A Study In Socks And Sweater

I was really impressed to see Woollenwild's three pairs of socks that she finished on her vacation. I wish I could report that I had as much success, but I think I actually came back with less sock than I left with. I ended up ripping out the leg of my Big O socks because I didn't like how thick and solid the green looked on the second sock. Ah well. After getting home I powered through and finished them up. I'm really pleased with how they look.

I didn't want to ruin the color progression of the sock blank, so I used the other end of the blank to knit a contrasted heel. Of course the opposite end of the blank locks up when you pull at it, so I had carefully rolled a little ball of yarn for the heel. I ran out partway through the second heel and ended up with a huge tangle. Ooops. For those of you who desperately need a pair of socks like this, I used Gale's Art Single Sock Blank (not the double sock blank) in The Big O color way.

I've also been working hard on my Father's socks. One down, one to go. I'm enjoying the Peeta Sock pattern, but I'm also pretty sure that every pair of socks is going to feel fast after this pair. In addition to having long feet, Dad has a tall instep, which means I get to knit an extra tall heel and extra long gusset. Knitting such giant socks has put me off of casting on a new pair for two reasons. 1) I'm getting my fill of sock knitting with this pair and 2) If I cast on a new pair, I'd probably put off knitting the second sock. But just having one project on the needles wasn't enough for me...

So I'm knitting a sweater! I saw mrs_kndy's Dude Sweater on instagram and immediately thought to myself, I'll bet Connor would look good in that. And after all, we had just watched the Big Lebowski. (My second viewing, but Connor's first.) A quick text confirmed his interest. Connor responded with an enthusiastic, "I abide!" I didn't have the yarn I needed for the sweater (a shocker, I know), but after two trips to two different shops, we were able to get what we needed. I'm having a great time knitting this; I'm almost done with the second sleeve!

Well, before I sign off on today's post, I have to make a confession. Before I left for vacation, I bought some yarn. I couldn't help myself. Lisa at White Birch Fiber Arts had a double gradient sock yarn available and I had to have it. The color way is called Study In Peach, Mint. Although, because I was going to be gone for ten days, I asked her if she could delay shipping, which she kindly did. It arrive the day after I got back. 

Happiness is a skein of sock yarn

Is anyone else have a yarn confession?

Mid-South Pt.4: Nashville, Presidential Houses, And Reminders Of The Past

Connor and I got up pretty early because it turned out the hotel we had chosen was going to have the water off for most of the day due to a plumbing repair that needed to be made. The first thing we decided to do while in Nashville was leave Nashville. I had never seen a Civil War site before, so we headed towards Murfreesboro to see Stones River Battlefield. We read through the museum and did the tour to the different battle sites in the area. I thought that they had done a terrific job explaining the horror of war while also giving voices to those who had been part of the battle.

It was a hot day, but we sat under a tree while I painted and thought about how brave the men who had fought here been. Over three days more than 10,000 men had been lost on either side. It was sobering to realize that people had been willing to charge into cannon fire for their beliefs.

During part of the tour we also drove along what had been part of the Trail of Tears. (The forced Cherokee removal from their own lands.) That patch of land had seen a lot of sorrow in its time.

After an early afternoon of contemplation, we had some more time to burn before the water would come back at our hotel. We ended up driving to the James K. Polk house to learn about the 11th President of the United States. We have to thank Mason for this suggestion. He told us that there was Andrew Jackson's Hermitage to see, but also the "lesser known Polk House." I think he was kidding, but I'm glad we went. Polk's claim to fame was expanding the United States to include what would later be known as Texas, California, and Oregon. He is touted to be the only president to live up to all his campaign promises, including the one where he promised to be a one-term president.

After the Polk House we stopped by a restaurant called River Terrace New Orleans Cuisine. It was open by a couple who had fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I think it is the best food I ever had. Catfish Étouffée and Key Lim Pie.... yum yum. After the meal, we headed back to the hotel.

The next day was our last in Nashville. Our flight wasn't leaving until the evening, so we made a few stops. One of those stops was at The Parthenon. I didn't realize before we visited that Nashville's Parthenon is the only full-sized replica of the one found in Athens, Greece.

It was originally built for the World's Fair, but liked so much that it was rebuilt with permanent materials. It also includes a statue of Athena inside. Connor liked that even the edges of her shoes has figures placed on them.

After the Parthenon we made a quick trip to the Haus of Yarn where I picked up a little more yarn. Then we drove over to our 7th president's residence: the Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. There was this cutout of the the $20. I think we spent a little too much time making silly faces in it. We really could have used more time to see the grounds.

The price of admission seemed a little high, but I think it was entirely worth it to see the wallpaper inside the Hermitage. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but this wallpaper isn't like anything you've ever seen. It is more like a giant painting of greek mythology. I was impressed. There was an audio tour that was well put together and the grounds are really well kept. We learned that young Andrew Jackson had become a prisoner of war during the Revolutionary War. When he refused to polish a British officer's shoes, the officer slashed his face and hand with a sword. Andrew Jackson had unfortunately also been the one to force the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. He betrayed those who had previously fought alongside him in the battle of New Orleans. There were many more things to learn, and I wish we had more time to enjoy ourselves, but we had to drop off our rental car and make it back to the airport. The flight back home was pretty uneventful, which I was thankful for.

We came back with some fun goodies. First off, the yarn! The left three skeins came from Black Mountain Yarn Shop while the right two came from Haus of Yarn. From left to right we have Fern Fiber Sport Weight dyed with Weld, Fern Fiber DK weight natural color, Madelinetosh Sock in Shire (For my Mother-in-law's socks), and two skeins of The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in Ruffled Feathers and En Garde.

We also got quite a collection of patches, magnets, and a puzzle of patches. When I saw the patch puzzle, I just couldn't leave it behind. The patch locations have all been added to the patch map.

All in all, it was a great trip, but we came back home pretty tired. We were happy to go to bed early for the next few nights after the trip.

Mid-South Pt.3: Blue Ridge Parkway, Mount Mitchell, And Yarn Of Course

On our first day in North Carolina, I talked everyone into going to Black Mountain. Why? Well, I had to go see Black Mountain Yarn Shop for myself. I'd been following their instagram page for awhile, but never expected to have an opportunity to visit. I left with some souvenirs.

On the way back, we all stopped by the Folk Art Center. Memaw paid me a huge compliment and said I ought to come out on future family trips because all the things I had planned were things she wouldn't have thought to do herself.

See Mid-South Pt.4 for the details on the yarn

The next day we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The five of us climbed up the trail to get a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. (you can see the parkway in the background.) The only thing we regretted is that we didn't bring our lunch up with us. No matter, we had our lunch at the picnic tables below.

In the evening we went out for barbecue in Waynesville. I have to say, the best chicken I've ever had was at Haywood Smokehouse. It was so good, I got a meal there the next day.

The next day's adventures took us to Craggy Gardens. The Rhododendron season was at its peak and we hiked up to Craggy Bald to enjoy nature's garden. The whole area was just covered in Rhododendron blooms.

Connor's dad, Connor and I stayed a while longer so I could paint. Connor's brother Mason, who had rejoined the party, and his Mum moved on to do some more hiking. (We pooped Memaw out and she stayed at the cabin that day.)

After Craggy Gardens the three of us walked up to Mount Mitchell. I didn't realize that Connor had never been to the top; it had always been closed when he had been there in the past. I was glad that I painted at Craggy Gardens rather than Mount Mitchell. There were swarms of bugs. We ran down pretty fast after getting this picture.

The next day our adventures in North Carolina had come to an end. We caravanned to Chimney Picnic area and did a nature hike before eating lunch and parting ways. Mason then drove us back to Nashville.

Being a botanist, Mason happens to know of quite a few neat spots. Part way back to Nashville, he showed us Ozone Falls. You could swim in the pool if you wanted. We didn't. The falls are really tall. If you can see in the top right of the photo, there is a man in a hammock.

From there, we had dinner and Mason dropped us off at the airport so we could get our rental car. It was a Sunday and while we picked up the car we learned why plane tickets were so much cheaper on Tuesday. (The day we planned to leave.) It turns out we were in Nashville while the CMA (country Music Awards), Bonnaroo Music Festival, and a hockey final were going on. We decided to stay out of downtown Nashville that evening and instead went to our hotel to pass out.

Mid-South Pt.2: Original KFC, Smoky Mountains, And A Cabin Mansion

On this leg of the trip, we joined Connor's parents and Memaw to head south to the Smoky Mountains. On the way we passed by Corbin Kentucky, where the original KFC restaurant was. I got potato wedges.

We drove and drove and drove until we got to the top of the Smokies. Boy was it pretty!

The five of us walked up to Clingman's Dome, which is the highest point in the Smokies. 

It turns out that the Appalachian Trail crosses Clingman's Dome. I'd hoped to get my feet on part of the trail. It sort of felt like cheating, though. We drove much of the way up. 

On our way down the trail we saw a black bear! Memaw hadn't seen one in the wild before. Connor's mum spent the rest of the trip wanting to see another. I spent the rest of the trip hoping that was the only one we would see.

We drove into the evening, stopping along the way to see the Museum of the Cherokee. (It was fantastic.) We ate a Paul's and Connor and I experienced rabbit and pheasant for the first time. Then we drove to see if we could find the Synchronous Fireflies that reside in the Smokies. I think we spotted two individuals, but there weren't enough around to see them do their display in unison. 

We were pretty tired after all the driving we had done, so we drove on to the cabin we had rented in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. When we got there, we were all stunned: it was a mansion. More of the family was supposed to have come, but work schedules got changed at the last minute. With only five of us at the rental, we each got our own floor.

I chose the floor that had the clawed tub. I'd always wanted to use one. I ended up using it every day because I couldn't figure out how to work the shower.

This cabin was our home base and for the next few days we had adventures in the surrounding area.

Mid-South Pt.1: Kentucky Caves, Blueberries, and Fireflies

Connor and I just got back from 10 days in the South. We didn't go to the Deep South... more like the Mid-South: Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and then back to Tennessee. 

Our journey started with us landing in Nashville and getting picked up by Connor's brother, Mason. We stopped for a meal and some live music in Bowling Green before reaching our destination for the night: Cave City. I'd read about the cement teepee hotels that had risen in the age of the road trip, but I didn't think I'd get a chance to stay in one.

This one was known as Wigwam Village No.2 and was built in 1937. The room isn't terribly big, but when Connor's cousin ended up driving to meet us, we did our best to get us all in. We couldn't open the front door while everyone was asleep though...

In the morning we had breakfast before taking the Historical Tour at Mammoth Caves. I never thought I'd ever get to visit, but I am so happy we did. We learned about Stephen Bishop, who was a slave. He was asked to map out more of the cave during his time there. What was especially impressive is that his name was put on the map that he developed rather than his owner. The park ranger told us that the only other slave that he knew to have had his name on his own work was Fredrick Douglass.

I took all of one picture at the end of the tour. This is the historic entrance.

Connor's cousin had to go his own way after the tour, but the three of us continued on sight seeing. We stopped by Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, now a monument. We learned that in the corner stone of the moment is a time capsule, which includes a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in Lincoln's own hand.

Lincoln's family dealt with many land disputes where they were cheated. They moved to a different area, where Lincoln grew up. Another land dispute followed them before the moved to Indiana. What we saw wasn't the original Lincoln boyhood home; it was the neighbor's cabin which was partially restored. There were some original boards and it is thought that Lincoln probably played with the neighbor kids in this particular cabin.

After all the sightseeing, we drove on to Connor's family house and had a cookout with friends and family. We ended up spending a few nights visiting with people. It was also blueberry season, so a couple of us when out to pick some. I found a dragonfly caught in the blueberry net, so I helped him out. He rested a little before flying away.

But the best part was that we came during firefly season! Each night Connor took me out to the fields and we would catch fireflies with our nets and let them light up our jars. We made sure to release the fireflies after an hour or so. One evening we even caught two jars of fireflies each.

I also got a chance to paint a bit. I suppose it is no surprise that I wasn't to capture the magic of fireflies. Ever since I met Connor, I've talked about seeing the fireflies. Fireflies in California are energy efficient... they don't light up.

Other paintings I did on the trip can be found on my tumblr page.

Kentucky was lots of fun, but the next part of our trip was going to take us into the mountains, including the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Accidental On Purpose Sock Matching

I'm still knitting away on socks. I'm happy to report that the Peeta socks are going well. I've had my Dad try them on twice and it looks like it is the right size for him. (Phew!) Although as I'm knitting, I keep feeling like they are giant. They are much wider than I would knit for myself.

I'm entirely sure I don't have enough yarn for both socks, so my plan is to use another color for the heel/toe. It turns out that was easier said than done. Despite my robust sock yarn stash, I had trouble finding a color that I liked alongside Abstract's Alfalfa color way. I've narrowed it down to either this skein of Malabrigo Sock in the Chocolate Amargo color way or Whimsical Colors Silk Whimsy in the Darkened Forest color way. Any thoughts, fellow knitters?

Left: Malabrigo Sock in the Chocolate Amargo color way; Right:Whimsical Colors Silk Whimsy in the Darkened Forest color way

I've also continued on with my The Big O sock, although it's only seen action while I've been sitting in the passenger seat of the car. It's also looking more and more like this pair is going to match. I can't begin to tell you all how hard I tried not to have them match. It just so happened that when I finished the first sock, I finished the color progression. 

Ok, ok, in the interest of full disclosure, I DID rip out two rows of the sock blank to make the socks match. But having two socks that almost match is far worse than having two socks that don't match at all.

I've also finished weaving another scarf. This one was supposed to be for me, but after finishing I wasn't sure the colors were "me." Connor was quite happy to lay claim to this scarf.

Spun Right Round Merino Worsted in the Holy Crow color way