Wrong way

I think most of you who read this blog know exactly where I work. And if you don't, just imagine a one-way road that loops around a pond, in a complete circle. A circle, as in, if you've missed your exit, you can continue around the loop until you again reach the exit.

Now imagine an SUV tearing down said one-way loop, flying by his/her exit. Three seconds later, s/he hits the breaks, does an illegal u-turn and accelerates the wrong way back around the loop.

Horrific, I know. Even more upsetting when you learn that I recognized the driver as a long-standing citizen of this institution. There was no call for that behavior.

We interrupt this silence

for a quick FAQ and update on the knitting.

Q. Have you been knitting?
A. Of course. Sadly, the knitting is not daily but I try very hard to squeak in at least 15 minutes of knitting when I can.

Q. What are you knitting?
A. Good question! I had good intentions to continue plowing through Eric's Na Craga, but when the temperatures starting topping 85, I cried uncle and cast aside the 100% wool sweater for smaller, portable, light-weight things.

Q. A wise decision, but you never answered the question.
A. Ahem. Yes. Well, you see, there's been a snafu. I have successfully completed one sock for Sockapaloooza. See?
Pattern: Spiral Boot Sock, by Veronik Avery from Summer 2007 IK
Yarn: Brooks Farm Acero, in blue
Modifications: Not a darn one!

I have cast-on for the second. See?

But alas, I know I will run out of yarn. I carefully divided my skein into two even balls. I knit feverishly while in several airports over the course of two days. As I turned the heal on the first sock, I knew with every fiber of my being that I would not have enough yarn. Brashly, I carried on, dipping into the second ball mere inches away from the toe.

I contacted Brooks Farm about purchasing more of this yarn. As I suspected, this dye lot sold out at Maryland Sheep & Wool. However, they are dying another batch soon. I intend to purchase one skein to complete my sock. I know it will not match and frankly my dears, I don't give a (beaver) dam. These socks will not be for my sock pal, I will keep them and love them as my own. I will knit my sock pal another pair - perhaps this very same pattern - in yarn that I have purchased sufficient quantities of.

Q. A good plan. Why were you in airports for two days?
A. Visiting East Lansing, Michigan where I was interviewing for a postdoc opportunity. Which I got. Which means I have to write, write, write and defend this summer. Hopefully by August. Which means few knitting posts.

Q. Ah, so really, it's not me, it's you?
A. Yes, it's me. My fault that I won't be writing much of anything knit-wise in the coming weeks. Take solace, however. It appears the sock-knitting nausea has passed. And that's a really fantastic thing.

A first time for everything

(The onesie says: 'Mama is a yarn ho.')

Maryland Sheep & Wool was fantastic, overwhelming and satisfying. I didn't knit a stitch on the trip down or back, nor did I knit during 'down times' at the festival. Why? We drove mainly at night (and I did a lot of the driving) and when you have a 6-month old, there are no down times. Let's look at the haul, shall we?
First up, some wool in a blue (blue mist) that matches Baby Jeneric's eyes and will make a spectacular hooded jacket from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby.
Next, we have Solana, a red Brooks Farm yarn that I coveted and tried not to buy. It's more than I usually spend on yarn, but the color and texture will make a fantastic Sunrise Circle Jacket. This marks the first first - buying the yarn I love and not skimping. Will it make a difference in the final object? We'll see.
Finally, Acero, more Brooks Farm yarn, this time a blue sock-weight yarn, destined for my Sockapalooza4 pal. I love the Spiral Boot Socks from Veronik Avery in the Summer 2007 IK and this yarn is going to make a fantastic pair.

I have to come clean, though. The patterns calls for 3 skeins of Reynolds Soft Sea yarn, which at 1 62 yard per skein, totals 485 yards. This skein of yarn is 420 yards, which is about 65 yards short. Will I make it? Will I have to rip back to shorten the leg? Should I have just purchased two skeins? (probably!)

The second first thing was that I actually admitted to being a blogger! Inadvertently, I encouraged a random knitter to purchase some of the same red yarn that I was purchasing. She got in line behind me and struck up a conversation. At one point, she asked if I had a blog and instead of lying (which I normally do!), I said yes. Of course, being the doofus that I am, I didn't say my name or the blog, but Kristy, of Eleven Stitches is a very put-together person and handed me a business card with her blog information. Go visit and check out that drop stitch sweater she knit. It's her own pattern and looked amazing in person. It's also thanks to Kristy that I picked up the sock yarn.

As Brenda Dayne would say, it's time to Cast-on.

Sockapalooooza!

The 4th round of sockapalooza has begun! I signed up as a declaration of war against my sock nausea and I'm coming out fighting! I've surfed the usual suspects, including Knitty, MagKnits and the Interweave Knits website. While my decision isn't final, I am leaning towards the spiral boot socks by Veronik Avery in the yet-to-be-released Summer 2007 issue of IK. Yarn shopping/splurging will occur this Saturday at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

On the flip side, my sock pal has already sent me something - an e-postcard of Babs, the knitting obsessed chicken from Chicken Run (who else loves everything that comes out of Aardman Animation?). I can tell this knitter has good taste and will create a fantastic pair of socks to warm my feet this fall.