I Can't Compete!

Snapped at a traffic light on the way back from a training session this morning in downtown Atlanta (somewhere on Memorial Drive):

Sadly, the resolution isn't good enough for you to be able to read the writing on the passenger door. It says:

Wholesale prices

• Socks
• T-shirts
• Boxers
• Wife Beaters

Okay, let's do the math.

The Sock Man: 60 socks (30 pairs, as the clarifying print on the side of the truck notes) for $12. That's about 20 cents per sock or 40 cents a pair. And, just for giggles and grins, let's assume the guys in the SockMan truck aren't charging tax. Even if they are, it's still a helluva deal.

Me: 1 pair of socks, approximately 100 grams of wool (maybe superwash, maybe not). At rock bottom, you could go to Michaels and get a skein of acrylic for about $3.99, but let's be realistic. Most of my socks come in at about $18 to $28, depending on who dyed it and where I bought it. (Let's call it a non-weighted average of $23/pair. We won't even talk about the ridiculously low cost of my labor!)

$0.40 vs. $23.00.

Hmmmmm ....

There's really no point in trying to figure out how much it would cost me to knit a wife beater, now is there?

Yes, I'm Still Knitting ... What About You?

Saroyan is finished. It feels wonderful--how could it not, being made of Malabrigo Worsted? But what was I thinking?

This is a smallish shawl--a scarf really. It's narrow, about 12 or 14 inches at the widest part, and about 66 inches long. So, on someone, a shoulderette or I guess "shawlette" is the new word. On me, definitely a scarf.

Okay, so it feels wonderful, and looks good and was highly satisfactory to knit--the lace edge was fun and easy to memorize.

But ... I hate having anything around my neck.

Let's be honest. If someone wanted to give me an exquisite gold necklace from Italy that weighed what this piggy weighs, I'd find a way to wear it, and be highly grateful. But yarn ... and Malabrigo worsted at that ... it's hot. Not itchy, just hot.

So, once I get it blocked, it will go into the box to be set aside for this year's Christmas gifts. Or pulled out if I go to Utah during snow season. 

Any way you look at it, it's a Finished Object and that's never a bad thing. 

Also OTN: 

The ever-present sock, this one from Opal yarn from the stash. And, by the way, I'm pretty used to my wild socks, and you probably are too. But I knit with a new (to me) group of knitters out here in Pug Country (which some of my friends call, not too affectionately, East Alabama), and two of them visibly flinched when I pulled out the sock.

"Oh, my!" one said, shielding her eyes. "That's really ... bright ... isn't it?" 

"Whew!" said the other. "What are those colors anyway?"

Answer: fuschia, orange, and purple, of course. Thanks Opal Neon!

And, finally, the ubiquitous multidirectional scarf:

I bought two skeins of Koigu and thought it would be long enough but I had to break down and buy one more skein the other day to make it a wearable length. Thanks to Cast On Cottage for putting it aside for me.

So the socks and the scarf are my car knitting ... the stuff I do when I wait in the ATM line at the bank or in Atlanta's lovely traffic. But I guess this means I need to pull myself together and get back to the sleeves on my patchwork jacket if I think I'm going to wear it to The Mountain in three weeks.

Good Start to a New Year

This will be posted later tonight  because it seems that using my new internet solution (T-Mobile wireless) on a big national holiday is sort of like revisiting the old dial-up days. I can't seem to upload photos to Blogger or to Flickr.  (Makes me wonder why my former employer, The Big Corporation, still thinks dial-up is a viable option ... might explain the stock price!)  It still beats the crappy service I was getting from Bellsouth so I'll hush my crankiness now.


Anyway, there's an old wives tale that the way you spend the change of years will determine how you spend the coming year. There was a time in my life when that would have boded for some very exciting times in the next 12 months. Nowadays, it's a little different.

At  midnight I was casting on a new sock--not a new pair of socks, but the second sock in a pair started October-ish of last year. Debra gave me two lovely skeins of Mini Mochi and I knit the first sock up quickly and then ... er ... misplaced it. I unearthed it yesterday in a fit of organizational frenzy and the new sock is on the needles. 


I've read several critical reviews of this unplied yarn but I have to say I really love it. It's VERY soft and I don't know what that will mean for long-term wear but I'm willing to take the risk. Beautiful!


Since last night was also the  first Blue Moon since 1990 and the last one expected until 2028, the color is completely appropriate, don't you think?


And this morning I finished off two more pairs of socks--one just needed the ends woven in. That's the newest Zauberball Crazy socks, which were originally intended as a Christmas gift but which have reverted to their most deserving owner, Me, or maybe they'll go into the gift box.


And the pair completed just before those were also Zauberball Crazy, but totally different. This pair needed a little more surgery to finish them. Here's the story:


In October when Candace Eisner Strick was here she taught us several new bind-offs, including the tubular cast-off. I couldn't wait to try it on the Zauberballs on the needles and the result was absolutely gorgeous--elegant, even. I think it's the nicest looking sock top I've ever made. Unfortunately, as elegant as they were, the top would barely stretch over my heifer-like ankles. Yet, it was too beautiful to frog. A problem, no? The second sock was made with my traditional stretchy top and fit like a champ. But still I couldn't bring myself to fix the first sock.


This morning, I frogged. And let me say, not only is the tubular cast-off the most elegant of all the bind-offs, it's also the most structurally sound I've ever seen. It took the precision and patience of a CSI investigator to get it out. Anthropologists in the next century will be trying to deconstruct socks with tubular cast-offs without success. The equivalent of the knitting cockroach--can't be killed! But now it's gone, and replaced with Old Faithful (which is knit first stitch, knit second stitch, then place both back on the lefthand needle and knit together through the back loop, then repeat, using that stitch as the first stitch.)


By the way, both of my sisters are probably thinking I've lost my mind right now. I can tell this is so because of the stunned silence emanating from Arizona and Virginia, where they've both opened their Christmas packages and found ... Zauberball.  


It's not exaggerating to say that I have fallen deeply in love with Zauberball, in a way heretofore reserved for Opal and Malabrigo. Neither of my sisters reads this blog, so they'll just have to wait until their curiosity gets the better of them and they ask why, why, why I sent that weird yarn to them.  


Debbie has two new granddaughters so I'm sure she's not even contemplating knitting socks for grownups at this point, but eventually she has to come out of that mode and remember that she and her sons and even Caitlin need socks. And Deirdre has only recently begun to knit socks and I'm sure she's more conservative than I am. 


But one day they will know The Truth and they'll be ready for Zauberball. And then they'll realize the sacrifice I made in sending Zauberball to them that I could have kept for myself.


(There's a rumor in the lace world that Zauberball now comes in laceweight. Elyse from Only Ewe and Cotton Too has ordered it but I haven't heard from her so I'm assuming it's not in yet. When it is ... oh, my!)
`

No Excitement Here Folks!

No excitement here. The flood waters have receded, things are high and dry at Casa Pug, and we can move on.

Not that there weren't a few exciting days, in a relative sort of a way. I mean, I was a little concerned when I saw the pugs lining up two by two to go out the door in the mornings. And it's never a good thing to see Mr. Pug hanging from the rooftop in a monsoon, trying to find out what's causing water to pour out of the fireplace. But aside from some minor inconveniences, we were among the very lucky folks of my particular part of Sunny Georgia who got through the floods relatively unscathed.

Last weekend was rather ... er ... damp. Mr. Pug and I went to Tucker, GA to see a koi show. Now, for those of you who may be map-challenged, Tucker is approximately on the other side of the galaxy from Casa Pug, but the koi show is a once-a-year sort of a thing, we wanted to check out what's new in the koi world (not much as it turns out), and who knew we'd be traveling through water up to our eyebrows?

By the way, two things: First, to clarify, Tucker is on the other side of Anything, not just CP. It's one of those places that you don't know is there if you don't need to go there. And second, we didn't even buy a new koi. It turns out that a 500-year flood is not the ideal time to introduce a new, rather pricey, fish to your pond, especially if you're the sort of fish-owners who have lost most of their fish in the last year to inexperience and algae bloom, whatever that might be.

Anyway, rain on Saturday. Rain on Sunday. On Monday when I left for work, Mr. Pug was hanging off the aforementioned gutter checking out the aforementioned leak. The ride to work that day took approximately, oh, about six hours because Atlanta drivers still think they can drive 75 MPH through standing water. That afternoon when I left the office (or tried to, anyway), the little creek on the south side of the property was flooded to the top of the banks. Gazebo halfway under water. Water up to the little bridge. Roiling water. Uh, oh.

Turns out that someone had broken into my car while it was parked in the office parking lot.  (Well, actually, it was Mr. Pug's car -- yikes! Now he REALLY thinks I'm bad luck when I drive his car!)

Now, mind you, it had been monsooning all day--who goes out to commit a crime in a monsoon? Apparently it's not unknown.  When we looked at the video of the parking lot the next day, I could see a blurry image of a black car backing in next to my car, staying there for about two and a half minutes, and then driving out, apparently with my GPS system, Little Nuvi.  

(Little Nuvi has become a part of our family in the two years we've had her. In fact, she's the least dysfunctional member of  the family. She takes us everywhere and apparently has made us very lazy mapreaders while she was at it. She's the only thing that GOT us to Tucker in the first place, for instance--without her, we're never finding our way back. Also, when the police start closing ALL of the streets in your county, and the surrounding counties, it's almost impossible to find your way home without Little Nuvi. Nuvi -- I miss you!)

By the way, from Mr. Pug's point of view, the biggest deal is that they broke the driver side lock. I thought he was overreacting until I learned that I would be paying the deductible to fix the dratted thing.

Anyway, the scariest thing for me, once I'd called the cops and been told to wait--this might take a while, we're kinda busy right now, and no, we can't do this by phone, and no, tomorrow won't do--was that I couldn't find The Sock. Wait! The jerks took my knitting? Put up the umbrella, get out into the pouring rain, rump hanging out under the umbrella, and find that sock!  

Whew! It turned out that they'd emptied three knitting bags onto the floor apparently looking for cocaine or oxycontin or hundred dollar bills or cool CDs, but hadn't taken anything except Little Nuvi. 

What? You don't have three knitting bags in your car? Each full of uncompleted projects? Whatever!

Good news: I had knitting to work on while I waited ... and waited ... and waited ... for the cops. (They never did come; at the two-hour point I went home, figuring the sirens and flashing lights up on the main drag meant there were some bigger issues to deal with.)

Bad news: Apparently my knitting isn't good enough for Atlanta crooks. That's kind of insulting. On the other hand, maybe a partially knit sock isn't that appealing and they'll come back when both socks are finished.

It's something to look forward to. In the mean, here's The Sock--Zauberball from Only Ewe and Cotton Too. Have I mentioned that I'm crazy in love with the way the colors change? If only the sock could help me find my way back to Tucker, I'd be fine.

Clarification and a Sock Update

Mr. Pug pointed out (while I was sitting in the office until 1 am this morning untangling yarn) that Noro was technically not to blame for the three-yarn debacle pictured yesterday. He reminds me that the mess was actually caused by Buddy and that Noro was an innocent victim. That makes me feel only slightly less guilty that I untangled that atrocity by attacking Noro with a machete like a South American native fighting his way through the rainforest. Sorry, Noro.





But, I ask you: is this the face of a killer? I think not. He's the very picture of innocence.





In other sock news, two pairs were completed last week:



First, the Dream in Color (Pansy GoLightly) toe-up version of Spring Forward. My only quibble with the cuff-down version was that I could only get 2.5 repeats of the pattern on the cuff and still get it over my heel. I thought that knitting them toe up would give me more leeway but this turned out to be wrong--new toe-up version has the same 60 rows and the cuff is short, just like the other one, but I like the short-row heel a lot better so it's all good.






And the Opal happy socks (I have no idea what the real name of this yarn is) are done too. These I'm in love with! No quibbles at all.




Finally, just to let you know that I'm not completely anti-Noro:

This multidirectional took two skeins of Silk Garden Lite and, again, I love it! Great colors, not even one knot, very little veg matter. The perfect yarn, if you didn't have a history with it.

Two of the three socks involved in the tangle have been rehabilitated. The J Knits North Carolina is in three small balls and I've already knit about 2 inches onto the cuff since last night. The black/red/chocolate mystery yarn, which I don't know the name of*, has been cast on and torn out already. I started a toe-up sock using a short-row toe and decided it's just a very fiddly way to cast on. I'm not sure it's worth it, but I'm going to try it again because I'd like to try to make La Digitessa and that calls for this cast on. If it doesn't work the second time, the sock will be made with my standard toe-up cast on.

The Noro is, unfortunately, in the trash can, but not before it left Noro fuzz on all the other victims. RIP, little Noro.

*This yarn came from the Celtic Knot and I bought it when we went to Maryland Sheep & Wool this past May. It had some very clever name but I've lost the band and can't identify it. It's a little odd because it's quite heavy fingering weight, almost sport weight. Unfortunately the Celtic Knot is gone now (I assume) and I can't ask about it. It seems to me that some of our group bought some of this yarn (Whit maybe) and maybe one of them will be able to identify it.

Can't Resist Noro

Why is Noro irresistible? After the ugliness of my very public breakup with Noro Silk Garden Sock, you'd think I'd run from Noro screaming.

So here's where I admit that I had the same problem with my first husband--couldn't live with him, couldn't let him go. That ended (thank God!) with marriage to #2, but there were days when I wondered if we'd be tied forever.

Whew! That felt good to admit, if a little embarrassing. But back to Noro.

There's a new term floating around Ravelry--Viral Knits. It's really about addictive, public relationships with yarn, and frankly, it sounds gross but it's kind of fun. Kind of like group sex but without the divorces and STDs. It's about those patterns that, one day, you've never heard of them and the next, everyone and their sister is wearing one. Except me. I'm always last to adopt a Viral Knit.

Come on-- you know the ones I'm talking about. Remember when EVERYONE made a Clapotis scarf? Not me.

Then we ALL had Monkey socks? Not me. Pomotomous? Knot ... er, not me.

Central Park Hoodie? My So-Called Scarf? Icarus? No, no, no.

The latest is the February Lady sweater. When we were at SAFF this year, there was a positive buzz around the fairgrounds about the FLS. (Overheard at the Brooks Farm booth: "Did you see that February Lady?" "Yes, wasn't it gorgeous?" "Yeah, which of your yarns would you recommend for that pattern?")

Of course, I'm always the last to know and I couldn't figure out what the heck they were talking about. Finally, I saw two people walking near each other at the front of the building. They weren't together but their outerwear had a certain similarity and, good news, I knew one of the wearers. Could it be? I quickly stopped her and said, "Wow! I really love your ... (pause)" and she said, "Oh, my February Lady. Thanks!" Then I knew. Once again, I was behind the trend.

So, one of the big Virals this year is the Brooklyn Tweed Scarf by Jared Flood. And, of course, he used the dreaded Noro Silk Garden to make it--three separate colors, for God's sake.

But I'm just getting over being jilted by NSG. Could I try again? What if he ... did it to me again?

Let's just say, I'm in love, again. And, yes, it's my ex, Noro. And who wouldn't love him? And, yes, my friends are talking behind my back about my lack of control. Who cares? We're in love!

To prove my sanity, however, check this out. Dream in Color Smooshy (Pansy Golightly)--how gorgeous is that! My lovely friend Ellen gifted me with a skein of this last week and we had to wind it immediately--talk about the siren song! Then once I got home I HAD to cast on--it's my old friend Spring Forward socks, but toe-up this time.

(It's a fact--when you're going out with Noro, you gotta have someone on the side!)

And, yes, I do have yarn picked out from my stash for the February Lady. Unfortunately, by the time I get it made, there will be some new hot Viral and I'll be a HasBeen again. Oh, well .... c'est la vie.

Amalgam

Today, an amalgam of miscellany. First, and not miscellaneous at all, it's Haley's 17th birthday, which is fairly amazing. Here she is at a recent soccer tournament with her dad. I love this picture! This weekend she's at another soccer tournament, this one in Raleigh, and that's why I'm missing her birthday. Well, I saw her last week so maybe that counts, but it doesn't feel like it.

Next, a picture just because I love it. Brandon, sleeping on the couch while they were all here last weekend, and Buddy, sound asleep atop him. Buddy is a very social dog and wants to be touching someone at all times. Normally, Brandon's good for a petting, but sleep does tend to preclude such things. In this case, Buddy was determined to be close to Brandon even if Brandon wasn't aware of it.

Next, a rare three-fer of Lucy, Lulu and Buddy. It's very hard to get a picture of any one of them and three is magical. In this picture, Bluto is probably trying to get a nap away from the rest of us. (And, yes, those are Mr. Pug's legs on the right. Enjoy the sight of them vertical--after next weeks' knee surgery, you may only see horizontal pictures of those legs for awhile.)

Next, an actual Finished Object. These are Spring Forward from Knitty.com socks out of Trekking yarn. I love the lacey pattern but these socks reminded me that I really hate cuff down socks. Actually, I was fine with them before I learned how to knit socks toe up, but now they just seem like old technology, like playing Pong on an old Atari. I hate kitchenering and I hate having to adjust the instep for the heel height and really ... I just need to make these socks again because I love the pattern but the next pair will definitely be toe-up.

Speaking of finished objects, here are some ... yes, I said SOME ... of the dressed teddy bears donated at this week's Atlanta Knitting Guild meeting. They go to (I think) the Dekalb County police department and are used with kids who've had traumatic experiences of one kind or another. Here are some more.

I never did hear a total number, but I'd guess there were over 200 donated. This has been one of the guild's major charitable efforts for many years and our members (myself excluded) are very creative. Usually it's all I can do to make a simple bear sweater--for some reason I just am not creative enough to figure out how to design around the bear anatomy--but I always enjoy seeing the creativity of others. Good job, guys!

Gorgonzola

Well, Opal doesn't call it that. Opal calls it "Lilly das Schleckermaul." But to me, it looks like nothing more than a big pile of blue cheese. Needless to say, I love it. There's very little in life that couldn't be improved with a little blue cheese. (Wonder if Schleckermaul is German for Gorgonzola?)

You have to love a yarn to tear out an almost-complete sock and reknit it. That's what I did with this sock.

I started it a couple of weeks ago and have had little time to knit on it--even with my trip out of town. But it was progressing nicely and I was loving it.

Of course, the beauty of sockknitting is that you can try it on as you go, making changes and adjustments. And I've had this one on my foot several times and each time I've thought, "well, just like I like them--snug." I like my socks on the snug side because I like to wear clogs and if the sock is loosey-goosey, the clog doesn't fit. And you can forget getting a sock into any of my shoes with a back, like a walking shoe.

Until the time ... I thought, "oh, my...that heel feels really snug." So I switched to a larger (size 2) needle for the cuff and that helped a little.

But reality reared her ugly head and I realized that snug had become ... tight. Boa constrictor tight. My baby toe was squealing wee wee wee, all the way home. This probably means that my blood pressure medicine isn't working (and you might ask how a medicine that costs $40 a month and doesn't have a generic equivalent can NOT be working, but that's a subject for another day). Anyway, I realized that I was going to hate wearing the sock, even if it did look like my favorite smelly cheese.

So, out it came. And here it is again, same size needle (1) but 4 more stitches, 68 instead of 64.

Knitting--definitely not an exact science. Thank God I'm a process knitter.