Couldn't Sleep

So I knit.
Finished the Waving Lace Socks at 1:30 AM today.  They're very pretty.  I do wonder about the strength of the fabric with all that openwork. Time will tell.

I've made a lot of small things lately.  It's time for a bigger challenge.  I cast on a cardigan this afternoon.

We Went For A Walk, Just Me and My Sock

It was a cold one out there today and the park was very gray.  Today's extreme cold froze all that standing water of the earlier warm weather and created ice rinks where paths used to be. I actually had to cling to the fence posts on my awkward climb up my usual hill or risk falling, ungracefully, on my ample middle-aged butt.  It was kind of fun once I got over worrying who might see me.  Anybody else hardy enough to brave today's climate deserves a good laugh.

At the end of the adventure was coffee and knitting time.  I got about thirty rows done on my Waving Lace Sock #2.  That felt pretty good after so little progress on any recent knitting front.  
While I knit and snacked and had a refill on my coffee, I listened to a chapter of Little Women on CraftLit.  I've been going back and listening to older episodes of this podcast.  Recently I finished A Tale of Two Cities which I had read years ago.  Now I'm enjoying having Little Women read aloud to me because I never could get through the darn book reading it the old-fashioned way.  No.  Having seen three different movie versions of the novel doesn't count.  (Does anyone else remember the TV version with Susan Dey as Jo and Meredith Baxter as Meg?)
I admit to skipping over all the personal chatter of the podcast and going straight to the book talk.  While I enjoy Heather's book commentary as well as that sent in by her listeners, I often find her personal stories a little annoying. Not sure why.  However, I still appreciate the amazing effort and ingenuity of her unique "podcast for crafters who love books."

Unravelling

Five poofs cotton coils; the result of a morning's work.  It's been so long since I unraveled a thrift store sweater that I'd forgotten how therapeutic it can be.  Winding the yarn round and round is so calming to my jangled psyche.

Since this photo was taken, this yarn has been washed and triple rinsed.  It now droops off various hangers spread throughout my living room.  In the future it will be a spring cardigan.  For now it's performing the job of humidifying my winter dry apartment.

Sock Yarn Report

Recently my First Ever Socks fell apart - disintegrating in the ball of the foot. Looking further into this dilemma, I was surprised to realize that these Scheepjes Invicta socks were knit in 2006!  That is some serious wearing power.  As I have several other pairs, old and new, giving up the ghost right now. I thought it time to take stock of which sock yarns have performed well and which have disappointed.  This is where the ball band scrapbook comes in handy.


Socks Going Strong or Just Starting to Wear: 
(Three or More Years Old)

• Scheepjes Invicta Coloris
• DG Confetti
• Regia Die Sockenwolle
• Opal UNI
• Patons Kroy Socks
• On Line Supersocke

Middlin' Performance:  (Approximate Two Year Life Span)

• Elann Esprit
• SRK On You Toes Bamboo

Disappointment:  Fell Apart In A Year or Less

• Fleece Artist %100 Merino
• Indigo Moon Merino
• Fibranatura Yummy

Now, none of the final category, though beautiful yarns, have any nylon in them.  They are all 100% natural fibres.  Which just goes to show that, in sock yarn at least, a little acrylic is a good thing.

Funkety Funk

I was fooling around with my camera settings at Christie Station last night while waiting for the bus.  The camera was pointing down toward the gate and trash cans when I accidentally hit the button.

I like it.  It reflects my current state - a slightly blurred, weird angled funk.  Lines that go nowhere creating a picture of I don't know what.  And cold steel gray.  Must be February.

Snow Day 2011

"Hrmf. It doesn't look like that much snow to me," said Lucy from her sun spot.