I Still Knit

Yes, I still knit, even though spinning has turned my head a wee bit. I started a pair of socks in Trekking #102 while on jury duty, and began them on the Colonial rosewood dpns. One of the rosewood needles apparently committed suicide, because it snapped for absolutely no reason. Perhaps it was unstable to begin with, I have no idea. I had set the sock and needles down in the middle of the bed. There were no cats around, Dan was working quietly on his laptop and did not move a muscle, and I didn't touch them again until I picked them up mere moments later only to find stitches cascading off a snapped needle. All I can figure is someone must have been breathing too hard in their general direction. What a relief it was to switch the socks to my usual metal needles which I can bash around mercilessly without worrying about breakage.

I've started both socks, as is my way, but when I bought this yarn the store only had a single ball. I usually buy two balls and start a sock with each, but the friendly yarn store owner offered to divide the ball for me. With Trekking, I think it works out better to have a separate ball for each rather than dividing a single ball, because these socks look distinctly different from each other:
I know I'll never get exactly matching socks from Trekking, but the other pairs that I have worked from separate balls look a lot more alike than these two do. I still like them, but lesson learned. Besides, who can argue with the wisdom of having enough Trekking for two pairs of socks instead of just one?

I've also been working on Dan's Dress Socks out of my handpainted cotton sock yarn, and I have been reminded why I only knit about one pair per year for him. They take forever. Here are the starts of his socks:
They are enormous. The yarn has lycra in it and it is stretched at the moment, so the legs will shrink up, but still, they are large and I'm only about halfway done with the legs. And I'm getting bored. This is my mindless project of the moment.

I'm stalled on the Polperro Gansey cardigan mainly because I can't decide how deep to make the armholes. I want the cardigan to be loose enough to be worn over other layers, so I want the armholes deeper than, say, for a pullover. But I also don't want armholes that hang down too far. So I sit and fuss whether an extra 1/2 inch is enough to add to my standard armhole depth, or should it be an inch? Or more? In the time I have taken deciding, I could have tried it a dozen different ways, so I should probably just make up my mind and give it a go.

We had some excitement this week with Cheddar, the escape artist cat. He got out one afternoon without me noticing, slipping stealthily past me as I retrieved the mail. By the time I noticed he was gone, he had been out for a couple of hours, and when I found him, he was completely filthy, having crept under a couple of cars. Dan gave him a shampoo for his trouble, and Cinder, the homebody kitty, shunned him as he no longer smelled like a proper cat, but smelled of shampoo instead. So I have been keeping a close eye on him, and have caught him sneaking out one more time when I was able to quickly thwart his escape plans. Today, the friendly postal carrier delivered a rather large package for Dan that he needed to bring in the house since it was heavy. My attention wandered for a second, and I was sure Cheddar had snuck out in that instant. I looked around the house, then did a survey of the surrounding area and did not find him, so I searched the house again. Finally, I went upstairs to think about the situation, and here he was, fast asleep:
It's amazing how the sound of a can opener can wake a cat a quarter mile away, but me stomping around and calling his name had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Simply amazing.

Comments

[Wendy]

Yep, cats have perfected "selective listening."

[Rhonda]

My fave socks is the pair that really don't match ... totally different except for the colorway. I had 2 balls of crazy cotton from Holland and didn't know until after I started the 2nd sock that it was wound in the opposite direction... making the color combo to be unside down. But, ho the socks look great! I might do it on purpose a few times. That way, if I loose a sock ... another can be made to go with it, right? Hehe, your cat is like a kid!

[Vicki]

The sound of the can opener is to cat what the rattle of the leash is to a dog -- at least in our house! ; )