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Finally, after two years, my poor single sock is getting a mate. Since I'm only knitting one sock (and I don't have a long enough circ in the right size), I'm knitting this guy on two circs instead of magic loop. I cast on using Judy's Magic Cast-on yesterday morning and this is as far as I've gotten since then. I'd be knitting a lot more but those really pointy needles have poked a hole in my right index finger. Very annoying. I'm going to try a band-aid and see if that will help.
This one is from 3gwoodworks on Etsy. The whorl is gorgeous Redwood burl wood and the shaft is curly Maple. It's perfectly balanced and spins a good long time. I'm spinning Polwarth on it at the moment.
I love how the green roving spun up. Combining it with the tutti fruiti yarn is going to make for some fun, springy socks. I really want to cast on immediately but I have UFOs to finish. I'm trying not to lose interest in the shawl I'm in the middle of and I really need to give the single socks mates. I'm sure they're lonely.
My only two holiday parties took place on Saturday. My spinning guild party started at 10:00am and my knitting group's part started at 2:00. I hadn't been to a guild meeting since June. Between picking summer fruits and bookbinding classes, I just haven't been able to make meetings until Saturday. I hadn't realized how much I missed hanging out with my spinning friends until I got there and started chatting. I've been invited to a spin-in on January 2nd with most of the same people and I'm really looking forward to it.
Next weekend, I expect I'll be holed up at home doing all my holiday baking. Most everyone is getting food this year. Most people will be getting Chex Mix and homemade cookies and a few people will be getting homemade jam. My mom and dad request the same cookies every year. I'll be trying out some new cookies recipes from the Food Network that sound pretty good. Does anyone have a favorite holiday cookie recipe they'd like to share? I'm looking for recipes that aren't terribly fussy. As much as I like to eat rolled cookies, I don't have the patience this year to roll them out myself. I'd especially like freezer cookie recipes.
That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the finished yarn. The lime green is a lot more subtle that I thought it would be. There's only about 240 yards of about sport weight. I don't think that's enough for a pair of socks so I decided to dye more roving to be the toes, heels and cuffs. I got this:
I need to spin it up to see if it'll work. If it's too yellow, I'll over dye it with more green. The combination will make for some fun spring socks.
I picked up my first pair of bifocals today. They weren't quite as bad as I was expecting but I only had them on for a couple of minutes at the doctor's office. I was told to wait until tomorrow morning because at the end of the day, my eyes are tired. I'm still in denial. Denial that is suffering from the imperical evidence of said glasses. <sigh> Part of my brain is annoyed and telling me to just suck it up and deal. The rest of me is pouting. I'm starting to get irritated at the pouting part. Wish me luck!
It's kicking my butt and all I want to do is sleep. I did a lot of that today. Stayed home from work. Sadly, my day of sleeping was interrupted by not one, but two, gall bladder attacks. I can't tell you how unpleasant they were. I suspect I'll be getting rid of some original equipment fairly soon. You don't really need your gall bladder, so good riddance!
I managed to finish the second pair of socks I wanted done by the end of the year:
I learned to cable without a needle with this pair. I just love YouTube!
If you look carefully, you can see the cables. The yarn is far too busy for the cables to show up but I was doing them as much to learn how as much as to break up the boredom of 2x2 rib. The yarn is Socks that Rock seconds purchased at the Maryland show. I have to say, it was worth standing in the long line to get this yarn. It's lives up to the hype.
I managed to get some spinning done this weekend, too:
This is 2 of the 4 oz. I dyed. I experimented with the dyeing. I squirted the dye randomly in small spots, flipedthe roving over and did the same on the back. I was inspired by some handspun I saw in The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook. I just love that book. It's what inspired me to spin sock yarn.
Again, I'm surprised at how the yarn is turning out. The green almost disappears leaving the orange-red and fuchsia to take over.
I'm planning on plying them together tomorrow after work. I'm not terribly thrilled with the singles but I'm reserving final judgement until I see the finished 2-ply. It's often a surprise.
I took Seli to the vet Saturday for a check-up blood draw. The last time we went in - about a month and a half ago - her bloodwork showed an elevated something that implied her kidneys might not be working right, plus, she's on steroids. So Dr. White drew blood and called me Monday to say if he didn't know better, he'd think he was looking at the bloodwork from a 2-year-old cat, not an 18-year-old. Her bloodwork was perfect with no signs of kidney trouble and no sign of the steroids causing any trouble. She also gained 4 oz from 45 days ago. This is a very good thing because she'd been losing weight steadily because she just didn't eat enough. That's what the steroids are for, to increase her appetite. That news made me happy enough to shake off my depression because I have to get bifocals (stinking middle age!). Seli seems to make everything better.
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