Showing posts with label socks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label socks. Show all posts

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Socks and Love - an introductory lecture on Ravelry.com

Oh, you can find almost anything on Ravelry.com. Yarns and patterns. Yarn stores and sellers. Korean drama lovers, German Shepherd owners, Formula One fans and sock appreciation societies. 
And poetry . . .





“Ode to My Socks” by Pablo Neruda
(translated by Robert Bly) 

Mara Mori brought me 
a pair of socks 
which she knitted herself 
with her sheepherder’s hands, 
two socks as soft as rabbits. 
I slipped my feet into them 
as if they were two cases 
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin, 
Violent socks, 
my feet were two fish made of wool, 
two long sharks 
sea blue, shot through 
by one golden thread, 
two immense blackbirds, 
two cannons, 
my feet were honored in this way 
by these heavenly socks. 
They were so handsome for the first time 
my feet seemed to me unacceptable 
like two decrepit firemen, 
firemen unworthy of that woven fire, 
of those glowing socks.
Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation 
to save them somewhere as schoolboys 
keep fireflies, 
as learned men collect 
sacred texts, 
I resisted the mad impulse to put them 
in a golden cage and each day give them 
birdseed and pieces of pink melon. 
Like explorers in the jungle 
who hand over the very rare green deer 
to the spit and eat it with remorse, 
I stretched out my feet and pulled on 
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.
The moral of my ode is this: 
beauty is twice beauty 
and what is good is doubly good 
when it is a matter of two socks 
made of wool in winter.








Friday, March 21, 2014

Not a once a monther?!!

Yeah, well, if I let my lack of blogging project get to me, I would never get anything done. 

As it is, life just got in the way. Birthdays, hockey, retreats and strep throat meant that - well, I finished a number of projects this month.


Week eight or so of the Hexipuff Challenge took a little bit (I should just bite the bullet and do one every morning instead of putting them off until after dinner!) but is still fun. I've been breaking out odds and ends of sock yarn and I so enjoy using them all up!


Mr. Youngest Child's striped Ribbed Socks finally came to the bitter last stitch.  These things take a while if you only ever do them in church.



Today, the shiny goodness of Middle Daughter's Socialite Shawl hit the runway. Very pretty, very silky but - probably not the yarns I would use again. The pattern - that I may make for myself next year.

Now, back to the saddle should aran . . . and the final maple syrup flavored lollipop I got in my Savvy Girls Podcast package. Good stuff for sore strep-ravanged throats!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Oh, really?

The weeks after being sick, sick, sick are usually pretty quiet. But not here. Two weeks of missed cleaning? Check that off. Two weeks of missed laundry. Check. Finally going grocery shopping? Check.

Add in a birthday


And a ski trip to Northern Minnesota


The view isn't much here - but that's because we were in the middle of a lake! 


Lovely Liz and I had this trip by ourselves (we decided that the ice was faster to ski on but the snow trail was quieter) but the whole weekend was knit, ski, knit, ski with breaks for eating. 


Even Youngest Child was exhausted by Saturday night.

And we finally had knitting here at Chez Daisy. Alas, it was poorly done knitting. 

I have some advice for you - do not knit when you have the flu. I've spent the last week or so frogging "Knitting under the influence" on socks and my vest. The socks are done now - but I've given them away as they look odd.


Lovely yarn (Pagewood Farms Yukon in Vineyard Blues) and a pretty pattern but I don't have any idea of where I went wrong to make them so "wrinkly."


The vest - I did all the shoulder decreases before I was supposed to knit 7 to 9 inches. So, time to lay it all out and reknit. Sigh.

Saturday's Seven is going to the rummage sale today. I may be showing my age but - I long for the days of the good old regular weight turtleneck. 


Four of the items here are light "tissue weight" turtlenecks. Nasty, stretchy, not fit to keep you warm turtlenecks. Why they even make them, I don't know. A skirt, a boy tee shirt and a pair of boots rounded out the seven. 


Monday, November 29, 2010

Sew What!

The past two Monday nights I've been taking a sewing class using patterns from Sew Serendipity: Fresh and Pretty Designs to Make and Wear by Kay Whit.

I'm still not finished - I had to put away my sewing machine so that someone could sleep in my sewing room over Thanksgiving! - but it's been a great experience. I've learned how to sew a much better zipper than I've been using since high school and a much better way to adapt patterns. The actual skirts in the book are fairly simple but there are patterns for dresses and coats as well.

Part of the class involved making ruffles so I'm thinking my Christmas presents will have lots of them!

Thanksgiving at our house was very relaxed - lots of eating, visiting museums and trips to the movies.


I also had some time to finish up the Hedgerow Socks.  


If I had made them any longer - I would have run out of yarn!

Fancy a bite?

I also had some time to start a pair of Pop Up Paws for Mr. Daisy. Middle Daughter decided to knit a pair for herself and I thought I should give them a whirl as well. I'm not so crazy about the finger sections - they are a little rough and ready - but Mr. Daisy always wanted a pair.

I've also picked up Youngest Child's quilt. It's still waiting for the edging but one Christmas Present down, five more to go.


The pattern is called Little Bits from the Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by 
Joelle Hoverson.


When you have to clean house for holiday guests, you end up with a lot of odd things to give away. Two trash cans, a basket, two sewing patterns and two tee shirts. Good bye Saturday Seven!


Friday, April 10, 2009

Inappropriate Tweeting led to her downfall

I am a little hesitant to post this photo since the last time I tried to show off the Blackberry Stitch portion of my Child's Aran Sweater, I discovered that I had sent it only to author Neil Gaiman's Twitter feed instead of out into the general ether.




And the title? Red Light Knitting. Which, if you are a knitter, is a funny title. The knitting was on my lap and the photo taken in my car. I had been knitting at on ramps again.

If you are an author, it is probably a red flag that someone is sending you an inappropriate photographic advertisement for their evening job.



I've worked my way a few inches into the second sleeve and I'm hoping to be able to sew it together next week. It's finally nice in here in Minnesota and the good weather plus the Easter holiday will be cutting into my knitting time. Maybe I'll have some photographs of the egg dyeing and Hot Cross Bun making going on here at Chez Daisy.

In the meantime, enjoy this Friday Film: A True Paean to Sock Knitting



Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

Saturday, January 05, 2008

NOT my problem!



One of my Christmas presents is a mug with this picture all over it. Youngest Child drew it and said it was a picture of "Mom yelling." DH oh-so-wittily labeled it, "Mother."

I deny this. Absolutely. I am possibly the most laid back of my sisters (Does anyone who know us deny this?) but somehow, I get labeled as a yeller.

Yesterday, I think I proved this when two daughters' afternoon activities involved bringing home separate groups of friends afterwards (not something I had much foreknowledge of) and I managed to get everything cleaned up and provide some sort of food. And two of the friends were vegetarians and one was also on a gluten free diet. Considering the state of the fridge when everyone trooped in, I think I was the picture of calm.

And, despite the Writers' Strike, I still managed to find some TV to watch while knitting. I highly recommend Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel. This was very interesting but very sad at the same time. Good to knit to. I am almost finished with the first "Go with the Flow" sock. I am really loving that!



The Saturday Seven? I sorted out my workout drawer and found four teeshirts, two pairs of sweat pants and a pair of knickers - the knee length workout pants, not the undies. Knickers?!! What was I thinking? Off to a rummage sale.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

One sock, two sock, three socks more



Here's the first sock of the pair I'm working on right now. Once again, not too thrilled with how "fluffy" the yarn is but when I block it, I am expecting great things.

Tonight was the monthly Minnesota Knitting Guild meeting where we heard a great speaker about designing and dyeing your own self patterning sock yarn. I think I'll have to get farther into my stash before I start that but I am so looking forward to giving it a try! There have been some articles in Knitty.com and Spin Off magazine about dyeing that I will definitely use. The only dyeing project that I've ever had go bad was when I tried using avocado pits and peels. I first heard about it on Cast On with Brenda Dayne. She got some great color but then we know that Saint Brenda has the magic touch!

I'm still working on Sock #2 and eyeing some of my other WIP - the Interlocking Balloons Scarf from Scarf Style and the Violet's Pink Ribbon socks. Maybe even Andy's Big Brown Sweater? Nah, that's asking for too much!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Socks, socks and socks . . . and cookies!


I finally got my laptop back from repair (yea!) but I don't have all my data reloaded and this is definitely putting a crimp in my blogging. I've been hoarding my photos on my digital camera until I finally got I Photo up and running and now they're not quite where I want things.

In the meantime, however, I have been moving ahead on the sock marathon front. I really did not like the twin rib sock in Twisted Sisters "Avarice" sock yarn when I started. It just seemed so "bumpy" and not like the picture in the book. I had picked it because I thought it was easy. I was on the point of ripping it out. Now, at the decrease for the toe, I have to say it really is an easy pattern.



The sock yarn is just a little fuzzier than what I've knitted with in the past and I think it that when I block it, the pattern will be more distinct.

So, now that I have photos, I think that today will be heavy on "What's on my Camera?"




GFM making a date with the Lion Brand's Lion at Knit Out 2007 at the Mall of America. She told me she whispered, "Don't worry, you only have five more minutes until you can stop wearing that suit!" but I think she said, "Meet me the California Cafe in five minutes and break out the red wine!"



One of the most famous sweaters of my childhood, Mr. Rodgers' sweater. I heard his mother knitted them for him! Truly, a really nice guy.

And, finally, another really nice person - Annie Modesitt. She had a little meet and greet at my local yarn store, The Yarnery, on Friday night. She showed off some great designs, her new flip books and how to make dreadlocks out of yarn.



And about those cookies? My Saturday Seven. Our family bought two cases of Girl Scout cookies and we are sending them to some soldiers serving in Iraq. Unfortunately, we couldn't send the really great Samoas and Thin Mints (chocolate melts in the mail!) but we are sending some almost as good Little Brownie Bites and Cafe Cookies. Yum!