These are the upper halves of a pair of socks I’m working on for my sister’s Χmas present. I am disappointed with the gaudiness of the fuchsia and yellow; seeing the hank, I thought they might blend better. My opinion may not matter, however; everyone I have shown them to thinks they look fine—not at all like clown socks.

I am not technically late with the presents. The same sister informed me on 11 December that she and the other sister had decided at Thanksgiving not to draw names for one gift as we have done for a few years now, but to do small personal gifts for everyone. We are not a close family. I have not lived within 500 miles of a family member since 1986. I talk to each of my siblings once or twice a year. They are as bad about e-mail as I am. We forget/ignore each others birthdays and all but two fall within a month of each other. I’m supposed to come up with a half dozen personal gifts in the two weeks before Χmas and mail them?

My solution was to send them Amazon or Half Price Books—recycling books is good for you—cards with a note for each to e-mail me back for the second half of the gift. I would then present them with a choice of yarns and what I could make from them. So far only the above-mentioned sister has responded and that is the yarn and item she chose. I admit she saw the yarn in cake form and I told her it was less pink than it has turned out to be.

Given the family avoidance of e-mail, I could be working on 2008’s presents into 2010.

The sock ribbing is a Tunisian Rib Barbara Walker’s first pattern book. My sister wants shorter socks and the Tunisian Rib is stiffer than the usual k2p2 rib and does give an interesting variation to the variegated yarn

Resisting

I keep picking up Jane Sowerby’s Victorian Lace Today. I’m so tempted. I’m resisting; it is only a month and a half until the Χ–thing and there is no way I’m finishing a shawl in six weeks. I’m down to one or two conference calls a week and staff meetings are down to a minimum.

Work, though, is why I have nothing to show. Unless you are interested in SQL scripts and funds transfer pricing analyses. I do have a lovely cap plodding along in a Tunisian rib with cables in a smaller sort of gauge. Lots of knitting with very little progress. And a Manos de Uruguay Cotton Stria scarf at work for those conference calls I’m not having. Nothing significant enough for photos.

I now have a laptop for work. Which I carry home every night in case I should finally come down with a cold or the flu and be compelled to stay home. I haven’t yet, but I check my e-mail and end up wasting time at home that I could be wasting at work.

Question

If you are knitting a hat with cables and ribbing, is it better to decrease into the rib or the cable?

Feather & Fan

This is Feather & Fan, in the alternate version with the yarn-over cable. I am somewhat happy at how it turned out. I am also happy that I have actually finished it. The last 20% took forever.

One hundred twenty thousand plus stitches, followed by a crocheted bind-off that was less painful than I expected, but still excruciatingly small. I do admire it though. And I keep looking at other things I could bind off with miniscule chains.

Above you see the blocked product. Which could have been better done, I know. There is no place in this apartment large enough to pin out a 72″ diameter shawl. I had to make a frame, staple an old sheet to it and baste the shawl to the sheet with upholstery thread—which accounts for the slight imperfections in the directions of the fans. It’s not really noticeable off the frame.

I took it to the LYS this afternoon; I had promised to bring it in some time ago, and I wanted to reward myself for having finished it (which I did, unfortunately). Yes, I enjoyed being praise for my knitting by other knitters. Best afternoon I’ve had in ages.

A Round of Apologies

I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you, particularly those of you who wrote thinking I might have dropped off the face of the earth. I didn’t; I just got stuck. Stuck at work. Stuck on F&F. Stuck in a rut of procrastination. I am a champion of procrastination.

I’m now on 8 straight months of procrastinating about going to the gym. Soon I should be able to roll there. I have been biking—27 miles last Saturday—but I’ve been eating more.

My Downstairs Neighbor is a Homophobic Jerk

And he’s an architect in New York?

And that’s it for tonight.

Carroll Gardens… Gowanus… Sunset Park… Bay Ridge… Bath Beach… Bensonhurst… Coney Island… Brighton Beach… Sheepshead Bay… the Knapp Street sewage treatment plant… some neighborhoods whose names I don’t yet know… Midwood… Kensington… Windsor Terrace… Park Slope and home. Barely winded. In high gear. Mostly.

Got to scare a pedestrian, too. He was crossing against the light and not looking. I can be loud when I want to.

Feather & Fan is at 80%. Twenty rows and the crocheted binding to go.

Last Sunday’s Route

Twenty-four and half miles, following on 20.5 the day before.

Feather & Fan

Less than 25% remaining. I’m sorry, it is tedious. It is nice though.