my sock is mad at me . . .

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, lace/shawls, projects

i totally screwed up.
and now the tree scum sock isn’t speaking to me.

there we were, happily attending the Yarn Harlot event in cleveland yesterday. three of us drove up together for a sushi lunch and to attend event at the bookstore. this is the harlot’s first time in cleveland, and we have been pretty excited about it

this is maureen (right) and melissa, looking wonderfully fresh and pretty as we waited for the harlot to arrive (we got there almost an hour early and still had to stand, which gave me a chance to watch maureen’s newest skill—the standing stitch maneuver for sock knitting). we all knit plenty on our socks while we waited and chatted with the people surrounding us (melissa is a particularly good chatter). she’s also sporting an obstacles shawl, in a teal-green regia silk sock yarn that is gorgeous.

then stephanie arrived and regaled us for an hour or so with a talk that was funny, clever, AND profound—i love how she does that. i’m sorry this picture does not show her laughing—she moves around quite a bit, so this is the only non-blurry photo i got.

(i have to make an aside here about the bohus—it really DOES glow, just like in the pictures. it is positively lit from within. it is so beautiful in person, i couldn’t take my eyes off it. i just might have to make one . . . more on that another time.)

all this time i am knitting away on the tree scum sock. the cuff length has doubled by now and we are both stylin’. we are IN the groove. feelin’ the zone. gettin’ it on.

ok, harlot finishes up her talk, and takes questions, and then it’s time to line up to get our books signed.

it took a while to get to the front, but i had my sock and my friends, so it hardly mattered. we finally get up there. this is a cute picture of stephanie; i don’t know who this other lovely person is, but she’s got a sock and she’s proud of it.

melissa and maureen go first (i told you melissa is a good chatter).

and then it’s my turn. of course i have to hold up the line to get all of my collected books signed, plus one for debbieKnitter, who couldn’t make it because she was busy being supermom (and she IS—totally).

i brought stephanie a teensy gift of a button from fearless fibers deb and a knitspot tote. then she wanted to take my picture with her sock—wow. i was so honored that my tongue suddenly became stuck to the rook of my mouth and i couldn’t think of anything to say. that’s when i did it.

I SHOVED MY SOCK INTO MY BAG, picked up HER sock, and posed.

i did it twice in fact.
the last thing the sock said to me was “i hope you walk in w*lmart socks for all your remaining days!”
ouch. i am a selfish oaf of a lout, and my sock will never forgive me, no matter how many times i photograph it for the blog now.

i tried. i took it out in the rain today (tree scum positively blooms in the rain), to partake in the tree scum orgy of proliferation that is in progress throughout today in my back yard. i thought that frolicking in its natural habitat with its scum-buddies would lift its spirits.

you might not be able to tell here, but it would’t even look at the camera.

i can understand that. i mean yeah, su-u-ure—now i want it to be in the picture. now that it is home. with just me.

it did inform me (frostily) that as long as we were outside in the rain, i should take a picture near the oak tree bark, just to show that woodsy, moss-n-lichen crowd that they simply don’t know what they’re running on about (it might even have muttered something about them indulging in romantic celtic notions, i’m not sure, and i’m NOT responsible for what it says in its current state of mind . . .)

but you have to admit, it has a point—no way is this unearthly shade of green on any day of the week related to that moss, or those lichens. just sayin’.

i’m hoping that over the next week, it’s chilly attitude will thaw and we’ll at least be on speaking terms again. i mean, it’s almost time for the heel, and we can’t have any of this bickering and fighting once the heel commences.

indoors, things are a lot more peaceable, thank goodness. when i got home last night i worked on the starlight pattern for about four hours and i am finally clicking with the new software. it is still taking a lot of maneuvering on my part to get charts made and into the pattern document (i’d rather it all happened with a wave of my magic wand, preferably while i work on something new), but at least now i can do it all on one loveable machine, and i don’t need to fool around with Windows (sorry, i’m just not a fan—gimme a mac any day).

finally at around 1 am, i settled down to work on the morning glory shawl for a while. just before i’d left for cleveland, the mail arrived with my Jenkins needles. i ordered these specifically to use on this shawl, so i was really happy to see them.

they are perfect. the wood is lightweight and lovely to look at (and fondle), but not so variegated that it makes the stitches hard to see. the finish is superb—buffed to a softly burnished finish by wanda herself, they have just the teeniest bit of tack to help keep silky stitches in place, and that’s it—the rows just glide along on them. and those points—well, you can see for yourself. p2tog never had it so good, and p3togTBL? well, there’s no talking to that guy now . . .

the join??—oh the JOIN. well, i forgot about that. probably because i just didn’t notice it. at all.
which is the best thing about it.

ed and wanda provide exceedingly great customer service. they offer a variety of fine wood tools for fiber artists, all hand made to order.

i have two of their turkish drop spindles which i WILL learn to use some day . . . i thought it would be this past fall, but um, i really was too busy to get to that. maybe this summer though—i’m hoping to take a class at the next opportunity.
in the meantime, i am enjoying them as sculptures because yes, they ARE that beautiful.

jenkins service is fast; ed will turn around custom orders very quickly. need a 67-inch circular needle? they’ll make it. i didn’t ask, but i imagine that ed would be willing to hone the points to your preference as well, within reason . . . in your choice of wood, too. they even offer custom inscriptions.
the cost runs between that of a lantern moon circ and a colonial brand, but the wood and finish makes those brands feel like you’re knitting with pencils.

and the shawl emphatically does NOT want to to be knit on pencil wood . . .

47 thoughts on “my sock is mad at me . . .

  1. I suspect the sock love will return when it has a partner to love. It did get to stand near the Yarn Harlot though. Perhaps it’s just stunned. That’s really the only excuse for random W*lmart curses, after all.

  2. So glad you had a chance to get out and have a good time. Meeting the “Harlot” is a dream of mine – but, one day it will happen. Her new book just arrived at my house…

    How was the sushi???? I Love sushi…

  3. Wow, what a great blog entry!! So much going on. Excellent pictures that you took of your visit with the Harlot – good job. Give your sock a hug. Perhaps the heel will heal his hurt feelings =) Your new needles are beautiful! Very, very enjoyable reading.

  4. Super blog! I laughed out loud. Isn’t it strange how we personify our knitting projects? I’m excited to see the progress on the sock, even if it is being a little huffy right now.

  5. You could “adjust” the sock’s attitude by threatening it with pointy sticks, no? Well, maybe the ball winder would be a better choice for threatening the sock…pointy sticks work quite well on teenagers though.It’s become quite the handsome sock, not at all “mossy”. I love the new circs…it just feels so special to use beautiful tools to create beautiful items, doesn’t it? Much better then the ugly metal circs our mothers had to use! Thank you for your post, it felt almost as if I was there too…I missed going when Harlot was here…and she’s wearing the lovely bohus too!!

  6. I was laughing til I saw the new needles, and I actually *forgot* about Stephanie!

    They’re gorgeous, but not US 12 +, eh?

    I love the customization.

  7. I *adore* that your socks talk to you. LOVE.

    Additionally, I don’t know what they’re on about. They got to *see* Stephanie…isn’t that enough?

    (Though I must admit, the washcloth I gave her last summer was pretty proud of itself for showing up on her blog… 🙂 )

  8. Oh, no! Poor Scummy! Shunned so publicly… Hopefully your indulging its whims for awhile will soothe the grumpy beast…
    The shawl is looking fantastic. Very, very beautiful. I checked out your link to the Jenkins needles and am (also) wondering what size you got? On the website they only advertise size 12 and up, for which I have no use whatsoever. But I’d love a nice join and a pointy tip in such lucious wood…

  9. Just remind that sock who is boss! Don’t give the UFOs an inch – next thing you know, they’ll be running the roost!

  10. Oh, Anne, I’m so glad you had such a nice time! Wasn’t it wonderful & inspiring? And I’m sure the sock will forgive you… after lots of petting and bowing and scraping!

  11. Oh, heck–If it’s not offended by being named “Tree Scum” it hardly has grounds to complain about being publicly shunned in front of Madame Harlot.

  12. Fuuny post.
    all I can say to the sulking sock is: “you look beautiful when you are angry!”
    thanks for the link to the needles. good tools make a huge difference.

  13. Your pictures are particularly lovely today Anne. And you know, I think the tree scum sock will get over it. Just a hunch.

  14. I must be tired or dirty minded because twice I had to do a double take. When I saw “tree scum sock” I read “tree scrotum”… hope I’m not offending.

  15. One day the sock will understand that you were momentarily rendered senseless, being in the presence of the Harlot. In the meantime, I’d suggest laying the compliments on pretty thick and perhaps even outright bribery.

    P.S. I *knew* I liked you, fellow mac user 🙂

  16. Wonderful funny post! You will love the spindles too, when you get to know them. I can’t keep my hands off mine.

  17. Maybe you could try giving the sock a piece of chocolate or a pretty stitch marker (unless you think it’s a male sock, in which case you might try beer and touch it a lot…)
    Don’t feel bad about all your books. I met the Yarn Harlot recently (I didn’t get to hear her talk though, I’m jealous) and I had all 3 of my books in a pile and felt kind of embarassed and like I was holding up the line. She was really fun to meet!

  18. Anne, I am still in love with Tree Scum, even in a foul mood. Love that you make your socks nice and tall on the leg. And Morning Glory Shawl is very intriguing. Can’t wait to see more. BTW, you look wonderful in your photo with the Harlot. And Harlot looks delighted to meet you, as well she should be.

  19. Looks like a very fun Harlot-y time! Glad you got to take some time to go see her in person. The sock – eh – it’ll live. 🙂

  20. *jealous!* I’m glad you had a good time. Melissa always finds a way to make new friends! She cracks me up.

    I tried out my spinning wheel last night while watching Amazing Race and I think something’s amiss. gah. It doesn’t want to gather on the spindle– and when I read the manual I see there are two springs where I only have one so I suspect that may be the problem. It doesn’t want to hold still while everything else twirls around it.

    those needles are the coolest! Seriously.

  21. poor sock – hopefully it will get over it and realize you were just in the steph-zone! amazing how much it does match that tree mosss – spooky!!!

    those needles are works of art – i love how you had the inscription on them!

  22. Wonderful post–very funny and warm–and, oh, those needles! I have some Jenkins crochet hooks and they are the nicest tools I own. Now, how can I justify 🙂 some nice wooden circs? I’ll just wait until the morning glory pattern is available.

    Best, Kathleen

  23. Morning Glory is looking extremely lovely. The tree scum sock will come around. No sock could stay mad at you indefinitely.

  24. Did your sock at least get to _chat_ with Stephanie’s sock? You didn’t shove it in your bag before it even had a chance to say hello, did you? If that’s the case, I can see why the sock would be miffed – I mean, the chance to chat with the Harlot’s sock is the pinnacle of sock aspirations, no?

    ps I’m also a fellow mac user!

  25. HOLY CRAP!!!

    You were right in front of me in line! And during the speech! You’re even in some of my pictures!!! I had no idea it was you!!!! I would have said something – since I love your blog!

    I was the one in the adamas shawl who brought Stephanie chocolate…actually I talked to you about your lichen sock – and seriously, the colors are even more beautiful in person.

    Well – it was really nice to meet you even if I didn’t know I was meeting you!

  26. Poor tree scum sock being shoved aside like that! It seems that you two had a good talk, scummy will come around sooner or later. What a wonderful outing it looks like you had. The shawl is looking just as amazing as I thought it would.

  27. Dude, you are screwed. I don’t know if he will ever forgive you so you better just send it to me. 🙂

    Saw you on Steph’s blog- so cool! Great pic too.

  28. Hee hee hee! of COURSE the sock is mad at you. Not only did you shove it in your bag, but you call it “tree scum”! 🙂

    When I look at the pictures, I think of the Robert Frost poem that begins, “Nature’s first green is gold”. (Can’t remember the rest of it, alas.)

  29. Your sock just needs a mate to commiserate with-they could stay up late discussing all your shortcomings and then be over it by morning.
    OK, those needles are stunning. And I KNEW there was a reason I had put off ordering a Turkish!

  30. TreeScum is mortified. Not for reasons you think.

    As his creator you unconsciously sensed his vibes on seeing Steph’s sock. He was just about to pass out from being in SS’s presence when you shoved him into the bag – where he did pass out. He thinks you knew of his faint heartedness. Brutal blow to his strong self-image. Do not let him know that you know the truth of his humility and present sulk. Let him look at the handsome, tough-dude pictures with the tree and he’ll soon be back to his swaggering self.

  31. Your sock is right, it’s soo beautiful it should have been the one posing there … hehe. The lace and the lamps (in the previous post) are also so gorgeous. And how lovely the shawl is on you that you finished a few posts ago. Elegant!

  32. You tell your sock that if the Yarn Harlot had not linked to your site, I would have never been able to see it’s beauty, so at least it owes you that and also it was in the presence of the Yarn Harlot – something I have yet to achieve. So lighten up sock!

  33. Poor Tree Scum sock. I bet a nice bath in some Soak wash would bring him around 😉 Or maybe he’s jealous of the lovely Jenkins needles that the shawl gets? Either way, he’s still super good looking!

    And I saw you on the Harlot’s blog post, she’s quite fun isn’t she? We’re hoping to lure her back to Albuquerque in the near future 🙂

  34. Well, there’s just no excuse for w*lmart curses like that! Perhaps something else is bothering the sock? Perhaps it was confused by another green sock, one that IS rather more mossy instead of tree scum-my.

    It’s really such a beautiful, nay GORGEOUS, color, your tree scum sock. And the stitch pattern shows it off so well.

    Maybe if you let the sock read some of the posts it will feel better.

  35. Love, Love your shawl, the color is perfect! WOW, you got to meet The Harlot herself, good on you! Looks like ya’ll had a great time…how could you not, right?!

  36. Your new shawl……..stunning! I love the color and the pattern. You are amazing with the knits you are turning out!

  37. Oh! Oh! That is me holding up the sock! (How weird to see yourself on the internet.) And I AM proud of my sock, it’s my first 🙂 I just learned how to knit when I moved here in July. I am from Texas, and I have decided that I don’t like winter, but I do like knitting!

    It was lovely to meet you, and I really like your blog!

  38. I had to jump over after seeing your beautiful jumper and shawl on Steph’s blog entry. I love the neckline of that cabled jumper! I’m having first-time-in-a-long-time cable issues at the moment and so I was rocked at the expertise of cable to ribbed neck join in the jumper. Loved the rest of your lace projects, too. : )

  39. Maybe you could remind the tree scum sock that Stephanie wrote that everything around you is beautiful… and that definitely includes it!
    I’ve been eyeing Jenkins spindles for quite a while now; one day I’ll indulge in one of these works of art, that’s for sure. But not until I succeed at disciplining myself to make time to spin everyday (or, at least, more regularly). Hey, that’s an idea: hanging such a nice carrot in front of me might do the trick! And now, thanks to you, Jenkins needles have also made their appearance on my lust list!

  40. Those Jenkins are stunning. When I’m on my next lace bender, I’ll have to remember that. Plus, one of the proprietors is named Wanda, so obviously nothing but good things could come of this purchase, ideally. I got to see the Harlot this past Thursday and it was so much fun. It was her first time in the Mile High as well.The tree scum sock really does not look like lichens or moss at all now. It’s an almost luminescent green-yellow color.

  41. That’s the problem with Scum socks, you think they’re easy going and down to earth but in actuality, they can be quite touchy.

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