Sockcess

My DH, otherwise known as P.A. (no, he's not my Personal Assistant..............but there's time!) well, he arrived home from his most recent trip (did I mention that he travels ALL the time?), anyway, he finally got home just in time to witness the completion of my Two-At-A-Time socks.

He thought they looked wierd (huh?) but then clarified his statement by adding that it was the technique that looked wierd, not the result. The result has the entire house coveting my feet, especially as snow has hit us once again. Just as it seemed that the crocuses might get a clean run through March, they're now subject to a winter blizzard.

My feet are toasty warm though!

I have to say that it was fantastic to finish both socks at the same time. For a moment I felt like there was something missing, then I realised.....no Second Sock Syndrome! No sinking of the soul (or should I say sole ;-) at the realisation that the project is only half finished; no struggling to get that second one done; no mismatched pairs. It was worth the slower progress just to have that sense of completion at the end.

While I was in a productive mood, I also finished the Magic Loop socks. I enjoyed using this technique, but in future I think I'll knit them with the instep stitches on one side of the loop and the sole stitches on the other. I didn't like making my toe decreases in profile. It worked perfectly well, but I preferred doing it at the beginning and end of each row as I did with the Two-At-A-Time technique.

There are so many different ways to knit socks these days, thanks to the tremendous advances in circular needle technology over the past few years. I'm really rather enjoying discovering which method suits me.

For more information on sock knitting techniques, check out the following books:

"Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles" by Cat Bordi

"Knitting Circles Around Socks" by Antje Gillingham

"The Magic Loop" by Bev Galeskas (based on Sarah Hauschka's invention)

"2-at-a-time Socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes

Take a look online at "Knit Wiki" for details about Magic Loop.

Video at "Knitting Help" and YouTube.

Look at "TechKnitting" for the theory of knitting seamless tubes.

Frost Bite

It was -5C (23F) here this morning. My summer garden table was covered in a heavy frost and the wooden front steps were, once again, lethal to any early morning visitor not 'in the know.' Winter has returned.

Frankly, I blame the groundhog! Seeing his shadow and scurrying back into his burrow, doomed us to an extended winter. What a pessimist. Let's face it, he's the one that nature blessed with a pretty warm coat. Wimping out and leaving the rest of us to brave the elements without adequate natural protection, was a pretty poor show, in my opinion.

Still, it appears that he's not the only pessimist out there right now. The western world seems to be having one long pity party, at least that's what the media would like us to indulge in. Don't get me wrong, I know that things are bad (the evidence is only to plain to see) and we all deserve to have a good old cry from time to time, but the constant run of bad news just does nothing for a person's mojo.

My 'joie de vivre' has been sorely lacking this week. I knew it was bad when I took DD2 to the doctors yesterday, armed with my Magic Loop sock, and couldn't manage to muster the desire to knit a stitch. My feet are crying out for another pair of socks, but the circumstances leading up to our visit had left me so depleted that I couldn't be bothered to pick up my needles.

I know that it's time to take action when even my knitting ceases to be a comfort. Step one is to get off my butt and get to yoga today. Even although I know the exercises will half kill me, those natural endorphins really can't be beaten! This should leave me mentally fired up enough to keep the news switched off and the knitting needles switched on. Then, if I can finish that pair of socks, not only will my feet be free from frost bite, but my mind will be too.

Wish me luck.