ok, well, sort of . . . we might be stretching the concept of “fiber” a little here. kade doesn’t have any interest in knitting or spinning whatsoever, but wow, he loves animals and has quite the menagerie.

each morning he’s up before 6:30 and soon disappears to granny’s (she lives in the guest house right here—how great is that?) to eat breakfast and talk with her before making the rounds for feeding and quality time with each of his animals.

that’s him up top, with one of the guinea pigs, willy.
and here’s the other

there’s some fiber happening there . . .
he also has chickens, which have been providing an abundance of eggs this year. last night we made french toast for dinner, in fact from fresh eggs.

below we have henny penny the champion chicken—she has survived two devastating raids on the coop by some devious animal of prey or another, and so is the oldest of the current flock

a clever chick indeed.
and oh, there are more . . .

next we have franklin, the tortoise, who is endlessly entertaining despite an almost complete lack of activity and facial expression

(his mouth is green because he is a greedy consumer of carrot tops, zucchini, dandelions, etc)
oops, i eat my words—we seem to have achieved some neck and leg extension in the photo

i’m telling you, it’s like watching a fire.

up in kade’s room he has an aquarium

if you look hard you can spot at least five fish in this photo, and a shrimp (i would love to have an aquarium, but david is not really keen on having pets in containers, and i can see his point).

then there is larry

after something like twenty-seven photos, we realized that one like this pretty much tells you all about larry—he wiggles a lot. but he is loved.

daisy looks like lots of other cats, but she’s actually really special

she’s a rattlesnake slayer—very helpful around here (i try not to think about it).
chica, on the other hand, is not so helpful that way; she had a costly run-in with rattler recently

but, really, she’s a good doggie (i keep trying to pimp up her appealing side to kim, but so far, it’s not making a dent—chica’s just not her favorite, though kade seems quite enamored of her, as am i).

all these guys have such an affection for kade too . . . they all scurry to get close to him when he comes around their living space. he’d like to own a pet store or maybe be a farmer when he grows up. i think he might be qualified.

yesterday we visited mission hills beach with kim’s daughter, xanning, where we rented bikes and rode along the boardwalk all the way in each direction

it was pretty windy, but we had full sun and there was plenty to see (i really liked the bike thing)

this is paul, he has quite a little setup here at the beach with several umbrellas and tiki-themed supports that form a cabana (he’s there every day, in case you happen to be going by). he didn’t ask any questions about the sock, or even blink while i put it in his hands and posed him—just continued talking about himself as if it was completely natural to be accosted by an itinerant knitter at the beach. awesome.

normally, i don’t do the sock thing with people, but this situation was just begging for it.
we saw some parasurfers

making beautiful circles over the water and waves.

i would totally try this some time, though i am not at all interested in bungee jumping (and that’s final).

down at the other end of the beach we met ron, who had just landed a bat ray (stinger removed)

it looked really normal-evil from the one side, but then when he lifted it like this, it looked like a puppet, and i had to take its picture. i didn’t ask him to hold the sock, since his hands were full (i don’t think we need to get bat ray goop all over the sock . . .)

after the beach we picked up sam from school and headed for the hills where kim owns some land that suffered quite a bit of damage in the fires last fall

some of the vegetation is starting to come back and fill in, but the olive grove they had there was completely reduced to charcoal

the root balls below ground continued smoking for some time after the fires were put out so that each one is a large, charred hollow now

here is the view from the spot where they almost built a house a few years back. phew.
sam displayed his olympian skills in the sunset

and we soon headed home for dinner.

safe in the knowledge that we know where our tortoise is.

today we head for encinitas to meet up with jocelyn and laura for lunch and a visit to common threads (so sad that nan can’t make it after all, but we are thinking of you nan—and there WILL be a next time!)

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the pattern looks like curls of smoke winding their way up the foot and leg.
fabric is finely-knit, but dense and oh-so-comfy.
there’s just one word for them—smokin’.

Smokin’ Sock
shown here in Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, color smoke

• pattern price: $5.00 US (ohio residents, please add $.30 sales tax)
• payment method: please visit our pattern shop!
• Suggested Yarns: Fearless Fiber’s Superwash Merino Sock yarn, j. knits Superwash Me! Light sock yarn, Vesper Sock Yarn, Claudia Handpainted, Brooklyn Handspun, GGH Merino Soft, Lorna’s Laces nearly solids, Schaefer Anne nearly solids, or any fine sock yarn.
• Notes: These socks in three sizes have a pattern which curls down the cuff and extends over the top of the foot, and is deceptively easy to work—a simple arrangement of knits and purls yields a deep, cable-like texture, without a cable needle.
  They are easily converted to toe-up construction, as the pattern is vertically reversible.
• Finished Size: S(M, L), to fit feet measuring 6-7(7-8.5, 8.5-10)�? / finished sock measurements = 6(7.5, 9)�?
• Yarn requirements: 300(350, 400) yds of sock yarn which has 500 yds
  per 4 ounces note: heavier sock yarn may be used—sock will be slightly larger at a gauge of 8 to 8.5 sts per inch; go to next size down if your yarn knits up at a gauge of 7 to 7.5 sts per inch.
• Gauge: 38 sts and 52 rows = 4�? in stockinette on smaller needles, in finer yarns
• Needles: DPNs sizes 0 and 1, or size to obtain gauge on smaller needles
  The larger needles are optional—they are used in the upper cuff to provide some shaping at the calf, which may not be needed for all sock wearers.

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today, as i was was scraping myself together before work, my eye fell upon the Sock Pile. the Sock Pile is the number of socks-on-hand that i have in stock at any one time. i keep ‘em on a shelf in my cedar closet, to use for gifts, or for when our own sock drawers need replenishing. this time of the year, the shelf is looking a little bare.

just four pair—between the onset of winter, and the holiday gift-giving, my store is a bit depleted.

i looked at the clock and figured i probably had time before work to do some sorting and assessing of sock yarn, in order to dermine a possible strategy for filling the shelf (who am i kidding—strategy—geesh. we all know it’s about lust in the heat of the moment . . .).
or maybe i just needed something comforting to do before heading into heavy fire for the day.

my friend debbie is absolutely convinced that i have, hidden away, a giant trove of sock yarn that i am simply not ‘fessing up to. she just cannot fathom that i don’t collect the stuff by the bushelful.

but actually, my taste in horde-worthy yarn does not lead me into the whole sock-yarn-as-a-separate-stash habit. you know what i mean. suckering yourself into believing that sock yarn somehow doesn’t count, and therefore ending up with—quite literally—enough of the stuff to fill one or two of those huge plastic bins that have wheels.
(BTW, the wheels are a dead giveaway that possibly there is at least enough sock yarn in the house; think about it—how many 2-ounce skeins does it take to be wheel-worthy?).

yeah, i’m not like that. who knew??
i tend to horde luxury yarns. and no, you can’t see them. (i will tell you the amount in my bank account before i reveal that part of the stash.)
the thing is, every time i turn around there is another enticing sock yarn, so i figure it something good will be there when i DO need it. and usually, it is (stockists and dyers are very accommodating that way. . .).

anyhow, just so it is on public record, i have just two small bins of sock yarn, and that’s it. and the only reason i even have THAT much is that i spin, and spinning generates stash.

one tub is just for handspun and is fairly full. i want to use all of these next.
and what i have on the wheel right now? i want to use THAT next too.
i also want to use all of these next

trust me, i understand the propensity for the stuff. this is my newly-acquired stash of commercial sock yarns—just one year ago, i was still knitting socks exclusively from handspun. i had awful memories from the 80s and 90s of sock yarns being stringy and awful.

then last february, because i had a blog and was reading other bloggers’ sock yarn ecstasies, i caved and started trying some commercial stuff. and some of them are nice. i tried some more. so now i have a small stash. really.

see? it all fits very nicely into this small-ish tub with room to spare on top. and i don’t have plans to buy much for a while—this will be fine for the next few months. i need to knit down that handspun.

the only problem is which to use first? i love them ALL. if i allowed it, there would be 6 different socks going at once, and none of them getting done. i learned my lesson this past year, and am trying to keep my sock WIPs to two-at-a-time (and already failing i might add . . .)

i have a feeling it might be one of the new spunky eclectic yarns next, but i dunno. i could really use something with alpaca in it right now, so it could be the alpaca/wool twist yarn i spun last summer.

or, those two skeins of the new colinette jitterbug. i am thinking i might just venture into kneesox (or at least very high sox) with those.
but then, i haven’t knit with any Briar Rose yarn in a few months and i have 6 skeins that are begging for attention.

this is the problem with stash. i spend too much time daydreaming over it instead of knitting, and the sox just end up looking like this

tonight i went to a knit group with martina at the library that i had not been to before. and she agreed to model the smokin’ sox for a photo shoot, so i took her up on it, as she does have lovely narrow feet and ankles that are much more photo-worthy than my own

so, for those who have been wondering what the smokin’ pattern looks like on the foot, here you have it. of course, this means i also have a shot that will be perfect for the pattern cover, so i will get that together and post it in the morning.

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as it approaches, i think of the weekend as a luxuriously long stretch of time in which i will get caught up and accomplish much. on friday night, i immediately begin to rationalize, wanting instead to just veg, or to cook a good meal. saturday, i take a little extra time with each task, allowing myself to be a little lazy, or to put off one thing and then another—”just til sunday” (cough . . . including this post, which is WAY long delayed . . . i swear, i kept meaning to do it . . .).

and then, of course, sunday night comes.
i find myself wishing i had used the two days a little better, or more efficiently, because indeed, so many things on my “list” are well . . . still on my list.

and here it is monday morning—the days off already seem far in the past.

it would be easy to whine about working all weekend and say i didn’t get anything at all done (which is what i almost wrote this morning). but then i took my camera on a little trip around the house and found that i had done plenty else, and that in fact, some of what i did was relaxing, fun, and personally rewarding. (and unrelated to my job).

friday night we worked a little late, and i caught up on some paperwork. because i had gone for a haircut that afternoon, and driven right by the italian market on the way home, AND stopped to pick up ingredients, we had all the stuff to make pizza.

mmmm—nothing like starting the weekend off right. i adore pizza.

by the time we did that, and cleaned up (well, david cleaned up), it was time to head upstairs to relax, knit, and watch TV. i finished up one gray mitt and started the second—these will go into the prize pool for the blogiversary drawing.

the yarn is a fuzzy, lustrous gray alpaca handspun that i knit a sweater from two years ago. this yarn has weight—so these are dense and warm. i went with the small size, and the heavier yarn is producing a slightly larger glove, which is perfect for one-size-fits-all (i still used size 2 needles).
i like the cables running all the way through. if you have this pattern and want to do the same, simply cast on 52 stitches to get started instead of 48, and establish the cable pattern on needle one as described in the section AFTER the ribbing, while working the K2, P2 rib over all the other stitches.

and speaking of mitts, stephanie has been experimenting with the delicato mitts and has made them in a beautiful alpaca yarn gifted to her by her husband. now, they did come out a little loose on her delicately proportioned hand, but this problem can easily be fixed by using smaller needles, or finer yarn. i myself like mitts to fit snugly, though that is never much of an option on my rather more amazonian appendages.
(you know that really big guy that stands along the the highways, offering up an enormous muffler in his hands? yeah. my hands are like that).

it tried to snow all weekend, first in a very pretty way on saturday, then in a weak, gray, flabby way on sunday. today, the snow seems to be finding its strength, and it is actually accumulating out there.

see? you can now only glimpse the tips of the dry grass.

saturday i had classes (yoga for me, purses and sweates for them), and i worked on smokin’ sock two while i taught. i didn’t think you’d need to see a picture of those again yet,

but then, when i put them side by side and saw how happy they look together, i knew you would want to share the moment. they are approaching the final run, and i couldn’t be happier.
and since i had to be at my desk all day on sunday, these guys saw a little airtime too.

i know. you can’t tell. (but it makes the sock happy to appear once in a while, so keep a lid on it).

i have spinning news too, and some progress on the starlight evening wrap. but i think i’ll save that for tomorrow. this is getting awfully long and i feel like i’m not making any one point. i’m allowing myself to get distracted here and, speaking of the starlight wrap, i think i need to attend to that now. . .

Filed under: Uncategorized, projects, spinning and fiber
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