Thursday, May 3, 2012

An exciting day of knitting!

There have been sooo many days lately that started out bright and sunny and morphed into Cleaning or Administration or Bills (esp. finding of same) or Taxes (that one popped up the most persistently) that I am thrilled to look across the canvas of today and see

k n i t t i n g

So. Much. Knitting.

l a a a a a a a a a

First off, there's a car trip happening for Bob's mum's funeral which is not in the city.  So there's a couple of hours of knitting time right there.  I try to think of such events as A Celebration of Life and I am pretty sure this one will be. I'm definitely going to do my part to make it that way.

With help from:

a/ Bagels.  The car trip knitting is going to be fueled by bagels. Bob's family really liked the ones I brought them on Sunday, and this time I'm going to bring extra because Hello, Torture?  The bagel shop near me is that awesome, and driving for over an hour with superfresh bagels filling the air with alluring bready scent that you can't dip into is just not right.

b/ Stripey socklets.  Oh man, finding Celebration of Life - appropriate garb that goes with orthotic Mary Janes is even harder than getting through a long car ride without eating fresh bagels.  But given that thunderstorms are likely during the outdoor part of the proceedings, orthotic water resistant Mary Janes are a better fit than fine leather roman sandals (or rubber rain boots), so I'm going with the theory that a nearly-invisible socklet is better than a stripey sock that ends about an inch short of the long black and white dress I've been wearing to everything important all year. 

(I think I'm nearly done doing that because one can be seen in the same dress too many times, but it still feels like a powerful ritual.  Also, I really really love that dress.  Remind me to take a picture of it for you guys, okay?  It's just so fab.)

But to return to my point: the most-functional of the nonfunctional socklets are getting a good test run today.  So far, they are awesome when inside the shoe, and a little slippy-offy when out of the shoe.  Good thing I'm gonna be wearing the shoes.  Better thing if I actually finished the improved socklets so I'd be equipped for any future wardrobe emergencies.

c/ Nanaimo Bars aka You-Name-It Brownies.  Every one of these events is fueled by refreshments courtesy of a local women's group, including little sandwiches and special dessert bars, brownies, and sometimes even butter tarts.  If you're not Canadian you may not know about You-Name-It Brownies (so called for the many names under which they are known) so I will describe them: chocolate graham coconut base layer, vanilla pudding-flavoured icing middle layer, semi-sweet chocolate top layer.  You could leave out the stripey socklets, bagels, and even knitting and it would be a good day if it has these things in it.

d/ Old friends.  Because there will be lots of them there today.


Meanwhile, there have been important developments in the life of the Bobsocks. 

They have not involved me ripping out the Very Special yet Overly Giant Cuff, but rather casting on a second cuff with fewer stitches and a simple K1, P1 ribbing.  Not even the fancier K1tbl version.  This cuff is being followed by acres of knitting with no pattern whatsoever, and I am so excited.

A little because this makes the socks mindless portable knitting with fabulous yarn that makes me happy just to touch.

And mainly because they are in memory of Bob's mum, who was So Not Fussy.  She lived her life too simply for a cabled sock to be relevant at all; undyed fiber from organically-raised animals handknit into something very practical is much more her style.  I should have known that when I first started the laborious pattern I was knitting on the first sock and felt less motivated with every stitch. 

It just feels - well, exciting to be able to relax into the simple pattern I make for myself knowing that this one is right.  Exactly right.

As long as it fits.

And we will just have to guess at that because I am not going to ask Bob to let me measure his calf today.  You know?  I'll just try them on Pete, safe in the knowledge that he isn't gonna think I am secretly making socks for him, because he's already begged me never to do that. 

So: off I go.  But first I think I'd better put some umbrellas in my knitting bag.  See you later!

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