Well, knitting is a process, right? It's not all about the finished objects, is it? I keep telling myself that as I re-knit the sock I had 2/3 done. When I examined it last night, I was not real thrilled with the neatness of where I picked up the gusset. So, I ripped out the whole thing and started again. I am making the smaller size, unusual for me, but the larger size (co 72 sts) seemed too big. I have wide feet but this was too big for me. So, now I am just finishing the ribbing and ready to get started on the pattern. But there is good news, too. I just got my copy of On the Road Knitting by Nancy Bush. Amazon said they didn't have it so I had to buy a used copy and thankfully it is in good shape. Now I have a world of new socks to ogle and plan for. Yay for yarn dreams!

As I was reading some blogs at work on Friday, I came across Yarnation. The Duchess, who writes the blog, was describing how her husband reads to her while she knits and how pleasurable this is. I thought that was really nice and suggested to Peter Kevin that he could read to me and I cannot quite capture in words his response. He did, however, suggest that we could go to the bookstore and purchase Harry Potter on cd and I could listen to the cds while I knit. Now, that is one of my favorite ways to knit, listening to a good book but I felt it was very self-indulgent and said so. He said "Let me spoil you today". So, Kate and I went to the bookstore and purchased the new Harry Potter book read by a wonderful man named Jim Dale. He is amazing and has won several awards for his over 200 voices created for the HP books. So, it took forever to load them onto my mp3 player (the technologists in my family said load them to the computer first but I didn't listen) so they would be portable. During this time, very little housework got done, except laundry (clean underwear is a necessity) but I did manage to do some knitting( imagine that). I am loving the book. I never thought I would like to be read to but since I cannot read on the train(I get sick) I have become addicted to recorded books. Thank goodness there are hundreds available for download at netlibrary.


This is the hourglass lace sock pattern that I started on Friday night. Every new pattern I try teaches me something. What I learned this time is that I take a long time to learn a pattern and become comfortable with it. There is a lot of frogging in the beginning but usually I have success if I persevere. This is nice and stretchy and should fit my rather wide feet nicely without stretching the pattern all out of wack. I like it and I like working with the white yarn. It is so pretty and soft when knit up.
The sky is quite threatening right now. They are predicting heavy downpours today and I am looking forward to a quiet day indoors with Harry and the sock. I am going to put dinner in the crockpot very soon so even that will be taken care of. Now, if I could just get someone to do the little bit of ironing there is to do, the day would be perfect.
Have a peaceful day everyone.

Yay! The yarn I ordered for Olivia came today and now I can put together a box of New Jersey goodness to send her way. I was getting it ready when my husband reminded me that we aren't allowed to take boxes that are already closed up to the post office. They have to be open and they will close them there. They have to see the contents. How weird is that? I believe in national security but we are becoming a bunch of paranoid weenies.

I chose a sock pattern for my prize yarn. I am trying hourglass eyelet pattern from Magknits. I say trying because I have ripped it out twice because my stitch count seems to be off. I, of course, will keep trying until I get it. Kate is wearing her orange and red monkeys today and they look fabulous on her feet. I'd photograph them if she stood still long enough.

A good knitting weekend coming up. The weather is supposed to be rainy and yucky. Oh darn...

This was waiting for me when I got home from work today. Well, actually, it was in an envelope but I forgot to photograph it before opening it and the good stuff was all inside anyway. It is my prize from the drawing on the first rest day of the Tdf kal. There is some very soft white yarn for some socks for me (yay) and some point protectors shaped like little yellow socks. These are very cute and will come in handy when using the knitpicks dpns (the yarn tends to slip off of them when I put them down). Thank you Meg and Debbie! I have to finish thesefirst. They are the monkey socks for Kate that I put down to take part in the tdf kal. I have one more repeat of the pattern and then the toe decreases. That shouldn't take too long, (I hope!). After they are done, I can start a pair of socks for me. Maybe the waving laces pattern (from 25 favorite socks), I really like the way it came out the first time I tried it.

In other knitting news, Olivia and I are involved in a swap and let me tell you how hard it is to find yarn that is local to New Jersey. I finally found some lovely yarn but it is from Pennsylvania. Since it is within a day's drive, I figure it qualifies as local. My family is having a good time suggesting local items to put into the box. Unfortunately, it is high summer here and I have to be careful not to put anything meltable in there. Sending yarn to Australia seems a little strange, 'cause don't you all have lots of sheeps there? Anyway, I am waiting for my order to arrive and then I will pack it up and ship it out. I love sending packages. It feels like Christmas.

Here they are for their internet debut, the Tour de France kal hiking socks! Yay! They are finished and Peter Kevin says "they feel like socks". I take that to mean they are comfortable. The photo is a little blurry and I tried to crop it but let's just say today is not a good technology day and leave it at that.

I took the pattern measurements from Interweave knits 25 favorite socks and then modified it to make my husband happy. He really didn't like the idea of snowflakes (or any other design) on his socks. He does like the stripes and the feel of the wool. I used yarnart crazy color number 102 and size 3 dpns to get the size I needed. I think they should be taller but he likes them like this. I have some nice plain brown that I want to use to make another pair. It felt strange making socks this thick after all of the nice, thin, sock yarn. It feels even stranger going back to the orange monkeys that are in the process of being knitted now.

I am so glad the work day is over. Mondays are my tough day. I help a psychiatrist run a medication clinic in the morning for individuals with mental retardation who have mental illness and then a quick lunch and a clinic with a different doctor for individuals with "only" mental health problems. There is very little down time and it is exhausting by the time it's over. On Tuesdays, I have one afternoon clinic (during the school year, I supervise social work interns) and on Wed and Thurs, I run groups for our social rehabilitation program. Thurs afternoons and Fridays are paperwork and meeting days (we all LOVE meetings).

The temperature outside has dropped into the 70's and it makes me want to cast on a sweater for me. But I know the weather tomorrow is supposed to be back into the 90's and I won't want to pick it up and knit it. (sigh). It will have to wait for the fall.

I had hoped to have a finished pair of socks to show for today but that is not the case. Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days that we have had this summer and Peter Kevin and I went for a drive to Lancaster, PA for the day. Lancaster is the home of a large community of Amish folks and it is some of the most beautiful farmland in the country. As we were drivingI realized that I forgot to bring the camera and of course, saw terrific photo opportunities all day. We like to drive there because there is a farm market with the best apple/cherry cider and we love it. They also have other food items that are not in our regular stores and every few months we treat ourselves to a drive to shop and look at antiques and quilts and lovely hand made items.
Now for the reason the sock is not finished. First, I made a Christmas gift this weekend while my daughter is away at her anime convention. I wish I could post a photo because it is great but she reads this and I am determined to hang on until Christmas. I am not good with the whole waiting thing. I like to give gifts and want to give it to her NOW but I am really trying. The second reason is that after 25 years of marriage, my darling husband still likes to hold my hand and I cannot knit with one hand so I put the knitting down and held his hand while he drove. I know, I know but I like holding his hand. I had to rip out three rows of the sock when I discovered I had made a mistake I could not figure out (hard to do in stockinette stitch) and I am in the process of finishing the last bit before the toe decreases. Hopefully today will be the day and I can post a finished product tonight.
Today is just as lovely as yesterday but the chores are screaming at me. Someone has to do the laundry(I already went shopping) and the house needs a sprucing up if not a full on cleaning. I straightened and lightly dusted and cleaned the floors. Isn't that enough? Can I knit now?

So, I took the spirit animal test and found out I am a grizzly bear (y'all better watch out!) but I have been unable to post the results of the "test" on the blog. There's something wrong with the html and since I don't understand, I can't post the photo, just the text. Oh, well. I should be working anyway and not taking silly tests online.

"Your spirit animal is the Grizzly Bear. No other spirit animal matches it's size and strength. This creature is among the noblest and most respectable, and you are truly fortunate. It is both fearsome and awesome to behold. It will serve you well, and shows that you have a deeper understanding than most. It is quite rare indeed to have a Grizzly as a spirit animal!

***Wondering how this animal was chosen for you? These questions were carefully thought out to see how important you hold certain virtues such as: humanism, self-knowledge, rationalism, the love of freedom and other somewhat Hellenic ideals. Some of the questions were very subtle. Your score was then matched with an animal of corresponding nobility. However, you shouldn't think this was a right/wrong sort of test, but more of an idealistic values test. It's ok to not hold these values, you'll just get an animal spirit of lower stature if you do!*** "

I am knitting away on the hiking sock. I was at a seminar yesterday and got to tell the women around me all about the kal and what I was doing. It was cool because I think they were really interested. At least, they asked a lot of questions.

I think the antibiotics are working although it's hard to tell. In the past, I have been fooled into thinking things were getting better when the little germs were working their way down into my skin so we will wait to make a judgement.

I must do some work now. They do pay me afterall.

No update shot because I am having some trouble getting a good, clear shot of sock number 2. I have turned the heel and am now on the home stretch. Just 8 more inches and a toe decrease et voila! I was very excited to learn today that I WON the free day drawing in the tdf kal! Woot! How very cool is that? I was at work, hip deep in paperwork when I checked the blog, remembering that today was the drawing. I was pretty sure I read it wrong when I saw my name in bold, red letters. It made me smile all day.


Which was good because now I have to go to the doctors to get some lumps checked out. I have a history of cellulitis from bumps near my lymph glands in my armpits. Three emergency room visits and two hospitalizations worth of history. It is no end of fun to lift your (usually unshaven because it is sore and infected) armpit up to the light so lots of doctors can look (and poke) at it. My doctor and I have a deal. I call him when I find a bump, he calls in an antibiotic and I call him if it doesn't seem to be working. Unfortunately, he is on vacation and I have to go into the office and be seen by his physician's assistant. She is a very nice person but now I have to go and show her my armpits. At this rate, every doctor in south jersey will have seen my underarms! And 10 days of antibiotics to look forward to. I know there are worse things and there are people out there truly suffering so I will stop whining now. I just hate the fact that after the antibiotic, comes the miconazol.....

And just so it isn't a completely photo free post, here is one of my favorite space pictures. If I didn't get air sick I would have been an astronaut. I so wanted to go to the moon and be on a ship like the Enterprise. This is called "a stellar jewel box" and is available from nasa on their astronomy picture of the day website. It's so beautiful, it gives me goose bumps.

Today was a lovely Sunday. Peter Kevin and I spent the day at the lake with our niece, Maggie. She is a sweet, funny, smart 7 year old. I know she is tired tonight after all the swimming and sand castle building she did today. We had a good day. One of the nicest things about going to the lake is the fact that you HAVE to relax. There are no chores to do and you are forced to sit in the shade of an umbrella and breathe in the hot sunshine. I wanted to use a photo of Maggie but realized I didn't check with her parents and they might not be too keen on it so here is a shot of another local lake instead. Both are in the Pinelands and are "cedar" water. This means they turn your bathing suit brownish when you swim. This is due to the high iron content of the soil. I don't think anyone swims in this particular lake at least not right here because of the dam. But it is still beautiful.

In other news, I finished hiking sock number one on Friday and cast on late Saturday night for number two. So I am halfway through my Tour de France kal project. It is a nice, warm, thick sock and I really like the yarn. It is a wool, acrylic blend that the lys recommended for this kind of sock. It's hard to think about thick and warm being a good thing in July when we are wilting under 95 degree days! I am hoping to finish the other one soon so I can finish Katie's monkeys.

Back to work tomorrow. I have no medication clinics to take care of and will have time to catch up on paperwork all week. The nice part is that I can leave on time and take time to actually eat my lunch and maybe, just maybe, knit a little. I still have social rehabilitation groups to run but they are the best parts of my week. Most of the individuals in the groups benefit from being able to talk about their illnesses and how they are moving down their paths to recovery. It takes very little encouragement for them to share their experiences with the group. Very often, they have no one at home who wants to listen.

I read what Pope Benedict had to say this week and it makes me so sad. I am not Catholic and not even sure I qualify as Christian but I do know that the kind of papers he is issuing are devisive and not inclusive or loving. Does it matter that we all travel different paths in our lives? Can't we just accept that our "way" may not be someone else's but they are all equally valid?

Sorry, I am off the soapbox, now. Have a good Sunday evening everyone!

Look what happens when you leave hiking socks unattended! This one is trying to mail himself somewhere (to France, perhaps?). I guess he can't walk by himself because he has no toes (yet). It's not for lack of trying but that pesky job gets in the way of my knitting time. The sock looks strange to me because of the size and dimensions but I had Peter Kevin (carefully) slip it on last night and he assured me it was ok. He even allowed as to how comfortable it seemed. He started to show some interest in HIS socks. The yarn has very little stretch in it and the foot is all stockinette stitch to keep down the bulk in his boots. The yarn pattern is interesting and doesn't seem to repeat itself into actual stripes. It has been a strain on my fingers to knit with (I have arthritis in my hands that I take glucosamine for and it actually works) because of the thickness. I will be very glad when they are done. If it weren't for the challenge of the Tour, I might just put them "away". And we all know what that means.....

Here is the sock on the front step, still trying to crawl away on it's toeless foot.

No photo today. I just wanted to say that I have safely negotiated the curves of the heel and gusset and am on the straightaway toward the toe. Two more inches and the decreases begin. The best part is that Peter Kevin likes it and it seems to fit! Yay! Of course if it hadn't fit, I would have had to keep the socks for myself and wouldn't that be tragic. Photos of finished sock number one coming up tomorrow.

This is my cat Hobbes showing his disdain for my knitting endeavor. I am 1 inch away from finishing the cuff of sock number one of my hiking socks. The yarn band says it is "fine" but I think it is rather thick. This could be because I have been knitting with sock yarn for months now and anything would feel thick! It is yarnart brand , crazy color #102. It is a mixture of brown, beige and ivory. Since Peter Kevin didn't want snowflakes on his socks (as per the pattern), I tried to get a thicker yarn that would make them interesting but still "manly". They are knitting up fairly quickly and I love the way they feel. They are a bit hard to work with and I am glad for my knitpicks needles. I just know I would have used a forest worth of bamboo needles by now.

I have been trying to describe what a kal is to the folks at work who see my ziplock bag of yarn in my work bag and want to see "what's new". I think they all think I am a bit eccentric, well, maybe A LOT eccentric but that's ok. No one on the train has said anything for a while although I can see them looking out of the corner of my eye. Maybe I should get a button that says "ask me about my knitting!"

In my own personal tdf (tour de france), I am still on the straightaway--curves and heels coming up. Stay tuned!

I thought I would show you what happens when you take monkeys to the beach: they play in the sand! This is monkey number 2. I have turned the heel and am working on the foot. Monkey number one is finished and is destined to be a belated graduation gift for Kate. She has been admiring the socks since I started them so I will be once again turning over a hand knitted pair of socks. Eventually I will make a pair for me!

But, today starts the Tour de France kal! I am ashamed to say I thought TOMOROW was the big day and have just now at 8 pm cast on for the first of my hiking socks that I am making for my project. The pattern is the EEsti Hiking Socks from 25 Favorite Socks by Interweave. The yarn is brown and white variegated worsted weight on size 3 dpns. I did a swatch and I like the way the yarn knits up. It will make nice, warm, soft socks to keep my honey's feet warm while he is hiking the wilds of New Jersey.

Bon chance tout le monde!

We spent our Fourth very quietly. The weather forcast was for increasingly nasty weather so there were no great plans. I love unplanned days like this. All five of us, for once all the girls were home at the same time, watched Star Wars. We have been slowly working our way through all 6 movies (except for no. 1 which no one likes) and we are now on the "good ones". I have such fond memories of standing in line to see this movie and seeing it 12 or so times in the theater (no vcrs in 1977). It was the most amazing film I had ever seen and still remains one of my all time favorites (although the Lord of the Rings has pushed it aside just a bit). On July 3rd our town had it fireworks display. We gathered at the school at 6:30 and ate a picnic dinner and just enjoyed the outdoors. It also gives us a chance to see some of the children we watched grow up into lovely young men and women as the whole town gathers for this event. One of Emily's friends is in Bagdad and we miss him. We were just talking about what kind of care package to send and decided he needed some hand made socks. So we got some nice warm wool (it's cold in the winter!) and will start shortly. The Red Cross has an interesting web site where you can read patterns from both world wars for socks, hats and sweaters for soldiers.
My monkey socks are tooling along. I am almost finished the first one and it looks great. No progress shot, the weather is lousy today and the light is nonexistent. I plan to spend much of the next couple of days finishing it and getting as much done on number 2 as I can before the Tour de France kal begins.
Thanks to everyone who offered tips and info on proper knitting technique. I am doing ok with the "new" way but once in a while, if I am not paying attention, I slip. Much cursing and ripping ensues!

Here is my first monkey sock after 3 repeats of the pattern. I had a hard time with it. I don't think the pattern is difficult and it does move along quickly as everyone said. I think the needles are so slick( which is usually wonderful) that when I put it down, I am losing stitches off the ends. I love the knitpick needles but I think the combination of the slippery needles and the superwash/nylon sock yarn is dangerous. I had to rip out so many rows because I couldn't pick up the stitches that had fallen off. Sometimes it wasn't so bad but others, well it was just easier to rip it out and start over. I am also trying to knit this correctly (in the front loop) and sometimes I forget what I'm doing and have to rip out a row because I knit in the back loop for the whole row. It is frustrating trying to retrain my muscles to do something differently. I never found the ktbl to be difficult. It was what I knew.

I love the way the yarn is working with the pattern. It is a colorful, lightweight sock and I can't wait to wear it. Of course, I have to finish the first one and then knit number two. This might be hampered by the start of the Tour de France kal which is July 9. I have just over a week to finish these socks or put them aside in favor of the hiking socks I am doing for the kal.

I have one other small gripe about the knitpick dpns, although overall, I love them and prefer them over bamboo or other woods. They don't print the size of the needle anywhere on them. I have a gadget which tells me which size my needle is by sticking it into the hole but it is so much easier to just print the size on the needle. All in all that is a very small thing and I am not going to complain (too much).