Happy Place...

Hey, I got the new Interweave. Neat. There's some stuff in there that I love (#1, the Nantucket Jacket - Norah finally does shaping!) and some things I loathe (what IS that Corded Yoke Pullover about? but then I do like the back....)

I requested a few braids of BFL from Sweet Georgia. (I love her colorways so much....whee!)

I have to cut back substantially on my fiber budget, and I have to destash some things. Brodie might have found and eaten a rather staggering amount of prescription medication on Sunday night, prompting an emergency vet visit and overnight stay. (Hey, guess what? That's really ridiculously insanely expensive!) But the important thing is that he's fine (and now hopefully terrified of eating stuff he shouldn't eat....but we won't hold our breath.)

Even without that, this weekend was pretty lousy, albeit lousy with good company. I'm not here to bum you out, so I'll spare the details - except to say that we drove out of town unexpectedly and did a lot of sitting about....

...which translates to something that is relevant here - a finished object:


Project Stats:

Pattern: Bells & Whistles Socks (by Mona Schmidt) from Interweave Holiday '06
Yarn: Mondial Extrafine Merino, two skeins
Needles: Size 2 Crystal Palace DPNs for the ribbing and first pattern repeat; size 1.5 Crystal Palace DPNs for the rest of the sock
Started: October 14
Finished: November 5
Changes/Thoughts: I can't say enough about how much I loved the pattern. The only change I can remember making, other than switching up the needles, was to the toe - rather than gathering up the last eight stitches and cinching it closed (why??), I got it down to twelve and did the Kitchener thing. Even with the lace and cable stuff, this knit is FAST. I would have finished these much sooner if I hadn't gotten all spin-headed.

They're unblocked, which is good since they'd need another dunk after being traipsed all over my house in search of decent light. I had to really futz with these pictures - you'll note that they're all taken on my windowsill - the gloomy weather is apropos, but not cooperating with my need to photograph these.)

Some more photos, if you're curious. Click for the big ones:


There's a Christmas gift for Mom, natch!

Oh, and I had this little whim while I was preparing for my normal ol' boring photo shoot, wishing someone was around to get a picture of me shaving my legs for the sole purpose of photographing some socks (anyone else ever do that?)


Heh...gotta love the ol' ten-second timer on my camera. (In case anyone's feeling a little uncomfortable - I was not actually bathing or unclothed. I'm wearing a tank top and peasant skirt, and the towel's on my head only because it was a photo-appropriate way to disguise my hair, which is even more busted than usual today.)

The completion of Bells & Whistles means it's time to get back to those good old Eleanora socks. (I'm not even close to finished with the first sock - remember I started it in MAY - and I hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. It has nothing to do with the pattern - which is gorgeous - and everything to do with the yarn - which is atrocious. I adore Lisa Souza's gift for dyeing, but I don't like this base yarn much at all. So much so that I'm wondering if it would be quicker to just abandon the 75%-complete first sock and start a new pair with a different yarn.)