"...Always"

I finished the "After All This Time" socks a couple weeks ago, just in time for the deadline. They came out wonderfully. The second sock was knit in just four days which was rather crazypants.

 

I'm not sure if the last photo is a cat bomb of a sock picture or a sock bomb of a cat picture.

Winner!

I completed my "Sledding Joy" socks tonight and can say I made it under the burled arch for the Iknitarod.   I'm after the first few but well ahead of the red lantern.   

Now it is time to turn my attention back to the "MalWear" socks.  My goal was to have them both done by Sunday at Midnight but I'm pretty sure there's no way that's happening. Before the end of the month for sure.

Sledding Along

Happy Pi Day!

Tonight's big achievement was getting fluids into Galen (the cat) on my own. I like it when the vet does it and while $8 a treatment isn't too expensive it has been adding up.  He has been looking much peppier over the last couple of weeks.  Using pill pockets to get his meds into him and staying more current with fluids is really helping.  His coat is super soft and shiny and he is interested in his surroundings.  I found the heating pad and it has been pressed into use.  The weekend was chilly and rainy so it came in handy.

Knitting is progress, albeit slowly.  I have started to replace knitting time with Diablo 3 time and there's only so many hours in a day.  I will finish the Sledding Joy socks for sure but don't think I'll be able to turn in the brown socks on time.  Partial points are still points. Soar Ravenclaw!

Sad news out of the Iditarod - someone on a snowmobile tried to run down two teams and killed a dog.   The mushers are still mushing but it is very sad.

Sledding Joy

The first sock is just about done.

I just need to get off the internet and graft the toe. And put away laundry. And do dishes. And, and, and.

Checkpoint

The Iditarod socks are zooming right along.  This morning I started where the stitch marker is and am a out 3" further down the foot.  The goal is to finish tonight but I will be happy if I get to the place where the toe decreases begin.

Taking the cat for a blood draw in the morning but I should be able to get some knitting progress accomplished before work.

Mini Marching

It is a minisock theme weekend in Ravenclaw tower.  I had kits and mini sock blockers, I had empty needles, I had scraps of yarn. It was a great weekend.

As you can see, I got tired of knitting during the first sock and switched to a mini-er pattern.  They still take about an hour each.

Mush!

Watching the ceremonial start of the Iditarod and getting warmed up for the Iknitarod.  I made two mini socks while I was waiting for the race to start so ironically now I need a rest before I cast on for the sledding socks.   But I have my mug, I have some fresh tea and the weather is appropriately overcast.  After the live stream I'll walk the dog.

Wild and Free

It was time to get out and about and unwind from the crazy week at work. I dusted off my zoo membership card, checked and found out I could still get free parking at the Wild Animal Park, grabbed my re-fillable cup and hit the road.

First stop was the flamigos, of course, followed by an aviary.  The scarlet ibis are my new love - pink of course.  Next I headed up to the bird show.  I was a little early so I watched the lemurs and lorikeets for a while.  The bird show was excellent - lots of free flying and an interview with an African Grey.   The milky eagle owl was amazing as well.  

After the bird show it was down the hill to the tram ride.   There was lots of quality knitting-while-waiting time and the ride did not disappoint.  All 4 cheetahs were out, the screaming children eventually settled down and the tour was quite nice.

Post tram ride I started to wander back to the front.  I went past more flamingos (the creepy red-eye ones are less creepy in person).  I found the warthogs by accident.  I was going to pass by but a keeper was telling someone about the bat-eared foxes and I perked right up.   I watched the hogs for a long time (they were very interesting until nap time when 2 lay together and then 3 lay together, each set in a perfect line by decreasing size).  Finally gave up on the foxes (they are more nocturnal) and went around the corner.   To my delight, through a break in the trees I could see the other side of the enclosure and a flash of movement. The little bastards all came out as soon as I'd left.  I watched for a while, then crept back to the front and watched them for a long time,  walking, barking, sunning themselves and generally being awesome.  They are super furry with spindly legs; much like shetland sheep with huge ears and pointy noses.  After that were the okapi (so plush looking) and the secretary birds.

I circled around past the tram and headed up toward the elephants but took a long break to look over the savannah vista.  There were a bunch of rhinos out, some pretty antelope and even some entertaining people.   Then it was a last push up to the elephants (and more quality knitting time).  They were pleasant to watch and then there was the sex.  Well, OK then, elephants, you go at it. I'll just stand here.  Hearing the trumpeting was cool though.

Finally it was time to think about leaving.  Up past the chinchillas (missed the baby tiger), watched the bats for a while in the bat house,  refilled my soda and hit the flamingo pond to knit and watch until closing time.  A little coot who was resting by my bench made a good companion.

Sock Sunday

Well, I suppose if I am knitting 4 pairs of socks in the next two months I can make Sock Sunday a regular feature.

Progress this week has been good.  The once and future "Mush!" socks have been reincarnated.  Nothing special going on here, just stockinette for miles.

The "Always" socks are up to row 67 of chart C / D and the gusset increases are well underway.  This is a new kind of heel for me so I am following directions and hoping it will turn out well.  I made my first Russian join yesterday when the yarn broke at a tender spot.  So far, so good.

These are the "Forest Hideaway" socks, so named after the colorway. This yarn was a reward for finishing the Camp Loopy projects a couple years ago.  It has been waiting for the perfect project and so far it is turning out well. The yarn is very lovely and soft.  I am improvising the pattern: started with ribbing, then moved to spiralling ribbing, then got bored and kept just three "paths" going down the leg.

Sunset Socks

A well-matched pair, indeed

Isobel

The little hat is done and has been pressed into service.  It's still too big but I like that it covers my ears, so it is staying that way.

Yep. It's a hat.

Preheating

Samah approved

Before

The Steampunk Blanket

I made a little lap blanket. It all started at Christmas of 2012 when I got a set of Loopy Cakes in “Steampunk”. I bought 3 skeins of “Mohagany” in solid series to flesh it out.  It took three years but now it is done and I even used it to fend off the drafts today at work.  

When I cast off last night, I had three inches of yarn left over.  I won at yarn chicken!

Monday Musings

Well, not musings so much as a progress report.

Blue & white socks, ribbing done, well into the leg of sock 1.  This was my work / laundromat knitting today and it was perfect.

Steampunk blanket:  it is here on the desk, I can totally finish it tonight (12" to seam, a couple ends to secure and a ss border all the way around) if only I would get off the internet.

Today was laundry day and cat fluid day. Neither was too horrible.  Tuna salad on homemade bread for dinner rounded out the afternoon.

Super Sock Sunday

Green Snape Socks - added several rows more after the photo session.  Am on to the second set of charts and the increases for the gusset.  We are making a Fleegle heel - I know what a heel is, I know who Fleegle is, this should go well.  This one is perfect "Midsomer Murders" knitting because it needs a chart.

 White / Blue / Gray plain socks.  These are for the HMC #2 and are coming along nicely.  This one is my mindless knitting for the week.  Just around, around, around.

Green / Gold Pelle fair isle mittens.  You can see the beginnigs of little cats on the left hand mitten (4 feet and a ball of yarn).  The palms are also patterned.   This is also a good "knit in place" project, again due to the chart.  I really need to catch up the second one so I can do the same rows in the chart concurrently.  They have different charts but I think it will prevent 2nd mitten syndrome.  

Janet & Ruth are also making "kitten mittens" and today we had a nice "cast on" party.  I was already through the first cuff and jumped right into the patterning.  A good thing too, as that is where I needed to talk through some questions on the pattern.  It isn't poorly written by any means but it has a lot less hand-holding than most current / modern patterns.

In other news, Tuppy the cat has been super affectionate tonight. I wonder what he was up to while I was gone today.

Snacktime

Galen and Bingo hope I am bringing food as soon as I put down the camera.

We had a yarn & beer meetup last week and it was a great time.  I aquired some destash yarn and a little new yarn.  I am on a real sock kick right now so I have to be well stocked.

This one is becoming socks right now.

Monday Musings

It's official - I need to rip back the crochet hat and rework with a smaller hook.  I'm also going to leave off the ribbon row and the ruffle.  It was just bad all around.   Smaller hook has been obtained. Just need some wine now.

Progress is good on the new socks.  The yarn is just superb, it's a yellow / orange / pink / purple colorway called "Summer Dusk".  Stockinette in the round is seriously better than therapy.  It makes everything better: laundry, TV time, vet waiting room, break time, telephone call time.

Took Galen to the vet for a blood draw to check how the thyroid meds are working.  His fur is fluffier but is acting a little strangely and is becoming fussy about his food.  That reminds me to go get the chicken I cooked up and hide his pills in it.

Starting Again

Happy "buy a new calendar" month, everyone.   That reminds me...

Ravenclaw won the House Cup & the Quidditch Cup at last last term.  I knit hard and scored well. I even completed an OWL and a Mission for the Order of the Phoenix and scored a sweet new badge.  I didn't even know it was a thing that is hard to do!

I didn't get too much done over the December break month; finally seamed the last of the blocks & added a few finalizing rows to the Steampunk blanket.  I'm thinking of buying one more skein to use as a large border to make it a little bigger.  

My head was cold this weekend so I broke out a skein of pretty yarn from this summer, an old issue of Spin-Off and crocheted up a little hat.  I love the hat, I like the pattern... not sure about the finished project.  It is more muffin cap than cloche.   I made a cord as a drawstring with my handy dandy lucet so it fits better but it is still puffy.  I may give it another try or I may rip it halfway back and rework with a smaller crochet hook.

I still have a stack of items that need finishing work but I also need to sit down and think of some projects to complete this term. I've already warmed up the spinning wheel and am working through some half started bobbins.  Need to ply some mystery gray (chain ply, I think, I can already use another hat) and I am spinning through some mystery blue / gold / green (merino / silk?).  This one is interesting - there are two lots of about equal size but one is richly colored and one is more pastel.  My choices are ply the two against each other or ply them separately (2 ply? chain ply) and decide if I want to use them in the same project. It might look nice as stripes.   Idea: ZickZack scarf.

I didn't set any resolutions except that I kind of did:  read 16 books for the Goodreads challenge (G16) and also participate in the January Cure again.   So far I have swept one room and every time I sit down to read I just fall asleep.  Will have to work on these.

Fox Paws

North Pole Bound

My Quidditch project for match 4 is a selection of ice floes... but only one is the real portkey.

Now they must hibernate until they are sent off as holiday gifts (with soap) next month.

In other news I have been making soap like crazy in anticipation of a little show this weekend.  I am super excited and hope it goes well.  

Knitting on Fox Paws continues and I started a little scarf as well.  It may be cutting it close to finish the whole thing by the 30th but the pattern is simple enough that I can work on it in little chunks of time here and there.

The last baby bird is coming up on 6 months old (where does the time go?) and is clearly a male.  Yellow face, whistling, displaying feathers and stalking around are all little dude behaviours.  I moved him in with his older sister (Peaseblossom) and he is getting used to more attention.  Just need a nice Shakespearian name for him.   His sisters are named for fairies in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as is his "uncle" Robin Goodfellow.  Oberon is too fancy.  Bottom is too silly even for me.  I'm sure something will make itself apparent.  His dad is Hamlet... perhaps Horatio will fit.

Autumn Glow

I am happy to announce the Bosc Pear shawl is complete & has been submitted for my Order of the Phoenix mission.

The setting sun gave me warm light... perhaps a little too warm.