Busybusybusy!

Just the other day it was almost 80 out; today it's snowing. Ah, Minnesota weather, how I love thee. Well, that just makes it a perfect day to stay in and play with string.

I'm almost done with the Mom socks:




Seebs says the line of eyelets looks like a mistake. I'm tempted to agree, but it's too late to change my mind. Her birthday's tomorrow. Can I finish it today, or will I 'give' it to her still on the needles? We shall see! But it doesn't take me long to knit five inches of sock. I'm optimistic. Perhaps unrealistically so.

Instead of working on the sock yesterday, I spun that wacky roving I dyed in my last post. Here's the roving when it was dry:




And here it is spun up nice and fine:




The colors are blued-out and dulled-down in that pic. No sunlight makes for weak photos. You'll just have to trust me that those intense plummy purples came through nice and clear. I'm not sure the color repeats are all long enough to withstand Navajo plying; I think I'll probably get a fair bit of marling. But some clear patches too, I reckon. We shall see. Not today, though, because socks.

Finally, here's a teaser for my Sooper Sekrit Project:




Is that a mitered square? Why yes it is! Is that my own special dye job? Why yes it is! Am I making a huge project out of sport-weight yarn?

...er. I never claimed to be sane. It has to be singles for the softness, see? And I can do garter stitch while watching videos, so it's almost like it won't take any time at all, and... look, flying monkeys!



Incidentally, did you know you can't make a mitered square in stockinette? It ends up sort of kite-shaped. Fortunately I knit a test square out of some scratchy, crunchy Dale of Norway and Noro that was lying around.




I can probably find a use for that tendency to go kite-shaped at some point. It probably would've been acceptably squarish if I'd started doing the decreases more frequently about halfway through, but who wants to dick with that when there's a time crunch? No, I can't tell you why there's a time crunch. It's a Sekrit, remember?

Mitered squares are, by the way, SO easy. So easy they're more of a technique than a pattern. Here's what you do:

1. Cast on an even number of stitches, marking the middle.
2. Do garter stitch (knit every row, no purling).
3. Every other row, decrease on either side of the marker (one before and one after).

When you run out of stitches, you're done. It will be obvious you're done, because you're out of stitches. You see the appeal, right? There is no way I can screw this up.

Ohshit. Knock on wood, quick! I think I jinxed myself.

In other news, OMIGOD WOOLZ!!!



My order from Sheep Shed Studio came in. That's 5 pounds of white wool and a 10 pound grab bag. It is SO CHEAP, I kept waiting for the catch. But nope, no catch, they sent my order fast and in good shape, it's nice stuff, and they included a cute little gob of cinnamon-colored wool as a thank-you. It matches my hair, and is causing me to think faggy thoughts about accessorizing.

I never accessorize, nor care what matches my hair or 'brings out' my eyes (doesn't that sound kind of surgical?) or what are 'my' colors -- much to my mother's dismay, because she seems to think it a great injustice that a green-eyed redhead could possibly hate kelly green -- but that wool is causing me to care. I'm actually tempted to postpone my other projects so I can spin it up and superquick knit myself a neck warmer, get some use out of it before this crappy weather is over.

It'd make Mom's birthday present late, but she'd understand, right?

Me: "You can't have your present yet, but look, I made myself a neck warmer that totally matches my hair!"
Mom: *sniffle* "My little girl -- boy -- thing -- has finally realized that he -- she -- he -- has an appearance other people can respond to. Thank you, God!"

... Naaaw. The urge is already fading. Reckon I'll finish those socks. :D