Tenth Pair Done!

Woo hoo! Ten pairs done, but I'm still behind on the leaderboard of SOS. Oh, well. Everybody's lives have ups and downs, and I'm sure there will be times when I'm knitting when the leader(s) aren't, and vice versa. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over 'til it's over!

So this is pair #8:


These are Marigold Socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The originals were done in yellow, but I've always loved orange marigolds, so the pattern was perfect for this yarn. The whole time I was knitting them I was thirsty for Orange Crush. I'm so glad I can get it where I live now. Do you know, when I lived one county north, Orange Crush could not be found for love nor money. Go figure. Anyway, nothing tastes so orangey. Starkist orange soda, blech!!

Back to socks. This is pair #9:


This pattern is WendyKnits' Double Eyelet Rib, one of my favorite patterns (though I do my own toe and heel in my own...idiom?) I bought this yarn online, thinking it was another yarn that I loved but had lost the label for. Turned out to be completely different, but I love this too. It's Opal Rainforest; one of the "bird" colors. These socks go to Missy, so I have an excuse to buy more of this yarn. And I'll make them plain because I love the color and variegation so much.

On to pair #10:


These are Supersocke Cotton Beach yarn that I bought on clearance from Simply Socks. I've made two pairs now, and I really like how they turned out. The colors were much prettier than I expected. These are going to Missy, too.

I've been through another book: "The Age of Innocence." Great book, terrible narrator. I hate that. And they did a hideous job of editing it. Right in the middle of a tense scene, the narrator says, "Oh, let's retake that," and reads the paragraph again!! Talk about being jolted! She had an awful, grating voice too, so I plan to leave a negative review for that particular book on Audible.com.

I'm listening to "Sense and Sensibility" right now, because I love Jane Austen, and that narrator is fantastic. She has the amazing ability to change her voice so completely for each character. That makes listening so enjoyable. She happens to be the actress who played Mrs. Elton in "Emma" (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow) so her acting experience apparently is a great asset in narrating books. Her name is Juliet Stevenson, and I plan to search for more books narrated by her.

I feel as if I've done nothing but knit socks for years. It's like being down the rabbit hole! I miss spinning! I miss my needlepoint! I miss reading the newspaper! Seriously, to keep up, I have to knit every free moment. I'm trying to remember why I'm doing this...The prize of more sock yarn? Hmmm...

The other time-sucker is Plurk. It's so much fun, though. You have your own friends whose plurks you follow, and the back-and-forth gets hilarious. I'm in a little circle of knitters that includes Wendy from WendyKnits, and she's a riot. I also covet her cat, Lucy, and would be Lucy's stalker if I lived closer to her. Don't tell my cat. Or Wendy. She'll de-friend me.

Missy bought the Rugrat a wading pool today, so as soon as Papaw is done cutting the grass, we'll fill it. The water should be warm enough tomorrow afternoon for her to play in it. I need to dig out the pictures of Missy in her wading pool at that age. No, I'm not sniffling. Shut up.

SOS'08: Sick of Socks

That certainly didn't take long, did it? Two weeks into it, with eight left to go, and I'm dying to work on a shawl, or spin, or almost anything but turn another stinkin' heel!

So here are pairs four, five, and six:



What's a little frustrating is not knowing for sure if I'm anywhere near having the most so far. Though last Tuesday, one participant posted pics of her SEVENTH pair of socks! In ten days! That was discouraging, but she did post later that she will be taking classes starting next week, so her production will slow down. I'm sure I'm not the only one glad to read that.

At least I can turn a heel now without having to read the directions as I go. I still goofed up on the last pair and had a yarn-over in the wrong place. I'm also learning that the later in the evening, the faster I knit--up to a point (1:30AM seems to be my cut-off time.) And I hate ribbing. It makes my hands hurt. Perhaps if I learned another way to knit it would be better, but I can't take the time to relearn everything!

I've worked my way through a number of audiobooks as well. There was "The Johnstown Flood" by David McCullough, which was like listening to a terrific suspense story. I had heard of the flood, but never realized what actually happened. As usual, it was more a man-made disaster than a natural one.

Then there was "The Poisonwood Bible," which I've read about seven times, but still love. Every reading (or listen) brings out new subtleties that I missed before. It's really such a tour de force that you need to read it more than once. I also listened to "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, again something I had read before, but enjoyed hearing even if the ending is a bit of a downer. I'm working on "The Wings of the Dove" by Henry James right now, but it's hard going. Honestly, he used fifty words to say what only needed five. I keep thinking, "Get on with it!" I may have to give up and retreat to Mrs. Wharton--I'm going to download "The Age of Innocence" next. And I'd love suggestions. I've been sticking to classics because I don't want to hear sex scenes or bad language, so if you know of any good books without smut, please pass on the info.

So the knitting goes pretty fast when I have something good to listen to. Otherwise, the house is still pretty much trashed, though I did do laundry. I need to clean the bathroom and just get some clutter cleared up. It's amazing how quickly it piles up.

It's raining again, so I still haven't done any outside work. I need to stake the hollyhocks ASAP. They're tilting a bit!

The result of Missy's cooking:

THAT, I will have you know, is what's left of one of my handwoven towels. I made a set at least six years ago, and they're still good as new. Or at least one of them is.

Last, but not least, here's my "Caturday" photo. It's a bit of a cheat because it's not actually one of my cats, but I've been too busy getting sock pictures done to try to take cat photos. And this is so cute:

Love that expression!

EDIT: Oh, for cryin' out loud. I forgot it's only Friday. Well, I'm early for Caturday.

SOS'08: Sick of Socks

That certainly didn't take long, did it? Two weeks into it, with eight left to go, and I'm dying to work on a shawl, or spin, or almost anything but turn another stinkin' heel!

So here are pairs four, five, and six:



What's a little frustrating is not knowing for sure if I'm anywhere near having the most so far. Though last Tuesday, one participant posted pics of her SEVENTH pair of socks! In ten days! That was discouraging, but she did post later that she will be taking classes starting next week, so her production will slow down. I'm sure I'm not the only one glad to read that.

At least I can turn a heel now without having to read the directions as I go. I still goofed up on the last pair and had a yarn-over in the wrong place. I'm also learning that the later in the evening, the faster I knit--up to a point (1:30AM seems to be my cut-off time.) And I hate ribbing. It makes my hands hurt. Perhaps if I learned another way to knit it would be better, but I can't take the time to relearn everything!

I've worked my way through a number of audiobooks as well. There was "The Johnstown Flood" by David McCullough, which was like listening to a terrific suspense story. I had heard of the flood, but never realized what actually happened. As usual, it was more a man-made disaster than a natural one.

Then there was "The Poisonwood Bible," which I've read about seven times, but still love. Every reading (or listen) brings out new subtleties that I missed before. It's really such a tour de force that you need to read it more than once. I also listened to "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, again something I had read before, but enjoyed hearing even if the ending is a bit of a downer. I'm working on "The Wings of the Dove" by Henry James right now, but it's hard going. Honestly, he used fifty words to say what only needed five. I keep thinking, "Get on with it!" I may have to give up and retreat to Mrs. Wharton--I'm going to download "The Age of Innocence" next. And I'd love suggestions. I've been sticking to classics because I don't want to hear sex scenes or bad language, so if you know of any good books without smut, please pass on the info.

So the knitting goes pretty fast when I have something good to listen to. Otherwise, the house is still pretty much trashed, though I did do laundry. I need to clean the bathroom and just get some clutter cleared up. It's amazing how quickly it piles up.

It's raining again, so I still haven't done any outside work. I need to stake the hollyhocks ASAP. They're tilting a bit!

The result of Missy's cooking:

THAT, I will have you know, is what's left of one of my handwoven towels. I made a set at least six years ago, and they're still good as new. Or at least one of them is.

Last, but not least, here's my "Caturday" photo. It's a bit of a cheat because it's not actually one of my cats, but I've been too busy getting sock pictures done to try to take cat photos. And this is so cute:

Love that expression!

EDIT: Oh, for cryin' out loud. I forgot it's only Friday. Well, I'm early for Caturday.