Parade Socks

These socks were made for marchin'


but not in this years parade.

I suspect that DH and I will be choosing 6C.


It's snowy, sloppy and cold out there!

And we'll be going back to sleep to dream of shamrocks, leprechauns and Aran knits.




Happy St. Paddy's Day, everybody!

Leftovers and Updates

Looking over previous entries, I notice that I could have added more photos to some and done updates on others.

On March 14 I talk about snow coming our way. And then on February 26, I pictured the ripped out headband and never updated.

Here's my favorite furry model wearing the sewed-up headband and watching the snow:



In the Lottsa Lace entry of March 10, I mention that my Mom, grandmother and a great-aunt were all talented needlecrafters. In addition to a crocheted bedspread and tablecloth, I have bags and bags of their beautiful crocheted doilies. By framing a few of the doilies, I'm able admire their handwork everyday:





Here's a photo of patterns they used. Notice how well-used they are:



Snowy day here. Getting ready for St. Paddy's Day, I'll be cooking up corned beef today and will be working on the Wearing O'the Green socks. Updates on snow and socks tomorrow. And leftovers of corned beef for all!

Don't Snow on My Parade

Blogger is having problems with uploading pictures, so this is a picture-free post. Use your imagination, folks.

Here's the weather report up until parade time:

Friday
SNOW...blah blah blah. Moderate SNOW accumulation. yada yada Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.
Friday Night
SNOW...freezing rain blah blah blah...then freezing rain and snow blah blah. Additional light SNOW accumulation. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.
Saturday
Yada yada yada blah blah SNOW and freezing rain yada yada

Nobody would have seen my Wearing O' The Green socks anyways, since I'll need to wear SNOWboots to the parade!

Sock Quiz

1. St. Patrick's Day 2007 is in:
A) 30 days
B) it happened already
C) 5 days OMG! 5 #$%*^ days!!!
D) 370 days

2.Which will Our Knitter give up in order to wear the Wearing O'the Green socks to the St. Paddy's Day parade:
A) eating
B) reading blogs
C) staring into space and dreaming of future projects
D) none of the above

3. Which future project is Our Knitter dreaming of and can feel her fingers itching to begin:
A)Forest Canopy Shawl
B)Easy Lace Scarf from Victorian Lace Today.
C) None of the above. Our Knitter is single-minded in finishing the socks.
D) Both. Our Knitter is a project slut.

4. Will Our Knitter finish knitting the Wearing O'the Green socks by March 17?
A) Yes. Our Knitter is truly determined
B) No. Our Knitter leads a balanced life and must cook, clean, go to work, do cat chores and be a social person. With all these responsibilities, it will be difficult to finish the socks. But, Our Knitter is a mature person who will take it in stride.
C) Are you kidding?! Our Knitter must 'net surf, read blogs, sleep late, plan future projects, play mah jongg, have a few snits, stare into space. She'll be lucky if she finishes those socks by March 17, 2010! And she'll be whining about it till then.

Here's a photo of the Wearing O'the Green socks as of today, March 12:



5. Now what do you think?
A) She'll definitely finish. She just has to buckle down.
B) She'll finish one and nearly finish the other one
C) Those UFOs won't be coming out of the ziploc bag again for a long, long time

6. It's March 17. Our Knitter and her DH wake up.
Which is the most likely scenario:
A) Our Knitter dons her finished green socks and goes to the parade.
B) Our Knitter and her DH get up, have a few cups of coffee, surf the net, drink more coffee, order in from Lenny's, talk about going to the parade, engage in a family email about gas prices. Suddenly they notice it's 3PM and wonder where the day went. Too late to go to the parade.
C) Our Knitter and her DH say, "It's cold out there! And we'll have to walk thru the Park. Both ways. What are we, nuts?!" They go back to bed.

Lottsa Lace

Since I began knitting again, I've become more aware of colors, textures and designs. Knitting has also become my gateway to the fiber world. I've always appreciated fine needle work--my mother, grandmother and a great-aunt were all talented needlecrafters and I must carry some of those needlecraft (albeit less-talented) genes. However, I never gave more than a passing thought to the needle arts.

The internet has changed all that. Thanks to an internet group composed of lace knitters, I have a friend who I've never met but who has broadened my fiber horizons. Internet buddy (and frequent commenter) Sonja is a lace enthusiast (and a talented lace maker) and she has been slowly introducing me to the various lace techniques outside of knitting. Tatting and Hardanger and bobbins were never words in my vocabulary! But, suddenly I'm noticing and reading and questioning about lace.

The Museum of Arts and Design here in NYC is currently running the "Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting" exhibition. And they've been holding programs and workshops in conjunction with the exhibit.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to be part of a small group that viewed lace pieces at the Antonio Ratti Textile Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Ratti Center is a state-of-the-art center for the study, storage and conversation of textiles. Housed are thousands of lace pieces from different centures--we viewed 37 pieces.

I really don't have the words to express it all--but, it was incredible! The beauty of the items goes without saying. I only saw 37 pieces ranging from the 16th to 19th centuries and it was all truly overwhelming. Here's a photo of one lace collar:



It was made in the 17th century. The techniques are: cutwork and stem stitch embroidery and the border is reticello and punto in aria.

I've posted other photos at my pbase site.
Some of the pictures have comments as to century and technique. Click on the thumbnail of the photo to make larger and to read the comment.

Many thanks to Sonja for introducing me to this world. One of these days, Sonja will come to the Ratti Center and view some of the exquisite lace pieces herself!

Please note: Viewing the textiles at the Ratti Center is not done as a walk-in. If you're interested in viewing items, you first need to look thru their database and then make an appointment to view specific items. For the details of this, call the Ratti Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Aide Memoire

Normally I can read the stitches and figure out where I am--but, mindless sock knitting completely throws me. Not being the most attentive person to begin with, I start welcoming distractions when knitting the hypnotic and boring round and round and round. I actually start listening to the voices in my head as they do their best to amuse and distract me. This isn't such a huge problem when working on the leg or foot, but confusion reigns when I do the gusset decreases.

Where am I? Gee, I need to return the library books. Is this a decrease round? What was the name of the kid who sat next to me in 5th grade? What the heck is this? Is Ringo Starr dead or alive? SSK side? How many seconds are in a year? K2tog? Left slant-right slant? Should I make chicken for dinner?

Sometimes I really need to engage those voices in conversation, but I also have to be somewhat attentive to the sock. Therefore I've devised the following system:



See the blue marker? "Blue" rhymes with "two" and that means K2tog.

And we have:


It may not show, but there's a pink marker. Now, try to follow this reasoning: "pink" reminds me of "pink slip" and that leads to slip across the marker and then SSK.

So, take that voices! I can knit round and round and listen to your chatter and even forget who and where I am--but, here comes the pink or blue marker. For a brief moment, I'm brought back to the knitting and as the voices whisper, "blue-two," "pink-slip," my fingers magically follow along.

Minus 11

March 17 minus 11 days = TODAY. If I plan to wear these Limerick / Camo / Wearing O' the Green socks to the Paddy's Day parade, I best be stepping on it!

Heel flap on one sock is finished and half-done on the other.

I'm at the point where I'm calculating: Rows per minute + how many rows × springing the clock forward - number of clocks and watches we'll forget to change - how often Rachael Ray says EVOO + my height when I wear heels + factor in hair cut x % of time doing cat chores ÷ pairs of socks I wish I had knitted × cups of coffee DH drinks in a day + how many mah jongg hands I won this week × my Social Security number - the inches of snow we've had this year = how much longer it will take to finish these socks.

Tuesday's snit:
I forgot to buy a lottery ticket! And it would have been the winner!