Thursday, April 13, 2006

Peachy Keen Jelly Bean...

This is the start of a pair of socks for a friend at work. I have never knit with Sockotta before as I am fairly new to the love of sock knitting, but I am gaining ground every day. This yarn is part cotton, part wool, and just a teeny bit nylon - my guess is for durability and bounce.



When I look at this self-patterning yarn, it looks just like jelly beans to me, and it almost has kind of a happy look because the colors are really bright and fun. This is going to be a pair of cuffed anklets. The ribbing looks great, and I have Debi at FKD to thank for that. She suggested a 2x2 rib as opposed to the 1x1 rib that I used on the Cherry Tree Hill socks. The 2x2 really lends itself to the look of a folded cuff .


Supervisor Natty has just made an appearance in the room, and has reminded me in her unmistakable Siamese voice that she was promised credit for her work, and she intends to have it! Natty is my constant buddy. I work at home 3/5 days a week, and she is also a seasoned expert in medical transcription. Natty turned ten this winter, and she is still as frisky as when she was a kitten. I am undoubtedly a good playmate, but playmate is all - her heart belongs to another. She really likes me, does all the knitting, transcribing, and housework stuff with me, but she lives for my husband. I am not really jealous (not much anyway), just amazed. Hubby doesn't even have anything good for Natty to knit or play with, he isn't home with her all day, and I do most of the caretaking of her - and yet she loves only Mike. Okay, I admit it. This is an affront to my very being, petty as it is...



As you can see, Miss Natty takes her supervisory duties very seriously. I turned around for just a second and found her inspecting the progress of the new sock. Natty LOVES all bamboo needles, especially the double points. Given a chance, she would snatch those needles and give them a good chewing. In fact, she has destroyed more than one set of bamboo needles. Of course you say, "Why would you leave them out for her to find?"

The answer to that is simple. I never leave the knitting just lying around, she is a VERY determined little gal, and if there is something she truly wants, she can open sliding closet doors, undo snaps on knitting bags, and jump to the highest shelf in a closet to find what she is looking for - whatever it takes! She has been known to conduct many a black ops mission to get into something - usually my stuff, knitting in specific. Now that she is older, she doesn't do that quite so much, but I have awakened MANY times to balls of yarn unwound into a mess on the floor and around furniture that were put in a knitting bag, in a closet the night before. She has also taken the knitting off of the needles to give it a good kick/chew Siamese style. Thank God she does not have opposable thumbs, nothing would be safe!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Exploring in the land of sock...


As you can see, I have finished one sock, about half of the other, and am well on my way to another FO for 2006. This is the first time I have knit with Cherry Tree Hill, and it is great. It has been in my stash for over a year, and I finally got brave enough to undwind the hank. This is one of the few items I have knit for myself, and before you ask - yes, my feet are shaped like that sock...

CTH is wonderful to knit with, and it feels great on. I LOVE the feel of merino wool, and the weight is just perfect. It took me a long time to love to knit socks, but I have arrived. The first pair was for DH, and the rat lost that pair - guess how cold it has to be in Hell before he gets another pair??? He actually will get another pair (just not right now) as I am in a period or righteous indignation about the LOSS OF A PAIR OF HAND KNIT SOCKS! I understand a five-year-old losing socks; however, how does a forty-year-old man LOSE SOCKS??? Because it was truly an accident, and he really is sorry, I may choose to forgive him and knit an additional pair or so in the future, but nothing is concrete as of yet.

I have discovered from my extensive internet research that most knitters have supervisors of some sort, and many of them are of the feline variety. My favorite bloggster FKD has a beautiful exotic shorthair named Pumpkin - he even has photo ops and blogging privileges. From the grapevine, my supervisor (a sassy Siamese named Natty) has heard of the injustice that has been done to her, and is demanding credit for her work in the knitting world. As you can see, the supervisor and reigning queen is not amused. Credit has been given too late and too little. The above socks will probably have to be removed from the knitting bag in the middle of the night, given a series of good bunny kicks, and possibly even a little treatment with the teeth could be in order. I now have to go hide the knitting bag from Natty...