Why do I have to make this so difficult? It’s only a pair of mittens. But they’re for my daughter. And, she’s—well–great! No one could ask for a better daughter. What did I do to deserve her? So, they have to be special. Getting them ‘just right’ hasn’t been easy, but I think I finally did. The purple is so rich and the two glitzy yarns all needed to stand out.
I sincerely hope so. These yarns screamed at me to be put together. It took a while for them to decide what suited them best. At first, they said lined mittens and socks. When I was about half way through a mitten, they said, ‘No. That’s not it’. I reminded them that it really doesn’t get that cold around here. I suggested gloves. They laughed. They knew that I love to make gloves. They suggested getting out the fair isle glove book. We really had a good time with that one. There were so many beautiful designs. They started jumping up and down and screamed, ‘This is it! This is it!’ I had my doubts. Once I had finished the cuff , they agreed with me. They wanted to know what happened to the pattern. They couldn’t see it. I said, ‘I told you so’, and pulled it all apart. So. I did what I wanted.
Who’s laughing now? Silly old yarn. What do they know?
I got this yarn in December. Who has time to make Christmas socks in December? It should have been sent in October. Or maybe even August with the way I was going. This sock went so fast. And it’s cute. Sometimes you just have to make cute. I have happy socks. Why not have cute socks? I love the little loops along the top.
When the February sock club came, I was very happy with the yarn. The patterns left something to be desired. I was expecting two totally different patterns which they weren’t. Granted, it was a glove and a sock, but the cuffs on both were the same. And they literally buttoned closed. I make gloves and socks for warmth. I don’t want to see any gaps. So I got out Anna Zilboorg’s Magnificent Mittens and Socks, a fun book. Next came two skeins of Great Adirondack’s Smoochie. Looks like I’ll be getting the swift and ball winder out in the next few days.
I wonder how much cat help I’ll get.
I love these socks.
I am so glad that I changed the pattern. I couldn’t see doing the lace pattern on the foot so I just continued the dot pattern. It’s much more practical(warmer) this way.
And, of course, I had to switch colors.
It’s all I seem to be doing lately. I think it has something to with the kitchen business. When you start rearranging drawers and cabinets, you just can’t stop. I should sew. It’s been ages. And I have some great ideas. And I have some great fabric. But I should really rearrange some things in that area. But, first, I should go through some things and determine what exactly goes where and what is worth keeping. What may have value to someone else and what should just be thrown away. That’s all I seem to do lately. I went to Reisterstown for a few days and did the same thing there. I am surprised at how much I want to be shut of that house. Anybody want a hundred year old house? I sure don’t. I get tense every time I am there. All I want to do is enjoy my little house on the creek. I don’t need six frigging bedrooms.
I’m still working on my Miss Marple socks. I should be finished. Last night I put a different toe on the second sock. Today, I decided I liked the second one better. I started to frog the first toe, but I got carried away. And now, I have to redo half the foot, too.
My daughter picked this pattern, but she wanted it long enough to cover her bottom. There are large windows behind her at work, but she doesn’t care to wear a sweater. Since the vest is knit from the top down, it was easy to get the right length. I only bought one ball of yarn for this vest. The rest came out of my stash. I stayed mostly with purples and grays to give it a classy look.
It takes pictures. But it doesn’t give them back. I tried two different cords and two different computers. It taunts me by saying, “Yes, I’m connected”, then it says, “Fooled you” and turns itself off. Hyperventilate Mumble. Mumble.
I had some good pictures on that camera–like the animals enjoying the wonders of the Sacred Banana and my knitting and the ongoing saga that is my kitchen.
Frank has been doing a great job on re-purposing the old cabinets. And with the old stove gone, the floor can be finished.
We keep moving the chow, but the cats still manage to find it.
Sometimes, It takes a while for me to decide on what to make. For my son’s girlfriend, it was easy. Last summer, I came across a vest and hat kit that I had bought at a flea market at least ten years ago. I bought it because it was cheap and had high quality yarn. I wasn’t planning on making the vest. I just had to have the yarn. Then along comes little Sarah. So I dug out the kit and made it. I didn’t change a thing–which is good because I ran out of one of the yarns in the hat. If I had made it in a larger size, I would have been very unhappy. The directions said that the kit contained enough yarn for all sizes. The yarn was listed and everything was there. And I had leftovers from the other yarns.
Next was my daughter. Since her tastes are different from mine, it is best to present her with several ideas and see which ones cause her to light up. We came up with two, so I am making the one that I like the best. And, I must say, I am enjoying making it. The only problem being, I won’t get it finished in time. Fortunately, I know that she won’t mind. I’ll make the other vest, too, and a lacy sweater that she liked. They all have interesting patterns to keep me entertained. 
I have been trying to come up with an interesting hat for my grandson. I started making the Vortex. Then I tried the Bloody Stupid Johnson. Neither was right and I unknit both. I looked at several others and rejected them all. I pretty much gave up. On Wednesday I took Gus to the vet. Since I didn’t want to listen to him crying his eyeballs out the whole time, I put on a podcast. And there was Susan Dolf talking about the Jayne hat. Thank you, Susan. When I got home, I looked up pictures and patterns, made some copies, and dug through my stash. The next day, this is what I came up with. If he likes it, I’ll get more appropriate yarn and make it again. I hate to think what this hat would look like if it ever was washed.
Knit. Sock. Love. By Cookie A.
So far, I’ve made sox socks, not pairs of socks, just six socks. I have given up on making pairs. There are so many great pattens in this book that I can’t make anything twice. I can’t wait that long. I loved her first book. This one is even better!
Up a Creek in Lower Slower Delaware 