3 mm needles to fit my lower calf (I want these to be a bit long; Peach Petals came out a bit too short and slouchy around the ankle (yes they are done!), but I'm wearing them anyway). Now done with the 2nd repeat, the sock is on the gold Addis. At the ankle, I may change the RT to K1 tbl, for a snugger fit. This is a fun and easy pattern.