Do-Over
I had a lovely, page long post all written up yesterday, but a helpful family member shut the computer down for me, and it was lost. Ah, well. The blog world has certainly been quiet lately. I suppose we're all recovering from the busyness of the season, and I know I will be glad to settle back into my routines. I do miss the kids, though. (I'm the only mum I know that was sorry to have them all back to school!)
Nope, this is not the start of sock #2, sadly. Remember when, as a child, you asked for a “do-over” when playing a game? That's what I needed here! My Sockret Pal socks took an unpleasant turn over the weekend. I was following a pattern, and just didn't like the way the heel was looking. I tried ripping it back and using my own heel, but it didn't work for me. For all my blather about my “non-conformist hippy side”, I am most comfortable following a pattern. And I really want them to be nice for my pal. So, we're back to the start (I'm using the Harlot's vanilla sock pattern), and I've been taking it with me in the truck to get a few extra rounds in here and there.
I mentioned earlier that Stuart gave me some yarn for Christmas. In order to provide positive reinforcement, and thus ensure many more gifts of yarn, I cast on right away (I think, even, Christmas Day) for a Clapotis. I've always wanted to try this pattern, and even though this is not the usual yarn for this kind of project, I'm happy with the way it's looking. I'm very pleased with the colour changes in the yarn, and the fact that the subtle striping will be opposite to the dropped stitches. I've dropped three stitches so far, and this will be a great wrap for curling up on the couch. (The fact that it's machine washable doesn't hurt!)
Nope, this is not the start of sock #2, sadly. Remember when, as a child, you asked for a “do-over” when playing a game? That's what I needed here! My Sockret Pal socks took an unpleasant turn over the weekend. I was following a pattern, and just didn't like the way the heel was looking. I tried ripping it back and using my own heel, but it didn't work for me. For all my blather about my “non-conformist hippy side”, I am most comfortable following a pattern. And I really want them to be nice for my pal. So, we're back to the start (I'm using the Harlot's vanilla sock pattern), and I've been taking it with me in the truck to get a few extra rounds in here and there.
I mentioned earlier that Stuart gave me some yarn for Christmas. In order to provide positive reinforcement, and thus ensure many more gifts of yarn, I cast on right away (I think, even, Christmas Day) for a Clapotis. I've always wanted to try this pattern, and even though this is not the usual yarn for this kind of project, I'm happy with the way it's looking. I'm very pleased with the colour changes in the yarn, and the fact that the subtle striping will be opposite to the dropped stitches. I've dropped three stitches so far, and this will be a great wrap for curling up on the couch. (The fact that it's machine washable doesn't hurt!)
I took advantage of nap time yesterday and plied my first yarn! The more full bobbin is the first yarn I spun, and the other is the more recent spinning. I'm happy to see that I'm getting much more consistent in thickness. Since this is natural wool, I've told Brian that we can do some Kool-Aid dying, and he's very excited!
Do you see what I see in the pictures today? Sunshine! After days and days of grey (but very mild) weather, we're back to bright and bitterly cold. Our high temperature today looks to be about -19 C. But the sun, I am so grateful for the sun!
