Perfect Toes On My Jaffa Socks

I just finished my Jaffa Socks! I bought the yarn while I was in New Zealand from Stray Cat Socks.

I used the Jaffa color way. But man, oh man, I could just keep knitting with all her yarn. It wears well, the color sticks, and it isn't splitty. There are so many colors I am tempted by. (Mostly the Halloween colors that are up at the moment. Le sigh.)

Also, after getting some excellent feedback from you all as well as my knit night friends, I went ahead and kept the orange stripe on the tip of the toe. I was able to get the second sock to match by knitting an extra half a round. It really was too perfect to rip out.

So what am I knitting now? Well, I've finally gotten back to working on Equatorial Nights for my Mum. She is leaving on a trip and I was hoping to finish it in time for her to take.

Of course I thought I had until next week, but actually she is leaving this week. Connor called this the "When you have one week to finish a two week project" face.

I'm making good progress, but it is going to be a close one.

Just Around The River Bend

After Joe and Emily's wedding, Connor and I spent a few more days in Kentucky with family. On one of the evenings, we had a big ole potluck. There were even several rounds of volleyball played. I've never had enough relatives to play volleyball with, so it was extra fun for me.

Watch out Hammer! Connor can't see you there.

The donkeys had been nervous around me the whole time we had been on the farm, but on potluck day they let me feed them. If you'll note that in the back left of the image there is a cow lurking; a cow named Mouse.

Mouse got in on the action. Imagine if you were feeding Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars. That is what feeding a cow feels like. Its tongue is so hutt-like. I did my best to drop the carrot on top of her tongue, but I still got cow spit on me.

In the evening all the cousins went searching for fireflies so I could see one up close. I'd only ever seen them once when I was really, really young. It was the end of firefly season, but there were a few out. Logan caught one for me, but it refused to light up after we put it in a bottle. After releasing the firefly, Connor and I spent some time taking pictures of the cows.

Snowball was an excellent model

The next day a bunch of us went on an 11 mile (18 km) canoe trip. It should have taken four hours, but it took us closer to six.

I'm really glad I got to be part of this trip. The views were amazing and I enjoyed everyone's company.

Just around the river bend! 

Make no mistake, though. By the end of the trip, we were all pooped out. 

But as we drove off, the fireflies came out again to share their magic with us. I can't wait to go back. 

Wedding In Kentucky

Connor and I were in Kentucky earlier this month for a wedding. I'm not a big fan of weddings (I find them overwhelming), but there is a short list of ones that I am committed to go to. Luckily that list got shorter now that Joe has gotten hitched. We last saw Joe earlier in the year when he came out and saw Sequoia, the Alabama Hills, and Death Valley with us. At the time he hadn't proposed just yet, but he told us a good story about he and his now wife, Emily. When we learned the wedding date, I felt that our wedding gift needed to be inspired by that story. Although I was a little nervous about going a slightly less traditional route for a wedding gift, the reaction they had when they opened it made it all worth while.

And the gift? Well, early in their relationship, Emily agreed to play Joe's all time favorite video game series: Mass Effect. In the first one, there is a vehicle called the Mako that you drive around for parts of the story. Using that vehicle can best be described as trying to drive a drunken rhino. It just isn't easy. Joe told us about how Emily would drive the Mako as if it was invincible; driving into lava (instant death), driving into oncoming fire (near instant death), without a second thought. He said it was like she was a member of the Cult of the V8 from Mad Max Fury Road. She might as well have been screaming "Witness Me" while facing down hundreds of space pirates. The thought was irresistible, so I drew this for them. 

This picture wouldn't have been completed without Connor's help. He kept encouraging me even after the third and fourth drafts of this picture didn't work out. 

Two days after giving the gift, the love birds were married. It was a beautiful wedding with neat touches. Each table had a book theme. I got to sit at the Lord of the Rings table with Connor's family. Joe sat us there on purpose since Connor and I had an accidental Lord of the Rings themed wedding. Connor delivered his best man speech, explaining how he and Joe were soul mates. He went on to let everyone know that they were so close that the two of them got to the point where they would finish each others..... sandwiches. Things like that.  It was a great speech. As the reception was winding down, Joe and Connor got a last moment to themselves. Then Joe was off with his lady love.

Soul mates to the end

Walk Like An Egyptian

In my last post I was deciding which pair of socks I would knit next. Woollenwilderness liked Roll The Bones while Kiwiyarns liked the Diamondback Socks.... so of course I started the Hieroglyphic Socks. I knew that I wouldn't get very far with these socks since Connor and I were out of town for the last week. I much prefer to absorb my surroundings in new places rather than knit.

The little that I did knit was while we were on the plane. I had cast on at home, but that was it. As I was stitching away on the plane I started to get the feeling that they were looking a little big. Usually with color work socks, I knit 72 stitches with size US 1 needles, which works great for me. If there is a plain cuff, I'll knit 64 stitches with size US 0 needles before increasing 8 stitches and switching needles. I've never knit corrugated ribbing before, so I didn't know what to expect. I figured I'd go with my default color work needle/stitch count combo. 

Sometimes socks look big with just three rounds knit, so I put a few more rounds in. Well, at six rounds in I decided to put the needles down. More rounds wasn't going to make it look smaller. When we got back home I did what any knitter who is too lazy to check their gauge would do: I compared the new sock to an old pair that fits. 

The picture doesn't lie. The Hieroglyphic Socks are an easy 9 stitches too wide. I guess I knit color work a little looser when there are purl stitches involved. I'm thinking I'll just cast on 64 stitches, but keep using the size US 1 needles. Hopefully there won't be too much ripping in my future.

Yarn... Yarn... Sock!

I've been pretty disciplined about not buying new yarn since May. Since my knitting is still going rather slowly, I was planning to continue being disciplined... but then a skein of skein of Tosh Sock in the Void color way showed up at my LYS and, well... I fell. I had been on the lookout of a skein in the Onyx color way since February, but hadn't been able to locate one. Void is close enough for what I want to do with it. The problem was that there was a lone skein in the Neon Peach color way next to Void that I've eyed for the last few months. It had been a hard week so I figured if one skein of yarn was going to make me feel good, two skeins would probably make me feel better. Plus I had saved up enough "fun money" to go ahead and splurge.

Loud sock yarn, just the way I like it

Meanwhile, I've been knitting away on vanilla socks for a few months now and I'm ready for a slightly more complicated sock. I'm currently debating whether to knit Hieroglyphic Socks, Roll The Bones, or Diamondback Socks. I've got the yarn selected. The Hieroglyphic Socks would be knit with Lisa Souza's Hardtwist Petite in St. Louis Blues and Coachella; Roll the Bones would be knit with Tosh Sock in Filtered Light and Baah! La Jolla in California Poppy; Diamondback Socks would be know with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Zombie BBQ. What would each of you choose to knit first?

Left to right: St. Louis Blues, Coachella, Filtered Light, California Poppy, and Zombie BBQ 

Of course you would think that I would want to cast on with the new yarn in the stash. Sometimes I do, but often I like the new yarn to marinate a bit in the stash before I'm ready to knit with it. Does anyone else like to gaze at their new acquisitions before casting on?

Mr. Bear Ears Has Warm Hands

I'm so proud of Connor. Just last week he finished his third knitting project: a pair of fingerless mitts.

When he knit his first project, a scarf, he learned all about knit and purl. With his second project, a cowl, he got comfortable knitting in the round. With this project, Connor really stretched himself; he learned how to use the magic loop method of knitting in the round. He had to start over several times, which I didn't even know about because he was able to restart the magic loop all by himself. Connor conquered the m1L and m1R increases. He also wove in all the ends himself this time around. (I helped him out with his first two projects.) Connor used the Lambing Mitts pattern, but ultimately decided not to add the garter stitch band at the top of the hand. He felt that it would be too bulky when typing.

Although we are still experiencing summer, the mornings are cool, so Connor is already using his mitts when he drives to work in the morning. He mentioned that he felt a bit like Link from the Legend of Zelda games while wearing them.

It was a happy accident that he was wearing his Link shirt when we took the pictures of his mitts

There has been some discussion over what might occupy Connor's needles next. He likes a challenge, so it came down between socks or a sweater. Socks have won out... this time.

Putty In Your Paws

I'm sorry to disturb you, Scooter, but did you know that you have traveled 8.176 billion miles? Today marks your 14th birthday.

You have had some changes in your life. You sleep more and your hearing isn't what it used to be. Luckily your sense of smell remains the same. You still know when the chicken is out.

Dad had chicken inside and Scooter was just waiting for me to open the door so he could rush in and beg

Your poor old bones require more coddling. Luckily we are like putty in your paws, so there will always be a pillow brought out for you when we sit outside.

Happy Birthday little buddy. I'm glad that we get to be your people and you are our dog. Every year is a good year with you.