The One in which I must decide

Well, I am off camping in a few days. Yepper, the city girl goes country for a bit every year. I head off into the great wild woods or vally or hills or wherever and get my nature groove on. I will spend 12 days enjoying the sounds, smells and sweet air of our Earth.

This year I am headed to the Pagan Spirit Gathering again. For years, it has been in Ohio but, this year it moves to Camp Zoe, MO. I will be enjoying the space with friends. Bunny, Sweetpea and I are camping together. It is the first year in quite a while that I've camped with others. That will sure be fun.

We've got loads of coordinating and packing to do. Who brings what for whom is a big set of questions. Mostly, we are working it out, though. My toughest decision isn't about my clothing or the books but, you guessed it, about my knitting. What projects do I bring??? Yep - projects, not project! I realize that it is a plural reference.

In years past, I haven't done much knitting. One year, I took a lovely skein of sock yarnn to knit. I even worked on the socks but I didn't get far. The yarn, you see, wasn't superwash and it was felting as I knit it in the 90 degree weather. Another year, I had the good sense to bring different yarn but it was fuzzy. Fuzzy and humidity/heat don't mix well. Sigh.

This year I have a multiple-pronged plan. I am taking a sock project. It is a simple set (I am an optimist) of socks in Tofutsies yarn. That might be good to knit. The second project is the Victoria parasol project. No wool or animal fiber to be found in that project. But, I worry it is too complex for those lazy hot days. The last project is going to be some wash cloths from Lily Sugar'n'Cream. One cannot go wrong with basic cotton. That'll be for the days when the sun or the heat addle my brain but my hands must still create.

So, here's to the great outdoors and to knitting in nature!!!

The one in which I am content . . .

Life is going well. I’ve got a plan and I am working that plan. Sure, there are glitches but, mostly, it is all working out. On Sunday, I expected to spend time mending and packing (for camping) and sputtering around the house. Instead, I spent yesterday in the ER with my friend, Gardenia. “They” thought she might have the H1N1 virus so our visit there was spent in isolation from the madding crowd and wearing masks to prevent contamination (or further exposure).

It was an interesting visit to the hospital. We would watch as administrators and health care professionals would walk up to the door, look in, look down at their records and then walk away only to show up a few minutes later, masked, and ready to work. This was bad for said friend because she felt like something the cat dragged in (and if you’d seen her cat, you’d know that wasn’t a good thing). Poor Gardenia was feeling miserable and isolated and just wanted to be home in her own bed. I felt bad for her. But ...

The visit was good for me because I’d had the presence of mind to take along some knitting. There I sat for 6+ hours as they poked and prodded Gardenia. Poor woman, she was coughing, she looked tired and drawn, she was dehydrated, etc. But, there I sat being the good and stoic friend just a knitting away! It was a joy to be knitting and so relaxed . . . well that was me anyway – not so for poor Gardenia. After all of that, they release her with the diagnosis of a ‘cough’. Saying that they’d run out of Swine Flu testing kits and weren’t likely to get more. They advised her to watch her symptoms and advised the rest of us to stay masked when around her. Go figure!!!

The photo above is an early photo of the socks I started on may 29th. They are in Tofutsies in a green/gray combo colorway (I think it is called Four Leaf Toever). It is a simple 2x2 rib on the leg of the sock. I don't know yet what the foot will look like as I am doing this from memory. No, I am not being innovative - I just cannot find the pattern in my craft room. Sigh.

It's been forever!!!

Cripes! It HAS been forever, or very nearly, since I've written anything here. A dear friend, Sweetpea, nudged me today and, albeit slowly, I got the hint. My excuse . . . sure, I've got plenty of them! I've been in school; I've been busy; yada, yada, yada. None of them are any good though. It just has been a long time since I've even considered writing. I haven't even been to Ravelry.com in a great while. It took teaching Sweetpea to knit to get me back to this place and to this mindset.

See, Sweetpea has picked up knitting very, very quickly. In fact, she is a sponge for it. Remember when you were there??? I sure remember that time! She's discovering fibers and patterns and techniques. It is such a joy to see it, to experience it, through her eyes - or, through her hands, if you will. Her enthusiasm for the craft has reignited my creativity. I just love it when that happens!!!

Another friend, my BFF - Amethyst, and I were chatting last night about Sweetpea and her knitting. A few years ago, I taught Amethyst to knit and she really took to it. She was patient with my teaching and practiced like crazy. She had a handicap with me as her teacher. She is a lefty and I am a righty ... that made the process very interesting. Anyway, since then, Amethyst knits alot and she knits lace. She loves it and she is good at it. When she needs a break from other knitting, she knits lace. Me - I am a sock knitter. I knit loads of stuff but always go back to socks. I've got 2 pair of socks on the needles right now. One is a simple pair and the other takes concentration. Gotta have different projects for different moods, right?

But, I digress, back to Sweetpea. Amethyst and I were wondering what Sweetpea's main knitting will be. Will she knit sweaters? Will she knit household items? It will be such fun watching her grow into her knitting-hood.

Not only is this craft of knitting productive and useful, it is joyful. It brings people together. It is expressive and satisfying and, it was missed while I was in school. Today, a group of friends in Chicago are gathering to knit and enjoy each other's company. I wish I were there. It has been forever since I've really sat and knit. I will go do that now. I will think of my friends and I will knit.

The one in which I am back on track

So, here I am - working on this sock and trying to avoid SSS (Second Sock Syndrome). We know that SSS can be fatal (to a pair of socks) as it prematurely splits the socks so that a matched pair (such as they are) is unattainable. So, so sad. . .

Anyway, I thought I'd be there on the Bellatrix pair. When we last visited the pair, the 2nd sock had progressed to the heel flap only to be stymied by a mistake in the pattern (well, really, in the pattern reading by the knitter). Undaunted and unstoppable (after a only a day or two pause in the knitting), the 2nd sock is on its way again. I've made the decision to go with the same heel flap stitch pattern as on the 1st sock (it is nice to have a pair that matches anyhow). The heel flap will be this lovely sl1, k across configuration.

As of a few minutes ago, the heel flap is finished, the edge stitches picked up, the gusset knit and decreased and the body of the foot has been started. We (me and the sock) are in to the stockinette (appropriate, no?) stitches on the sole of the foot and the pattern stitches on the instep. Now, it we are inches away (okay, many inches away as I wear size 9.5 shoes) from having a pair (yes, a PAIR) of socks!!! Now, what to knit next?

The one in which I slept

I have been having such trouble with my body clock. My original night owl has been spreading her wings and staying up until all hours of the night. I go back to school on Monday, January 5th, 2009 and I am worried about how I am going to make it through the days staying awake. Hopefully, once I am back in the swing of things, I'll keep more regular hours.

Today, I got up earlier than usual (9 a.m.) and rushed to lunch with a friend and then to Circle. Today is Twelveth Night and we were celebrating. This is the time to divine into the future; to use oracles and tarot cards and whatever other divination tools are useful to gain, hopefully, insights into the near future path. We were fortunate enough to be able to use a spirit board and tarot cards to garner some insights and advice for 2009.

Anyhow, I got home and just collapsed. I went upstairs to check email around 6:30 p.m. and change clothing. I remember crawling into bed to get warm and then I woke up at 11:30 p.m. It is 1:30 a.m. and I am headed back to bed. Must be that I need the rest. Maybe the looking into the future took the steam out of me in the present. Well, it is off to snooze land. Dreams await.

The one in which I learn humility

Okay, okay. . . I'll admit it. I was getting a bit smug. I'd started the 2nd Bellatrix sock and was just speeding through them. Once memorized (and that's easy) the pattern was a breeze. It was time to start the heel flap and I was feeling good. The 1st sock had been sitting for a few months and I wanted to get them finished. After all, what is more comfy than handknit socks? And, in a Michigan winter, what is warmer? Also, I've been studying like crazy and it was high time that the right side of my brain gave the left side a break and did a little creating.


So, anyway, the knitting is feeling great and the leg of the sock was finished. It was late in the evening but I was on a roll and didn't feel like putting the needles down in favor of sleep so I began the heel flap. I readied the sock and dove right in. That night, I did 22 rows of the 24 required. I was feeling good. The heel flap was tight but it looked good and I thought it would be good and strong. See?

Not too bad, right? Well, that's what I thought until I sat down to knit again tonight. I thought I'd just breeze through it and turn the heel. First, though, I wanted to see the pair of socks together so I pulled out sock #1 in order to see the beauty of my work. There I was, being all smug again. I sat for a few moments and just stared at sock #1. Doggone it!!! The heel flaps didn't match. See? Here is heel flap #1. It is pretty but they just aren't the same.

Heel flap #2 (the first one shown) looks ribbed whereas #1 does not. What the heck??!?!?!? So, what did I do (other than get a little cocky)? I picked up the pattern and there it was, in the instructions. "Rw 1: Sl 1 purlwise, k1 to end. Rw 2: Sl1 purlwise, p to end." I read them and reread them. Cripes! I'd done the heel flaps differently. On #1, I sl1 and then knit to the end, turned, sl1 and purled to the end. Sock #2 was sl1, k1 then sl1, p1 - alternating stitches throughout each row. Double cripes!!!

It was time to figure this out, obviously. I didn't want to frog all 22 rows but I couldn't wear socks with different heel flaps. Well, I could and no one would notice - but I would know. I wasn't sure what to do so, I went to Ravelry (of course!). I searched under "Bellatrix socks" and found more than 400 offerings to view. I began to look and felt comfortable that heel flap #1 was correct. That felt good, although it meant ripping back 22 rows (albeit short rows). Then, after several examples of Bellatrixes (Bellatrixi?), I began to see alternative heel flaps. Some folks used the sock #1 method and others had used sock #2 method. Triple cripes!!! Now what? It was time for a decision. Of course, I wasn't going to change sock #1 so that meant that I could rip back or mismatch. Cripes again!!! It was time to go afroggin'. :-(

I spent a good hour or more (interrupted with dinner, Dexter episodes and doggie/kitty petting) to get back to the beginning of the heel flap on sock #2. I want to knit more now but just don't have the energy or the confidence. Tomorrow evening, I'll get back to it. My lesson here is to be more humble, to remember to read the pattern through (and ask questions) before going off with my needles half-cocked. Now, on to rest for heel flap version 2.5.

Bright blessings to all.