As many of you know, Lynne is collecting 300 pairs of mittens for children in her community whose hands are cold. Any kind of mittens will do (she needs them by December 10th - so if anyone wants to contribute but doesn’t have time to make some - purchased mittens are also gladly accepted). I thought this would be a great opportunity for another Family Knit-A-Long. Since we were supposed to be making kid-sized mittens, I figured that we could get them finished while Mom was here for Thanksgiving. So I ordered the yarn and waited. And waited. And waited. It got here yesterday.

Great Gran is casting on with the pink yarn I got for Mom. She likes pink.

My Mom is long gone, but I have committed to three pairs of mittens so Great Gran and I didn’t waste any time getting started (as you can see). The yarn is Swish Superwash (KnitPicks) and I am fond of it. It comes in a variety of great, even colors, is soft to the touch, springy and pleasant to knit with. I’ve got one pair of mittens finished and Great Gran is halfway through pair number two.

The Handy Book of Patterns really is very handy.

If Great Gran decides that she doesn’t want to make the third pair this weekend, I will do them on Monday and can still have them in the mail by Wednesday which should get them to Lynne before the 10th. I could do them this weekend in the car on the way to Jacksonville (ACC Championship), but I have decided to make a pair of socks in Georgia Tech colors instead. When I take my knitting into the stadium (for commercials, time outs, halftime etc.), I want to appear Spirited and not Bored. My aunt is also more inclined to forgive knitting during football if it is in white and gold. Also: it turns out that there are yarn stores in Jacksonville!

The yarn is STR (sock weight) in Olivenite, my pattern is on the index card.

This breaks my “one sock, one large project on the needles at a time” rule. But so do the mittens. What can you do? Now I just need to find a bag/purse that a huge ball of Socks That Rock will fit in. I would like something in a wide-wale corduroy.

Please note, all images are brought to you today care of Mr. Pink: colors may be prettier than they appear.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving (to those of you in the US)!

I mentioned in my sidebar that my trusty camera is suffering from some sort of Occular Trouble. To illustrate how dire the situation is, I present the following images:

On the left, Michael’s new sweater vest as seen by the ailing camera. On the right, Michael’s new sweater vest as seen by the camera in my phone. Neither one is an accurate representation of the color of the yarn (Elegance in Burnt Orange), but the one on the right is much closer. I am using a pattern from Harrisville Designs (the potholder people) called “Cashmere Cabled Vest.” Not a creative title, but it seems to be a nice pattern. I can’t say for sure yet because after two and a half days of work, that is as far as I’ve gotten. I started making the size M would wear, and it came out in the size I would wear. Luckily, I noticed this pretty quickly and (after checking my gauge obsessively), pulled out what I had and went up both a pattern and needle size. This seems to have worked. KnitPicks was very nice about finding a couple more balls of yarn in the right dyelot (bless you, KnitPicks). Perhaps the Harrisville folks neglected to take into account that cables really pull a thing together. Or maybe it’s just MY cables that really pull a thing together. I am perfectly willing to admit to User Error. I usually make a swatch in the pattern stitch before starting. Why didn’t I do that this time? Laziness probably. The sweater vest also suffered another small set-back when I noticed a cable mistake. I attempted to pick out multiple rows of just that cable for repair. That did not go well.

Continuing in my Warm Colors Series, the above is a Socks That Rock sportweight sock in Fred Flintstone. Again, neither picture accurately represents the color, but the one on the right is closer (orange is closer to red than to purple). The pattern is one we all know and love (and I adapted to my gauge). Incidentally, if you are looking for an interesting sock that doesn’t mess up the great patterning of your variegated yarn, the Brainy Lady’s Basic Cabled Socks is a wonderful choice.

Let the record show that I need a new camera.

The CounterPain Square Count is at 19/140. Too late I have realized that I should have numbered each square as if it was part of an edition of fine art prints. I keep telling myself that I should start seaming squares so that there is less work at the end. I also keep telling myself that I should be darning socks. Apparently, myself doesn’t like to be told what to do.

PS I have just corrected all of the times I mispelled “cabel” in this entry. Which was every time I typed it.

A finished Cutaway.

Two pairs of socks.

More CounterPain squares.

I’m back.

Michael and I are no longer expecting a baby in May. Which is Extremely Unusual once the baby has a heartbeat.

This explains my recent Leave of Absence from my blog. A Leave of Absence that will probably continue for another week or so.

For those of you who don’t know us, Michael and I tend to deal with sad things very privately. This is why my comments are closed (which totally sucks because my Toasty Toes entry is right below this one so please please please leave Lynne all the sweet and complimentary comments that you would have left here - she completely deserves them, they are Marvelous Socks and I love them).

I hate if I upset or hurt anyone by not wanting to discuss or write back or even think about this. Just chalk it up to my being “dark and twisty inside” and that everyone grieves differently and know it is certainly not personal.

I am not gone for good or anything, and there is certainly a future of itty bitty knitty things here at Yarn Miracle. But when I do come back (with a finished Cutaway, two pairs of socks and more of the wretched CounterPain squares), I am going to be moving forward and not talking about this. I hope that you will all move forward with me. William Henry will miss the attention if you don’t.

As promised, I recieved my “pre-gift” of Toasty Goodness from my Toasty Pal, Lynne. It was followed a couple days later by the Toasty Toes Socks of Legend!

A treasure trove of fun feet stuff!

The pre-gift turned out to be GREAT as a forerunner to the socks - it is all stuff for a pedicure to make my feet worthy of my Toasty Toes (and FiberTrends “Peak Experience” sock pattern - they’ve got a zigzag pattern to them that looks like All Kinds of Fun to knit). The socks themselves are fantastic, a beautiful blue (Lorna’s Laces “Tide”) and a intricate scalloped pattern called “Angel’s Rest.” Lynne just pointed out to me that “Angel’s Rest” is actually part of the “Peak Experience Socks” pattern she sent me - “Mt. Hood” is the one that makes the zigzags. This is why you should read your patterns all the way through before you start a project.

They are really beautiful, and although these socks caused Lynne some stress, I am very glad that she made them! It also tickles me to death that the day they were finished was apparently the happiest day of her life. Thank you so much, Lynne. My socks and your thoughtfulness really mean a lot to me.

I can’t believe that I almost forgot to mention that the socks fit perfectly! I should have put this first: worry that the socks you made will fit a complete stranger is the Secret Anguish of sock swappers everywhere.

In my comments from my Toasty Toes Pal:

Dearest Emily, I am your pal. You can read all about my sock mishap on my blog in just a few days when you get your first package. But, I assure you, A small “Pre-gift” has been mailed, and the socks will follow in a few days…they must be properly prepared for your properly-prepared toes! I love loved knitting each of the three socks for you!

Dear Toasty Toes Pal,
You are awesome and I look forward to reading your saga (although I am sure it was pretty traumatizing for you and I am very sorry for any stress or unhappiness). Socks with an Epic History are SO much more interesting than your average run-of-the-mill socks. Ask anybody. I am thrilled to have you knitting for me!
Love and warm thoughts,
emily
PS I bet I am the only one with three socks!