Scrappy Socks Rain Dance

Here on the Westcoast, 20 is a good number.  20 degrees C, warm enough for shorts, pleasant.  20 km/hr winds, not enough to cause damages.  So when the thermometer climbs to 30, 35+ as it has for the past few weeks, we're just not  equipped physically or emotionally.  Honestly, we're not whimps, we can survive months without seeing sunlight.  That takes some kind of courage too, doesn't it?

So we have been without rain since June.  Lawns have turned into yellow hay.  Jurisdictions around us have been implementing water restrictions.  Wells are running dry.  Around the province, fires are igniting spontaneously.  Fear not West Coast Aquarians lovers of water, I have found the equivalent to an old-fashioned "rain dance".  This is what I did yesterday:

First, I bathed a newly finished pair of scrappy-socks.  Next, I blocked them outside on a chair so they would dry in the breeze.  Then they were promptly forgotten, as they lay basking in the sunshine.  In the middle of the night the unfamiliar sound of raindrops on the deck should have triggered the memory of these poor beauties in distress.  Around 10am, the now soggy socks returned inside where they are still trying to dry-out in the 20 degrees kitchen.  Here they are in their soggy splendor:

So it rained and you're welcome.  We had a bit of rain today, perhaps thanks to the socks so bravely overnighting on the deck?  I hope we're finally back to our normal temperatures because it feels good!

Toe-up Socks

Hand-made socks are such a joy to make and to wear.  Each pair is unique, so soft & cushy.

Many years ago I taught myself to knit socks using an ancient pattern.  The heels on my first two pairs were a bit wonky because I had misread the instructions.  I finally figured out how to turn a heel properly, and have made many more top-down pairs.  I have sometimes used cable patterns but my favourite socks to make are what is known as "plain vanilla socks" on 4 or 5 double-pointed needles.

Then I mysteriously fell into sock-knitting rut, about 2 years ago.  I became aware there were other techniques out there such as toe-up, using 2 circulars, toe-up 2 at a time, ...  Surely I should push myself to learn something new.

So I bought a pattern book to learn how to knit 2 socks at a time.  I also knit individual socks using 2 circular needles.  And honestly, using circulars killed my sock-knitting Mojo.  I realized that I really enjoy working with double-pointed needles.  They make for a small, portable project, ready for an outing at a moment's notice.  For some reason, the floppiness of the circulars drove me nuts and I hated having to push all the stitches along those long needles all the time.  I was trying so many new techniques all at once, that I stopped enjoying making socks altogether.

I finally found my sock enthusiasm back a couple weeks ago after reading Tanis Lavallée's blog.   Perhaps I just needed someone to reassure me that toe-up socks were not a big deal.  There was a link to the funny Cat Bordhi toe-up cast-on video, and another to the afterthought heel.

To celebrate this new found knowledge I tried my skills out on a new pair of toe-up, afterthought heeled socks based on this cardigan, to use-up some leftover scraps.  They were so much fun to make!  I can see making many more toe-up socks in the near future, perhaps always having a pair in the works.

Project notes

Fall is Orange

Last Friday was the first day of fall:  on the calendar and with the weather.  The weather became suddenly cooler & the fog returned to the West Coast.

So I was do glad to receive the latest I instalment of the Tanis Fiber Arts Year in Colour Club 2012.  This month was ...

J.'s Hungarian Apricot Jam

Orange!! What a perfect colour to inject warmth into a cool day.

crazy-urban-garden-carrots

Goofy but true, lately when starting a new knitting project 2 things have happened:

1.  I have fallen in love with the colour.

2.  I notice that colour more often in nature.

July = Yellow

I bought a skein of yellow Tanis Fiber Arts wool  last summer when visiting relatives in Montreal.  It was July, the Tour de France was on, the weather was beautiful, so I easily succumbed to the appeal of yellow wool.  Sadly, upon return to Victoria the newly rolled-up wool spent an uneventful year stashed awaiting the perfect project.

Last July I found Star Athena’s «Tour de France » sock pattern and first made a pair for socks for myself, then altered the pattern to make a pair of fingerless gloves for Mom last Christmas.   I love this pattern because of the cables and moss stitch representing mountains and cobbles.  Very fun to make!

So July 2011 rolled around and it was finally time to put the beautiful yellow wool to good use.  I don't know why it took me so long to put this pattern & wool together.  I should have seen  before that Tour de France = Yellow, so therefore sock pattern = yellow skein.  July was the perfect month to start this project because that's when the Tour is on.

I have finished the right glove and took a few pics this week while visiting the beach in Deep Bay.  Still working on the left glove but it should be finished soon.