(flower of the day, squash blossom . . . with beetle)
while i appreciate the fact that the beetle’s dapper outfit (i loves me some snappy stripes) coordinates so smashingly with the squash flower’s color, i do not appreciate its cheeky little way of traipsing across the petals as if it owns the them.
but i’ll let it have its moment . . . i’ll take more of that saturated autumn light, please.
this week has been filled with sock and mitt knitting (always good after getting a big project or two off the needles) and sock pattern writing. still working away on one last deadline, which seems to be under control . . . which makes me nervous.
i am not the best judge of what i can reasonably get done in a specified amount of time.
i mean, it all always gets done, but not always reasonably.
with a quiet work front though, this week has been manageable and lots of knitting is getting done. david is making grand headway on the house during this time too, so we are both feeling pretty good about how we’re spending our time (gotta grab that satisfaction when you can . . . it tends to ebb and flow).
the mitt is progressing nicely
but it looks pretty much the same as the other day. what’s up with that?
heh. well, after looking at the photos i took and trying it on a couple of times i decided it needs to be knit on needles one size smaller. so i ripped the whole thing out and started again.
this time, it’s a perfect fit. the motifs open up better and the outlines are crisper.
it can be blocked out a bit without becoming too large, and that will make the fabric look smooth, as in the swatches (instead of having those bumps between the trees as it does now).
i’m just lovin’ the color here . . it has the beautiful shades that you see in snow shadows, and the frosty gleam in the yarn enhances the effect, lighting up all the edges of the motifs. the yarn is soft and there is zero itch factor . . great for anything with cuffs that you might want to wear over an extended time period.
i stayed with this project all day yesterday because it requires several reorganizations of the stitches and i wanted to keep the architecture straight in my head. i’m taking copious notes on these maneuvers, but they are the kind of thing that, when completed, if i think about them i get all mixed up again (did i move those sts left or right?). it’s easy to knit, but requires a lot of mental gymnastics to design and write in a way that makes sense and flows well.
last night i switched to a secret project that i want so bad to show you cuz it is SO cute. but i’m being good. back at the beginning of this one it was really hard not to blab about it, but now that i am an nth of the way from completion, blowing the whistle on it would be kinda stupid.
i really thought i would break down and cast on some sweater swatches with the red briar rose yarn, but i didn’t. i am being sooo disciplined . . maybe i’m coming down with something?
instead, i revisited the yarn that deb sent me for the fearless fibers sock club finale. i have the final deadly sin—greed—and i thought i would work with a motif that signifies one of the greediest creatures i know of
can you see the acorns hidden between the ribs here?
i dunno about where you live, but where we are, squirrels are furiously racing from one acorn to another right now, taking one bite to put their mark on them, then running off to find good places to hide them all. in the process, they fight hand-to-mouth combat with each other over them, tear up electric wires, break branches . . and basically terrorize every living thing that is in range. and heaven help us if they manage to squeeze through david’s maze of wire mesh into the eaves.
(we have a lot of oak trees on our property; therefore we have a LOT of squirrels—big ugly ones, ones with tails torn off, ones with a single eye or a ripped foot, even some brass knuckles i think. we moved into the squirrels’ house five years ago, and they still commit violent acts of gang rage on us every time we do anything that disturbs their territory. like walk to the garage. they literally sit on the roof and throw sharp chips of slate at david when he cleans the gutters—no lie.)
and i know that other people we know have similar problems with these creatures. so here’s my thought: if a whole sock club of people and maybe some others will knit acorn socks at the same time, it could maybe be a sort of voodoo dance on bad squirrel behavior. if we can just knit enough acorns, round and round, it might keep them spinning in one place til they learn to be civil.
waddaya think?
hmm, maybe we should move on.
lis at one planet yarns and fibers sent me some gorgeous yarn the other day . . . i’m going to design something with it that she and jodi can feature in their wonderful global shop, which sprang out of yarn botanika.
ok, pick your jaw up off the desk . . isn’t that something?
it is their lanas puras fingering weight yarn in the eggplant colorway (and we all know i love eggplant).
this is a soft, kettle-dyed singles and oh man, i can just feel this stuff wrapping me warm on a chilly february night—it has a cozy feeling without much weight—just what i look for at night in winter while i knit. and fingering weight will be a welcome change from all the laceweight i’ve been using (not that i don’t love that too . . i didn’t say that!).
and with that, i think i’ll hit the books for a bit to search for the perfect stitches to do it justice. just curious though, triangle or rectangle—what’s your vote?
104 thoughts on “sock-on”
Very kind of you to allow the cheeky beetle its moment. Squirrels sound horrid! Never seen one in our parts, now I am glad. Hope the acorn voodoo sock think works! The mitt is looking great, almost wish I lived in a colder climate to actually be able to wear mitts. Never really that cold in the city I live in. Love the eggplant yarn. Now I know why you liked my overdyed merino/silk roving. I’ll keep spinning mine and you make up a design I can use it for. Rectangle or semi-circle as second choice for me. Not a triangle.
What a gorgeous color! I vote rectangle, since you’re always so awesome to fit in a scarf size for add knitters like me 🙂
Rectangle.
Have they sold out of the eggplant already?! 🙂
Rectangle – I don’t need the tip of a triangle pointing right at my worst feature please!
Triangle — I like to be able to fling it over a coat (triangle pointing down one arm, instead of the backside).
I have skunks. One night a couple of weeks ago, I was unable to get in my house – it wouldn’t leave the area around my back door (and the front door was locked). I kept whistling, coughing, clapping my hands — at 11:30pm. It’s good no one called the police.
Even though we are surrounded by oak, hickory and beech trees, I don’t know which makes more noise, the squirrels or the blue jays scolding at the squirrels draped over the bird feeder.
Rectangle.
Oh gosh. I love that yarn. I love eggplant… the color and the veggie’s ok too.
The squirrels are scary and nasty here. They hang out at the kiddie parks where well-prepared moms (meaning people I know, not me) always have snacks in their strollers. They actually eat THROUGH the plastic containers to get the food. We have holes in our garbage cans because of it. We had no idea when we moved here how violent they could be. The people who know buy metal cans. It actually makes me laugh because our French relatives see squirrels so seldom (and they’re MUCH smaller than ours) that when they come to visit, they always leave with hundreds (I’m serious) of photos and videos of squirrels. I just shrug and call them rats (the squirrels, not the French).
voting rectangle here – that eggplant is divine enough to just nibble. wow.
love the acorn voodoo theory – the squirrels here are chasing in circles, running over the roof top at the darndest of times.
That eggplant is so yummy I want to bread it and fry it!
Definitely rectangle!
I’d vote for a rectangle too. So versatile
Oh my word, you had me in tears here laughing so hard over your evil little brass-knuckle-wearing-squirrle friends. Poor David. But I really do love the acorn motif. Still lovin’ the mitts. And if I place a vote, you know I vote rectangle because I like ’em better. You are being so good about not swatching for a sweater, woo-hoo for will power!!
the acorns are so cute! I especially like the rev st st caps. I just started university and we have incredible aggressive squirrels on campus–one climbed on to my friend’s bag and started rooting around for food!
Glad I’m not having squirrel problems over here 🙂
Nope, no squirrels are living over here ! Move to the Netherlands I’d say 😉
I vote for rectangular.
Lovely yarn, have some in stash too. In fact that’s why Lis found you 😉
A squirrel comes into the knitting shop where my knit night is and he (or she) hides nuts under the rugs and in the yarn bins! SO CUTE!
oh anne! i just love your blog! you inspire me every day to reach out and knit, knit, knit – just to keep up with your prolific pattern writing! can’t wait to see the secret project and the acorn socks – the squirrels in my neighborhood have been put on notice! i think you should live dangeriously and go for a round, lacy shawl, something with eggplant motifs? love, love, love the color!
The mitt looks marvelous. I always hate ripping something back only to re-knit it with smaller needles, but at the same time I love it as it’s so worth the time in the end. Glad you did it for these mitts.
Your squirrels are violent! I grew up in what was a retired walnut orchard with one 100-foot oak tree in the middle. The oak is a variety that doesn’t do much on the acorn side, unless you count those tiny things that hurt your feet when you step on them. LOL When the walnut trees started dieing off Dad started *buying* walnuts and leaving them around the yard for the poor squirrels. Boy. Did they have his number. I think I’m going to have to knit those acorn socks of yours just for them (Dad and his squirrels).
That eggplant yarn is *gorgeous*. My dear, your Walker books are showing just a hint of wear. Don’t you think? 😉
I’m a new reader and just love your work. That eggplant yarn is to die for …. it’s begging to be a rectangular stole!
I guess we’re lucky that we don’t have squirrels in the city.. I hate pigeons though. They are a plague here -__-
I vote for triangle, as the last 2 shawl/stole patterns that you released were (lovely!) rectangles 🙂
the mitts look wonderful – like a wintery snowy woodsy scene! Acorns are the perfect representation of greed for the little grey menaces that torment my poor dogs from the other side of the fence. 🙂 rectangle would be wonderful to wrap around you with lots of extra for covering up your legs when sitting….that color is simply beautifully amazing. wow.
Definately rectangle – a stole! I just can’t seem to warm to the triangle shape, but I love what you do with four right angles!
Squirrels, the thorn in my side. We have 4.5 acres of oak trees, more acorns than they could possibly use and yet what do they do? Sit, hang from, and attack our bird feeders. Those greedy b*stards! They’re not even afraid of me; I chase after them, spray them with the hose. They run just beyond my reach and laugh.
Ah… sorry, got a bit riled up there. I vote for a wide stole, something to go over the shoulders, but still cover the bum.
Rectangles are often lovely but I generally prefer (large) triangles to keep my lower back warm. The yarn is so beautiful I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
I love squirrels. Of course, we’re not innundated with them so that makes a difference.
Reminds me of crickets. I used to like crickets until one summer in Texas (ages ago!). There was an explosion in the cricket population and I remember going to the grocery store one night. The parking lot was literally black with crickets. You could hear the crunch crunch as you drove your car over them. I couldn’t get out of the car. I just couldn’t bear the thought of walking over all those crickets so I just ended up going back home. Ugh. To this day crickets just creep me out.
On the shawl question, I vote for rectangular. I echo Karyn; a wide stole. There are so many triangle shawls out there and I’m just not a triangle person.
You consistently have such wonderful photos on your blog; I always look forward to a new post! The beetle and squash blossom is just jaw-droppingly lovely!
The eggplant yarn made me salivate mightily. I love triangle shawls (and I make them long enough to cover up my butt!) but I vote stole on this one. OOOOPPPPS! Gotta get to work!
I feel a vibe for a triangle from the eggplant. Or even a square if there is enough fiber.
And to enlighten the world on a little squirrel behavior: squirrels bite into acorns before storing them to kill the embryo so they don’t germinate when stored. One reason why you typically don’t see an oak tree growing out the side of an oak tree.
I am so there with the squirrel voodoo. We are surrounded by oak trees and their furry friends and the little thugs give me the skeeves.
Kathleen
OMG!!! Drool bucket is overflowing…..
a nice huge cold winter snuggly rectangle is my vote..done in one long knit..
also, dont need the triangle drawing attention to the undesirable larger areas…
need to concentrate on the lovely-ness of the kniited item!!!
Rectangle, and I see something vineyard grape leaf style….harvesting the grapes shawl.
You might get a chuckle from the following link describing more squirrel greed evil doings. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/09/13/fires/fire86.txt
Rectangle. I’m too short for a triangle. Half circle would be a nice option as well.
That eggplant yarn is reminding me of some cashmere I dyed in May. I think I need to get back to that…
I love the Totally Autumn throw in the new knitty! It looks perfect for snuggling under.
i vote rectangle! (using 2 skeins, preferably…..)
Rectangle!! 🙂
I’m so excited to see the sneak peek of the acorn socks. I’m in the Fearless Fibers sock club, and would be happy to knit acorn socks and devote my knitting karma and energies toward squirrel voodoo.
Squirrel controlling knitwear? Sign me up.
Rectangle is my first response, but I am beginning to really love the triangles too. That’s no help. How about half a hexagon? The color is amazing.
Anne, I just stopped by from knitty. Totally Autumn is totally off the charts! Beautiful. Congrats on another home run–and love what you are working on now too!
The naughty squirrels where I used to live in Upper Michigan would climb into the power breaker boxes and get fried and knock out the power–sometimes for days at a time!
Congrats on the new pattern out from Knitty! Very nice.
Just saw your pattern on Knitty ! It’s lovely !
Congratulations 🙂
Great throw on Knitty. I love the feet – what a cute cuddle shot! I can feel the love from here.
Anne, I had to stop by and tell you how beautiful your publication in the new Knitty is! I love it! I gasped when the page opened! Beautiful. Worth all that secret knitting. 😉
Another vote for rectangle ! I’m not foxy enough to carry off a triangular shawl – I look like Methusulah’s wife in one.
And serious squirrel hoodlums you have there ! Thankfully mine are peaceful souls that just look cute as they gently pat their acorns into the mossy lawn 😉
You’re in Knitty!!! So cool! I saw the thumbnail and thought, “that reminds me a bit of Anne’s style.” And it was yours! Very nice. I love the pattern. One big secret project revealed?
What a pretty throw in knitty! Also love the mitts you’re working on:)
Just wanted to stop by and tell you how much I love the new pattern on Knitty! Is this one of your recent secret projects?
I like both triangle and rectangle–either one will be wonderful!
I love the pattern in Knitty! Do you have any idea how many of your projects are in queue now??? 😉
anne, the new pattern in knitty is tdf! 🙂
I vote rectangular stole, they’re much more wearable than a triangular shawl. That eggplant/aubergine yarn is simply gorgeous!
I would vote for rectangle…having bought the triangular bee fields before I knew the rectangular stole was coming…do the rectangle please!!!
Rectangle all the way! I need to head on over to Knitty to see the latest offering. I think that acorn socks (I definately see acorns there) would be dangerous. One might find themselves mobbed by squirrels and stripped of their footwear. And once they discovered those aren’t real acorns they might decide to nibble one’s toes. Scary thought indeed! I absolutely love the new lacy mitt.
That eggplant color is MARVELOUS! *drool, drool…*
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