socktober 2009.

Here are my socks-in-progress. (Last year’s Through the Loops Mystery Sock is in my office, nowhere near completed.) As you all know, I’ve made great strides in the sock-knitting department this year: toe-up, magic loop, lace patterns, chart reading, oh my!
Despite these gains, something happened to my sock knitting mojo with the change of the [...]

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a special shawl, another sock.

One of my favorite people here in New Home is getting married next month. Remember that first pinwheel blanket I knit as a wedding present? It went to the folks who hosted me when I came to visit last spring. Apparently, when H. saw this blanket last summer, she said something like, “Where did that [...]

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dillweed/milkweed.

Dillweed. (In the pickles. These are half-sours, from The Joy of Pickling.)

Milkweed. (Shawl by Laura Chau.) I’m only 8 rows in, but I’ve decided that although I am way more comfortable with written directions, I’m going all-chart, all-the-time on this one.
I went back to the LYS having the sale yesterday to get a smaller hiyahiya [...]

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hiyahiya.

Whoa. Yesterday I felt compelled to do something about those needles with the other-than-smooth join. They were driving me crazy! The internets told me that a LYS is having a sale on everything this week, so I dropped by to look ONLY at needles. I was debating between 12 and 16 inch addis, and the [...]

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kip: kraut-in-progress.

Exhibit A: 1 gallon pickling crock, acquired on ebay.

Exhibit B: Kraut-in-progress. (Note: this is not an exercise in instant gratification. While sauerkraut requires regular checking, skimming, etc., it takes several weeks to be ready to enjoy.) This is my first attempt at kraut, and I am so excited. I always LOVE kraut made by friends [...]

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two pairs concurrently?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Don’t worry, Boh. I’m making good progress. See?

I even cast on my On-Hold socks for the KAL and knit the toe AND one whole pattern repeat.

You still look very, very worried.
Maybe it’s because you’ve seen me knitting quite a bit on something that is not a sock?

(Boh is actually laying [...]

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a theory.

I have a theory about WIPs and startitis, and it goes something like this: without a swift and ball winder, the knitter is obligated to think on new projects before readying the yarn and diving in. Winding yarn by hand is a repetitive, sometimes meditative, often simply time-consuming, and occasionally quite annoying process. When you [...]

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FO: lacy ribs socks.

Details:
Yarn: Yarn Pirate superwash BFL in the cupcake colorway
Needles: 2 circs, 2.5 mm
Toe: Judy’s Magic Cast on (it really is magic!)
Heel: slip stitch heel, as per pattern
Bind off: Russian Bind off
Size: Medium
Start: June 16th, 10 PM EST
Finish: June 30th, 10 AM EST (whew!)
For those of you who haven’t been following along, I knit these as [...]

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taste-testing, peas, pesto.

Strawberry-balsamic jam on a slice of fresh-from-the-oven homemade bread. Not a bad start to Sunday morning.

Strawberry-rhubarb-fresh mint compote over plain, local yogurt. A mid-Sunday morning snack.

Deb does it again — saw this recipe for pickled sugar snap peas over at smitten kitchen, and had to mix up a batch. I can start eating them this [...]

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granny gear.

You know, the smallest (third) chain wheel on a bicycle with at least 3 wheels (a triple crankset). It makes it easier to ride uphill. I rode my bike across the country seven summers ago. 4200 miles, a handful of mountain ranges, and the realization that Missouri is not flat (I had conveniently forgotten the [...]

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