The first traveling sock is complete - isn’t it cool?  I highly recommend this pattern for Easy Worsted Weight Socks as the basic presentation was just perfect for my purposes.  I used size 5 needles rather than size 3 and where the author uses K2tog exclusively for decreases, I also used SSK in the standard places.

I did the cuff and the first two rows of stockinette in the leg in Berry Blue and then alternated a two-round stripe of Blue Mint with a three-round stripe of the other all the way down the leg and foot, using Papaya for the heel and toe.  All yarns are Caron’s Simply Soft Brites and the sock is as soft as a kitten’s ear.  I love it! 

You may notice the heel’s a little shallow?  That’s my fault, not the pattern’s, but it will suffice.  Time is if the essence so I’ll live with it and do better on the next pair :)

A few notes:

Myria may be doing some work on the blog while I’m away.  If you can’t reach it for a couple of days, don’t panic.  It will be back!

If she is so inclined, Myria may do a guest blogging stint :)

This will be my last post until after the trip.  I expect to resume blogging on December 7th.

Therefore, I wish each and every, one of you a Happy Thanksgiving (and for those of you not in the states, a wonderful Thursday!) - I know my “thankful” list is pretty long this year and includes all of you folks :)

See you in December! 

I know I said no more socks for a while, but I was thinking…

...I’m going to be catching a plane out of Logan airport a week from today.  The last time I went through Logan I wore sneakers which I had to take off so they could be run through the machine to make sure I wasn’t trying to smuggle anything dangerous onboard the plane.  It was a pain in the butt.  Sit down, take the sneakers off, load the carry-on (after removing the laptop for individual inspection), load sneakers and purse, collect them all at the other end, find another seat...scanning the horizon...somewhere, get the laptop back into its case and that back into the carry-on bag, put my sneakers back on…

I could have walked to Ft. Lauderdale with less bother and in less time!

So this time, I’m going to wear my old, shabby, disreputable clogs - easy off, easy on.  And if I’m going to do that, well then, fun socks seem absolutely essential :)

This is Caron Simply Soft and you may recall its previous incarnation as the attempt at the Lady Eleanor entrelac stole from Scarf Style.  I do still very much want to make that stole, but this just wasn’t the right yarn for it.  So, since I want fast, easy and funky socks and I already have these neat-o colors and since I can work these reasonably on size 5 needles…

Heheh - I may have a sock to show you on Monday :) Wear your sunglasses!

Where am I going next Friday?  Down to Ft. Lauderdale where dad and I will catch the Crystal Symphony which will cruise through the Bahamas for the following 10 days.  And we got a very nice surprise when Dad picked up the tickets on Monday.  The cruise line upgraded our cabins (for free) from rooms with a view to rooms with a veranda!  That means we each have our own private little porch off our staterooms.  The best part about that for me is that it means I can “open a window” at night by simply leaving the veranda door open a bit.  Ahhhh…

The path looks like this:

We’ll be stopping in several places and I do plan on doing some sightseeing, though probably not much shopping.  There aren’t a lot of yarn shops in the islands and not much else tempts me at the moment.  The sun, the beautiful water and the trip itself is more than enough :)

Gotta get packing!

Well, it took me long enough to see it, but I can whole-heartedly recommend Finding Neverland.  It targets one particular summer in the life of Scots playwright and novelist J. M. Barrie, known today mostly for having written Peter Pan.  For me, Johnny Depp is usually enough reason to see a movie.  After all, even if it’s dreadful, I get to look at Depp for two hours.  This was definitely not dreadful.

It’s almost more in the nature of a vignette than a story as it sort of begins in the middle of things and ends somewhere else in the middle of things.  It tells the story of Barrie meeting the four Davies boys and becoming fond of them.  He calls on them and plays with them as though he were no more than their age himself.  He also meets their mother (Kate Winslet) who likes him, and their grandmother (Julie Christie) who does not.

Depp’s performance is amazing, from the splendid Scots accent to his clear enjoyment of the company of the boys.  I could never have imagined Depp even wanting to play this role, let alone carrying it off with such graceful perfection.  Winslet turns in a decent performance as the somewhat harried mother and Christie is also wonderful as the heavy-handed matriarch who is very uncomfortable about Barrie’s presence in the lives of her daughter and grandsons.  But as good as all those performance are, there is one even better. 

Freddie Highmore plays Peter Llewelyn Davies, the boy with whom Barrie connects most deeply.  Highmore’s performance is nothing short of astonishing.  Despite Depp’s insightful handling of the character of Barrie, the film would only have been adequate without Highmore’s performance as an intelligent child who misses his father (passed on before the opening of the story) and will not be lied to - and that includes all the misdirection and watering down of facts that adults often employ when dealing with a child who they feel is too young for the truth.  Highmore clearly reflects the sensibilities of a young boy, but he also capably shows that Peter Davies is in some ways, more an adult than Barrie will ever be.

This is a vastly satisfying film.

I finished the last sock.  As you can see, I didn’t manage to get the blue/gray socks to match despite my efforts.  I think they’re cute anyways :) But I have to tell you, I don’t think I want to make another sock for a while!  In fact I’m taking a couple days off knitting because my fingers were killing me by the time I was finished with that last one.

But...all was well when I gave them to my doctor yesterday afternoon.  He only saw the hats at first because I had tucked the socks into the folded up part so they wouldn’t float around in the bag.  He seemed very pleased and indicated that his wife would be thrilled.  She, apparently, thinks very highly of hand made things :) I hope they stand up well and keep the babies warm and comfy.

And I really do think the #1 DPNs should have a long, well deserved rest :)

What a beautiful weekend, weather-wise, it was here.  Lots of sun and moderate temperatures - just wonderful.  And you know, after the 40 days and 40 nights of rain we had here a while back, I just can’t seem to get enough sunshine!

Dad and I went to a lovely place for breakfast.  The Bedford Village Inn is a bed and breakfast establishment in Bedford, NH.  It’s a beautiful, old fashioned place that pays very careful attention to its décor and its menu.  It also has the best breakfasts and the most lovely view (the dining room is all windows looking out on wonderfully landscaped grounds) this side of being on board ship.

I had a hash (their term - I wouldn’t have called anything this elegant a “hash") of roasted Red Bliss potatoes, red onions, mushrooms, sausage and baby spinach topped with Vermont cheddar cheese (lots of it!) and two perfectly scrambled eggs.  Dad had a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped heavy cream and the two of us were just in...well...hog heaven :)

We enjoyed it so much that on the way home, Dad suggested we make reservations there for dinner Christmas Eve.  That sounded like a wonderful idea, so I called them that afternoon.  Yes they still had room, yes they could seat us around 6:30.  She asked for name, telephone number and then she asked for a credit card number!  The restaurant wanted 72 hours cancellation notice or the card would be charged $25.00 per person.  I withdrew the reservation request, thanked the young lady for her time and hung up. 

Do people really hand out their card numbers so easily?  Granted, this is a very upscale place (the Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners are a pris fixe of $67.00) and I realize that they want to make sure that their preparations will roughly match the number of people they expect to be serving.  However, it seems to me that such a measure is especially shabby at Christmas time.  What if there’s a snow storm which makes traveling difficult or impossible or a sudden case of the flu?  Weather and virii don’t ordinarily give a 72 hour notice.

The Bedford Village Inn would have, undeniably, been a lovely place for Christmas Eve dinner and the food would have been superlative.  But neither dad nor I are comfortable with their conditions for reservations.  We’ll find another place.

This worked out much better :) Starting with 48 stitches on size 5 (US) needles, I worked a 2x2 rib for about 2 inches and than switched to a 6x2 rib for the body of the mitt.  I started the thumb gusset a few rows up from the wrist ribbing and just bound it off when it was wide enough.  I worked about three further rows in the body ribbing before switching back to the 2x2 rib for another inch or so.  I think it’s pretty good though the cast-off at the top of the gusset is the tiniest bit loose and I’m considering tightening it up with a bit of crochet.  The mitt is just a hair big for me so it should be perfect for dad :)

The gerbils have all settled down and are apparently doing well in the new arrangement.  Crackle seems to have recovered from her ordeal and is behaving and acting normally though there’s still a bit of fur missing from her left shoulder which enables me to better tell her from Pop to whom she is otherwise identical.

Time for me to go.  Myria is making her splendid cornbread this morning which will accompany eggs with pepperoni and cheese.  Ahhhh - life is good!

Since I have to be out early again tomorrow, and since I was already late once this week, I’m posting tomorrow’s post tonight :)

Well we’ve got trouble,
Right here in River City
With a capital T and that rhymes with G
And that stands for gerbil…

I was getting ready to lie down last night and checked the little girls tank one last time.  Crackle came running out of their little wooden house covered with blood!  Pop was out and darting around the tank and she seemed to be fine.  But then Snap exited the house and she too was bloody.  ACK!!!  I went and woke Myria up and we sat there at 1:30 in the morning trying to figure out what was going on.

Of course we’re not gerbil mind readers so we never will know for sure.  It became clear fairly quickly that Crackle was hurt (though not badly, thank goodness) and that Snap was not hurt at all - she just had Crackle’s blood on her.  A few minutes later we observed Snap going after Crackle in a far less than sisterly fashion and that helped us decide what to do.  We moved Snap back into the little tank and left Crackle and Pop in the larger one.  Things seem to have quieted down.  Crackle was up and around today, a little bit ragged looking but eating, drinking, running around and chewing her cardboard tube as she normally would and she doesn’t seem to have any issues with Pop.  Snap will stay in the other tank and have it all to herself.

And, the good news continues :)

I went back to work on this today hoping I could get it and a mate done my tomorrow morning.  Things were moving along well, I thought - cables were nicely formed and the purl stitches between them looked nice and neat, not gappy as sometimes happens.  I had reached the thumb/gusset area and paused to try it on.  Tight - like Ebenezer Scrooge or like a model’s bathing suit.  I could get it on, but not without seriously distorting the fabric.  What puzzles me is that I have been trying this on as I worked on it.  It wasn’t this snug last night!  Oh well...frog city and I’ll stick to simple ribbing next time.  Dad probably would have thought the cables were effeminate anyways.  Dad has other strange ideas too :)

In lieu of any real content, thought I’d share some of my needles with you - not that you should care :) We all have our favorites.  These are mine.

These are Brittany birches at the top, Crystal Palace bamboo in the middle and the old Brittany black walnuts at the bottom.  The bamboos were the first non-metal needles I tried and I liked them well enough - until I tried the wooden ones.  The birch needles are my standbys, the first things I reach for - unless whatever I’m knitting calls for a size 4 or a size 10.5.  Then I go for the black walnut needles.  They handle any kind of yarn well (including acrylic and cotton) and are warm in the hands and beautiful to look at.  I also have two ebony circulars which are also superb in terms of the range of yarns they handle well.  Those have very blunt points, however, and this is sometimes a problem.  The rest of my most used circulars are Susan Bates Siverados (very slick, very flexible cable) and a single, size 1 Addi Turbo :) For double points, I often like metal but have begun acquiring some bamboo sets which I am finding quite nice - much smoother and slicker than those original Crystal Palaces needles and very nice to work with.

And now that I have blathered you all insensible - I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :)

This is a bit late today, my apologies.  I had a morning appointment and that delayed posting.

I still have to finish the other baby sock, but I decided to give myself a bit if a break because, honestly, I’m getting a little sick of baby socks :) So I started a couple of other things. Just to keep myself from using my knitting needles as tinker toys!

You may remember this yarn combination from previous experiments.  It’s a strand of KnitPicks’ Shadows merino lace weight combined with a strand of Blue Heron rayon flake thread.  I thought I’d try one of my favorite lace patterns with this.  This bit will probably get frogged for two reasons.  First, I’m working it on size 6 needles but I’m not getting as lacey a look as I’d hoped.  Size 8 needles might be better.  Second, The edges look horrid!  I should have thought of adding some stitches to either side but it never occurred to me.  I don’t think I could even block this to look the way I want.

But - the yarn works nicely and the fir cone pattern is beautiful and that’s worth knowing.

As the weather continues to chill, I have remembered that I promised dad that I’d make him some fingerless mitts that he could wear around the house to keep his hands warm and that - most importantly - wouldn’t interfere with his practicing his clarinet.

I think I’m going to try a thumb gusset in this as I believe it would provide greater flexibility and it will also keep the cables straight.  I want to try and get these done by Friday which is when I see Dad again.  I want him to have them as soon as possible.

And while we’re here, a question?  The yarn is Classic Elite Follies - 40% rayon, 35% alpaca and 20% wool.  I know it’s nice and warm because I made my own mitts from this yarn last year and they are wonderful (I’ve just now broken them out again and have even used them a couple of times!).  However, this yarn spit splices better than any yarn I’ve ever used - despite the hefty rayon content.  The stuff fulls if you breathe on it.  If any of you have ever knit with Follies, can you tell me how you washed it - besides very carefully?  I’m terrified that I’ll get these completed and dunk them in the sink only to find that they’ll only be fit for chipmunks!  No, I haven’t washed my own yet - I’ve been afraid to - but that’s probably what I should do first, eh? They could use a little cleaning up anyway.

Caught his nibs on top of the Gerbil tank twice today!  He got his little bum booted (gently) both times.  This interest has been sudden and we’re kind of wondering what’s going on in his head.  The tank now sports a couple of irregular 5lb weights on its lid which will make it more difficult for him to perch up there.  The little bugger :)

This weekend, we saw The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  The critics didn’t care for this movie, generally stating that there was no story line, that it made no sense and that the title was mis-leading, it messed with the story of the comic books it was taken from...etc.

The basic idea is that a master villain is out to conqueror the world, starting with England and so the League is assembled to thwart his evil plan, which task the League eventually accomplishes :) The League consists of Alan Quartermain, leader and Holmsian-type sleuth (King Solomon’s Mines, H. Rider Haggard), Dorian Gray, immortal, courtesy of his infamous portrait (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde), Mina Harker, wife of the late Jonathan Harker, vampire (Dracula, Bram Stoker), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson), an adult Tom Sawyer, American Special Service (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain) and Captain Nemo along with his marvelously conceived Nautilus (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne).  And there is Skinner who stole invisibility serum from its creator and, subsequent to the partaking of same, finds himself in a permanently transparent condition.

For me, the only real problem with this film was the sound levels.  If you keep the volume high enough to easily hear the dialogue, the action sequences are going to blow you right out of your recliner.  If you keep the volume low enough to prevent your neighbors from thinking you’re staging a small war in your living room, you won’t hear the dialogue.

Otherwise, the film is great fun.  Set in 1899 at the tail end of Queen Victoria’s reign it’s a combination period piece and adventure story.  The story is admittedly slight, but it is there and follows through logically.  The sets and the action are wonderful to see though we shouldn’t, perhaps, look too closely at the technology being used - most of which wouldn’t become available for another 50 years.  Most spectacular of all is the Nautilus - a super-sub with all the gingerbread of a Victorian mansion.

No, it doesn’t require any heavy thinking and it doesn’t have any axes to grind about world poverty, racism or man’s inhumanity to man.  It’s just a fun ride - and sometimes that’s all a movie needs to be.

I finished up the hat and the first of the second pair of socks this weekend.

I need to pull out the yarn so I can match the second sock to the first and I find I’m stalling.  I do want the socks to match since it is possible with the Meileienweit where it wasn’t with the Opal - but I hate to waste the yarn.  Oh well, better to get it done, I suppose :)

The red, Cameron Scarf is still in the works too.  It has become my kitchen project and gets two or three pattern repeats a day worked while I am just sitting in the kitchen while Myria is cooking.  I must say, KnitPicks’ Wool of the Andes (their standard, worsted weight wool) is quite nice to work with and has a nice hand as well.  I’ve heard others opine that it isn’t soft enough to wear next to the skin but I think it would be just fine.  Maybe color, or the dye used to produce the color makes a difference?  I have no idea.  I like the yarn a lot - the colors are vivid, the stitch definition I excellent and the price is certainly right :)