Socks, Easter, Birthdays, and General Insanity

The cashmere socks are done! Woo Hoo!!

Ain't they purty? It really was a race to the finish. The legs worked up quickly, and were really fun. Then came the pain. I knew my gauge with the green yarn would be a little smaller than the cashmere, but didn't realize just how much smaller it would be. See this heel flap? Can you guess how many rows?


72. Yes, 72 rows in eye of partridge to make a 2.5" heel flap. My jaw was dropping too. It kept going and going and going and going. I was ready to turn the heel by late Thursday night, right on schedule, but didn't get them done until sometime Monday. I picked up stitches for the gusset as usual, but realized that if I picked up one stitch per slipped stitch the gusset puckered like you wouldn't believe. So I ripped both socks back and picked up 3 stitches every 4 rows and it worked out alright. The feet were knitted in a blinding fury, and I finished the toes at work by about 5:15 on Wednesday, steam ironed them at work, picked up a cake, sped home, took a shower, wrapped the gifts, and sped to the recipient's house for a party.

He adores them, as he should. They fit perfectly, and he was given strict instructions on how to treat the socks with the respect they deserve, and he will be getting a lesson on how to properly wash them in room temperature water with scentless Soak. I wouldn't have made these socks if they wouldn't be appreciated, and I am pleased to say that they are loved.

I had to really push to get them done because life has gotten more crazy every day. Saturday night I went to a dinner party with some old friends, and ate grouse. It tasted like chicken. I just had a bite, because I normally don't eat chicken or game, but that's not something you get to try every day.

The rest of the week has been a blur - Easter Sunday with the family, including my aunt and uncle from Virginia and cousin SassyFrassy, then the birthday party for cashmere sock boy on Wednesday (including seeing The Gourds at Mercy Lounge!).

Thursday night was another great birthday party - for my big brother. Mom cooked a great meal, topped off with key lime pie and hummingbird cake. I got the award for the best card - it was one of those musical cards that played "Play That Funky Music". Big bro and the nephews rocked out and were shakin' their booties all night.


I think I'm still full from last night. Finally, tonight I'm doing nothing. And it's so nice! After such a dreary day, I picked up some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the color Happy Valley to brighten my spirits. I'm a sucker for that 10-minutes-before-closing-I'm-in-a-bad-mood impulse buy. That's the best and worst part of working in a yarn store. The discount is amazing, but I spend so much more money because the discount can justify anything.

AAAAAH! I've been tagged!

A certain friend was giving me hell for not posting lately (sorry) so she tagged me for a meme.

Here goes:

The rules:

1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I was tagged by my favorite PhD candidate, the 6 Speed Knitter.

1 - I'm terrified of slugs. One dark night, while walking barefoot, I stepped on a slug and it squished between my toes. The most disgusting feeling ever. Eeeeeeewwwwwww! It took a very long time to scrub the slugginess off. I've hated those darn things ever since.

2 - Heard of the Bell Witch? I'm a descendant of the Bell family, who were apparently tortured (and one was murdered) by the Bell Witch in West Tennessee. She's supposed to come back every 108 years or so and torture their descendants, but I'm not too worried.

3 - Last night on 20/20 there was a story about an artist who scratched her skin with knitting needles and the design would raise up and stay there for about 30 minutes. My skin does that too. See:


I did that on my arm at work today to prove to Abby that it would actually stay. If I've gotten a little sun, I can press down on my stomach and leave a handprint for a good 5 minutes.

4 - I have amnesia. 2 weeks after 8th grade graduation, I was hit by a car while riding my bike. (No, I was not wearing a helmet, so let this be a lesson to everyone else.) It was a hit-and-run, and I had a major concussion. I don't remember anything in the 2 weeks leading up to the accident, and my first memory is coming home from the hospital and watching Funny Farm on tv. Chevy Chase is so funny!

5 - My mom's dad was a cattle farmer. He was a bad-ass, and an industry leader. Dad's third cousins are the Perdue Chicken people. And I eat neither beef nor chicken (not for political reasons or anything like that, I just don't like the taste). I do gobble up a lot of turkey and seafood though, but don't think I'm related to any turkey farmers or fisherman. I am going fishing tomorrow, does that count for anything?

It's getting difficult to come up with things. Hmmmm.... I called my good dear friend to come up with more random and weird things about me and we realized that everything about me is random and weird.

6 - My pets live freakishly long lives. I got a dog, Hosie (her name is a whole different random and weird story), on her first birthday, and she lived to be almost 19 years old. I got a Betta fish, named Buju Banton, and he lived 6 years. My sister's cat, Angel, lived to be almost 20. I sure hope that by writing this I'm not jinxing Just Fish. I've become quite attached to the little guy.

7 - I DESPISE pretzels and have never met anyone else who shares my hatred. They just taste so bad! I don't know how everyone else eats them. People tell me that the big soft kind are a lot better, but no, they're gross too. It's like licking a pile of yeast covered in seawater.

That took longer than expected! Back when Flava Flav was cool the first time, my brother gave me the nickname "Flav Random" because he thought I was really random and weird. He still does, but he's just as random and weird as I am.

And scratch what I said in #5 about going fishing tomorrow. Plans are changing - I think I'm going to some horse race instead. Either way, it'll be nice to go on a little day trip and get out of NashVegas for a few hours.

I promise to post some knitting in the next couple days. Mom's clapotis is done, but I want to weave in ends and block it before I take pictures. I'm starting 2 projects tonight - one is a sexy little number for me, and the other is an ambitious gift.

I'm making a pair of cashmere socks on size 00 needles and have 11 days to finish them. How is it that I finish mom's mother's day gift 2 months early, and leave myself 11 days to knit a pair of socks for someone with 17" calves? At least they're not knee socks, but it's still going to be a race to the finish. I've got some travel time to knit tomorrow, but I'll be with the recipient of the socks so they can't come. I swatched some last night, and it looks like the socks will start off with around 100 stitches, then decrease to about 82 by the time I get to the ankle. The yarn is Jade Sapphire's 2-ply cashmere, and I'm using 3 strands of Lacey Lamb for the cuff, heel, and toe. The 00's are easier to knit with than I expected, and the cashmere is so soft that you don't want to stop knitting. They go even faster if I knit them at the same time, and I figure with a strong start, if both heels are turned by Thursday night then everything will work out just fine.

Have a safe weekend everyone, and try not to drink too much green beer!

Bi-Craftual

It's been a while since I posted. This was not intentional, life has just been busier than usual. I've been knitting on socks, but mostly have been working on something for me! My newest book obsession is Knitting Lingerie Style. Yes, they have patterns for thongs, bras, and corsets, but they also have some gorgeous lacy things that aren't so risque. I knitted the Essential Top in no time, wore it on Thursday, and spilled lunch on the front before I took a picture. Once it's washed and re-blocked, I'll take a picture and post it.

Today is a beautiful day, and I'm taking advantage of a nice back porch and some sunshine. I've got good coffee, my i-pod, a crochet hook, and 17 colors of Cascade 220. It's a Babette day. Every once in a while I run back inside to block more squares and put them together. Here's what I've got so far:


This thing is fun! I strongly recommend that everyone makes this blanket. If you don't crochet, this is a great opportunity to learn. Granny squares are very easy and quiet mindless, and they hardly take any time to crochet. The pattern calls for koigu, and there are a lot of people using louet gems, but Cascade is less expensive and makes a bigger blanket. The construction is based on log cabin - start with the big center square, then make strips that build on each other. The second strip is 2 six-round squares, the third is a bunch of 4-round and 2-round squares, etc.

One thing that I seriously need to work on is getting gifts done early so I don't freak out before birthdays and holidays. My brother's birthday gift is done (purchased, not handmade - I get lazy sometimes), and I just started mom's mother's day gift:


It's a springy clapotis made out of SWTC's bamboo. This stuff is silky, strong, and is really nice to work with. So far I've just started the straight rows, and have only dropped one stitch. Can't wait to see how it looks once there's a little more done.

My hands are a little tired so I'm on my way to the park to meet friends. Enjoy this beautiful day, because they're calling for more freezing temps and snow this week.