Diving dog

The sweater is finished and put away for summer:

The strangely ugly Austermann Step socks are finished:

Although these are about the most unattractive socks I have ever seen, I am in love. They are extremely comfortable. I think it is the combination of the Milanese Lace pattern which makes for a very cushioney feel and the Austermann Step yarn which is infused with jojoba and aloe vera. I wore these inside my work boots when I scooped horse poop in the coral yesterday. A delight!! (The socks, that is. Not the poop.) The work boots have a seam near the top of the foot that usually makes a little red spot on my foot by the time I take them off; but, not yesterday!

I even started a new pair of socks. Can you tell I had a nice relaxing holiday?

I specifically picked this yarn, even though it is by far NOT the most exciting in my stash because it will be a very quick knit. I set a goal for myself: 10 pairs of socks knitted by the end of summer. I am counting September as a summer month even though here in the Valley it usually feels much more like fall. But hey, it’s my goal; I’ll make the rules. I am counting the ugly Austermann’s as pair 1. So, if I can average two pairs a month, I should make it. However, many other projects tempt me. Another sweater perhaps? A shawl? Lyra? Too many choices, so little time.

I have some amazing sock yarns in my stash now: a wonderful yarn gift from Chris in Germany (right), a lovely skein of Lisa Souza yarn (center–too bad the subtle color doesn’t show very well–it’s mother of pearl and it is so beautiful!), and I had to compare the Lisa Souza hardtwist petite to some Sock Pixie yarn (left) because the yarn base looked so similar. I just wanted to see them together. Of the three, the Handgefaerbt from Chris feels the best. It has an amazing sheen to it and is very, very soft. Of course, I don’t mean to diminish the other two gorgeous yarns in any way!

Meanwhile, little Opal is getting much bigger. Here she is at five months:

I find her antics terribly amusing. Ever the proud mom. This weekend, I was washing out the tea pot and there were a few stray green tea leaves floating about. Since the dogs needed water, I just poured the water with the tea leaves into their bowl. This fascinated Opal to no end. First she tried scooping them out with her foot.

Then she tried diving for them, submersing most of her head into the bowl and making bubbles.

I finally took her outside with the bowl because she was making such a mess. Done diving? No way!

I had to toss out the water and replace it with fresh to get her to stop. What a little goof.

The end is near

Of the sweater that is. I make no claims to any planetary knowledge.

The next line of instruction in the pattern reads: “Block pieces.” I think I will forgo this step. Why? Since I knitted the sleeves in the round and the fronts and back together, there are no “flat” pieces. I see no advantage to blocking now vs. blocking after it’s all put together. Am I missing something?

I decided to go ahead with the three-needle bind off for the shoulder seams as the pattern suggested. Thanks to those who commented on this aspect of the assembly in an earlier post! Next after that comes the neck edging and then the front edgings. Then blocking and viola–a sweater!

Meanwhile, one of the orchid seedlings I bought at Missouri Botanical Gardens in February 2006 has bloomed. I bought about 15 seedlings. Of those, I have managed to keep about 10 alive. Most are thriving and probably need to be repotted. This scares the dickens out of me. Maybe they will just have to live in their root-bound pots a while longer.

Two, both slipper orchids, have gotten infected with mealy bugs. They are in quarantine, along with the Militonia. Hopefully, I’m getting these little beasts under control!

The seedling that bloomed is called Hknsa.Sogo Doll ‘Little Angel.’ For you orchid afficionados out there, the tag says: lctna.Peggy San x Slc.Katsy Noda. Whatever that means. All I know is that the description matches the flower and the flower is lovely. I’m so pleased that one of these little plants has bloomed.