Which Category do You Fit In?

Maybe I’ve just been looking in all the wrong places; but, lately, I’ve been seeing two kinds of knitting blogs. Half are written by attractive, thin, young blonde women who knit amazingly fast. The other half are written by middle aged, slightly overweight, older white women, who knit amazingly fast. I fear I fall into the latter category minus the knitting amazingly fast part.

So, it was with delight that I stumbled across Does Anybody Give a Damn? today. Deawn lists her occupation as “Diva” and has some absolutely fantastic photos of guinea pigs. Oh yes, and she knits too. Her Clapotis is lovely. I strongly recommend a trip down the page to look at some of Deawn’s older posts, including the August 29 one regarding a museum in Iceland. What a hoot!

Along the same vein, I thought I would include one photo of some yarn p*rn.

Once again, Jakob is providing the obligatory-animal-part-adjacent-to-yarn shot. Thanks Jake!

I got the yarn at The Knittery’s closeout sale on 100 percent Merino wool for socks. 15 percent off. Might as well buy four skeins if you are shipping to the US. That’s where the postal price break is.

What! Me Post?

It’s been a while. Work. Visit from mom. Holiday. Work. None-the-less I did fit a bit of knitting in. I didn’t fit a bit of blogging in. Oh well. One of these days I’ll get into the routine, find my voice, and this will be worth reading. For now, life goes on and it is what it is. Meanwhile . . .

Ta Da! Finished Shibui Knits Bark socks!

I’m pretty happy with these. I’ve actually worn them about a half dozen or more times already. They fit well and I like the stretch of the bamboo rib pattern. Looks nice, I think. Yes, I would recommend the ShiBui Knits yarn. Pleasant to work with, warm to wear and interesting colors to choose among.

I even started on the next pair. This one is for the resident non-knitter. I’m using a yarn from Classic Elite–Alpaca Sox. I went down to a US 0 (2.0 mm) needle for the foot and I wish I would have had an even smaller needle for the sole. I think a 1.75 mm would have been nice.

They have progressed fairly nicely. I’m using a highly modified (read simplified) version of Yarnisima’s Firestarter pattern that I picked up for free at The Loopy Ewe. Modifications were needed since the resident non-knitter has big feet. Additionally, even though he said he didn’t mind the fancy work on the side when I initially showed him the pattern, he about blew a gasket four days later when he actually looked at the pattern. Of course, I’d been plugging away over those four days and for a millisecond, my heart fluttered and I thought “These could be for me!” This yarn is lovely soft.

He said, in a rather frantic tone, “You aren’t making me those, I’ll never wear those. Those are girly socks.”

But, a sense of commitment to finish what I had promised prevailed. “No worries,” I explained, “Look, no cable.”

I did the “highlighted” stitches with the knit in the back loop as the pattern calls for; but, I left out all the twists. Just lines of raised stitches basically. He calmed down considerably and has even allowed more than one try-on. This was an emphatic point early on, “I’m not trying those things on more than once while you make them.”

Why am I subjecting myself to this? In my somewhat diabolical way of thinking, I have this belief that he will realize hand-knitted socks are indeed “NICE” when he puts a finished pair on. I am hoping this leads to a bit less harassment for my interest in knitting socks. I know it is a futile wish. But, hey, a girl can dream.

Mom wants a pair too. Oh well. I’ve gotten really good at rotating the three pairs I have managed to make for myself so far this year. Someday, pairs 4 through 7 will materialize in my sock drawer and I’ll be a Happy Camper.

Something to Talk About

If you went back, and read the posts from the begining–which wouldn’t take very long to do at this point–you would see that I started out with the intention of writing every day. Within a day or so, I realized this was an unrealistic goal. I don’t usually work on the computer on weekends (although lately I have!). So, I revamped my goal to posting five days a week. Then, when I got slammed with even more work, I backed off to a few times a week. Now that I am working very long days, the lyrics from that Bonnie Raitt song, “Let’s give them something to talk about . . .” run through my head. Why post unless I’ve got something really worth talking about!

Today I interviewed a gentleman who, among other things, runs an antique store. I met him at his store, the Golden Fleece in Del Norte, Colorado, for the interview. Of course I looked around. What I found: a pair of hand knitted socks, presumably dating from 1878 because of the knitted date near the top band.

What follows will be picture intensive. I am so amazed at the skill this knitter displayed!

First a quick overview of the pair and basic details. The toe and heel:

Lovely stitch pattern on the front and back of the leg leading up to the top band with the knitter’s initials. I think it’s “AML” although, this is hard for me to see.

The attention to detail is fantastic. I love the “mouse-teeth” picot finish and the stitch work is so fine inside.

Here’s the date: 1878.

What do you think? Authentic or not? There are in such amazing condition. They look unworn.

I’m guessing this would be worked on a 00 or 000 needle; but, I’m not sure. They appear to be a nice soft cotton. The foot is rather small; perhaps, a women’s size 5 or 6 by today’s measurements. I would appreciate any thoughts from the experts out there! I have larger images. Let me know if I need to load them.