Low Tide

It made me happy to go for a walk today. It was completely flat and under a mile but it was the first real walk I have had for a few weeks. I was done in by a sneeze that sprained my back and regular exercise and routine chores had to all take a major pause while I recovered. 

There were things to be grateful for along the way. I finished reading "I Will Bear Witness", a diary of a Jewish man during the Nazi years in Dresden. So, yeah, my back was killing me but I was well fed and there was no risk of fire bombs or the gestapo. A friend loaned me the book; she also came to visit while I sat on the couch and other friends came as well. Everybody has a back injury story, it seems, and I'm glad I wasn't out on a wilderness kayak trip with diarrhea when it happened or stuck on the kitchen floor for hours with a package of Lorna Doones. 

I was thankful to be retired. I can't imagine having to call in sick for three weeks straight. 

And, boy, Dave just stepped up and did whatever needed to be done. I am lucky to have such a kind man in my life. I could read and knit and play with my phone and laptop and I could almost always sleep, so the days seemed to pass by, one after the other, and now I can go for a walk. 

Daenerys Socks - Second Pair

Cephalopod Yarns Skinny Bugga

Luanne comes to visit.
We make cookies and
talk about knitting
socks for hours!

Daenerys Socks

This pattern, Daenerys, was designed by Cookie A. and arrived early this month as part of the sock club package. My friend, Luanne, and I had decided to make this pair out of the same yarn, a luxurious merino/cashmere/nylon blend by Tanis Fiber Arts. 

We finished our matching buddy socks at the same time and simultaneously added our projects to the club forum. It's fun to knit with a pal!

Drogon Socks

More socks! I have the fever! 

These Drogon Socks are made from one of the patterns from the April 2014 edition of the Cookie A sock club. The stitches represent dragon scales from a particular character on the Game of Thrones. The yarn is Plucky Feet and the color is called Speak Softly, a lovely lavender that does a poor job of representing a fierce, blue dragon but it does knit up with great stitch definition and makes some pretty nice footwear.

Sake Socks

I am turning into a professional sock model - ha! Well, at least I have found a fairly reliable spot for pictures with good light and a background that isn't too distracting. The cement usually needs to be swept clean but there is a secure spot for the camera on the mini-tripod and the self-timer does the rest. 

This pattern is called Sake. It was published in my current favorite book, Knit.Sock.Love by Cookie A. It has twisted stitches and cables and lots of narrow columns traveling back and forth. Some of the other knitters that have made this pattern commented on the tightness of the fit and their tendency to run out of yarn before finishing so I made some changes to the design as I went along. It was a success because my socks are sized just right and I had a bit of yarn left over. 

The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan sock in the colorway Zest. Yep. Pretty screaming orange.

Bee Blocks for March and April 2014

For March, the Cheer Circle of Do Good Stitches charity quilting bee did blue wonky star blocks and nine patch squares. The tutorial is pretty well known online: Silly BooDilly's Wonky Star Tutorial.

For April, we made scrappy green X and + blocks. The popular tutorial (here) from the Badskirt blog was inspired by a Japanese quilter, Setsuko Inawaga.

Malvin Socks

I wanted to make a pair of uncomplicated "vanilla" socks after my run of several highly patterned pairs. I bought some yarn with pretty colors to keep me entertained but it gave me some trouble with pooling. I tried a couple of different fixes but eventually I just decided to embrace it. They are what they are.  

The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Alegria; the color is Malvin. I have a fair amount left over so I may make another pair of socks with Malvin; maybe stripes!